Riley’s parents were two of the most important characters in the first Inside Out movie, so why are her mom and dad largely absent from Inside Out 2? After a string of disappointments for Pixar, both critically and commercially, the overwhelming success of Inside Out 2 has been hailed as a major comeback for the once-thriving animation studio. It was universally praised by critics for furthering the literal emotional storytelling of the first movie and tackling a spectrum of more mature emotions, and it’s become the highest-grossing film of 2024.
Inside Out 2 picks up a few years after the first film, with a now-teenage Riley contending with all-new emotions like Envy, Ennui, Embarrassment, and primarily, Anxiety. In the first film, Riley’s mom and dad were really significant characters. The movie peeked into their minds to look at their emotions almost as often as it went into Riley’s mind. But while Riley’s parents do reappear in the sequel, they have a massively reduced role from the first one. So, why are Riley’s parents featured less prominently in Inside Out 2?
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Riley is the star of Pixar's Inside Out movies, but she's not the only character whose mind and personified emotions are shown on-screen.
Inside Out 2's Setting Didn't Allow For Riley's Parents To Play Pivotal Roles
The movie takes place at Riley's hockey camp, so her parents wouldn't be there
The simple answer is that there wasn’t really a place for Riley’s parents in the story of Inside Out 2. The sequel sees Riley attending a hockey camp over the course of a weekend, so the only role for her parents in that story was dropping her off at the beginning and picking her up at the end. Riley’s parents couldn’t stay with her at the hockey camp, so there was no place for them in the story. She could’ve called them from the camp, but that would’ve gone against Riley’s attempts to become independent.
The movie could’ve used a B-plot to show Riley’s mom and dad adjusting to the life of empty nesters. The writers could’ve gotten some fun gags out of Riley’s parents spending a weekend without her, killing time with new hobbies, but it ultimately wouldn’t have added anything to the core storyline. It might have provided some laughs, but it would’ve ended up detracting from the main story, because it would take screen time away from Anxiety’s invasion of Riley’s mind and Riley’s tug-o’-war between two different friend groups.
Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan reprise their roles as Riley’s parents in Inside Out 2.
Inside Out 2 Is Focused On Riley's Friendships
The sequel is more about Riley's friends than her family
The first Inside Out movie was all about Riley’s family life. Her dad got a new job in San Francisco, so the family moved there. Since Riley was in an unfamiliar city away from her friends and everything she knew, her parents were the only familiar things left in her life. She resented her dad for taking this new job and dragging her away from her old life, so that relationship was crucial to the story Pixar was telling. If Inside Out 2 had focused on those same relationships, it might’ve felt derivative.
Instead, Inside Out 2 focuses on Riley’s relationship with her friends. Her best friends, Bree and Grace, are introduced early in the film and the three seem to be inseparable. But when Riley learns that Bree and Grace are going to a different high school, she becomes fearful that they’ll grow apart. Matters only get worse when Riley befriends a cool older girl named Val and starts distancing herself from Bree and Grace. Inside Out 2 is all about how important friends are to Riley at this stage of her life, so her parents didn’t factor in.
Inside Out 2 Felt Fresh By Limiting Riley's Parents' Roles
Limiting Riley's parents' roles allowed more screen time for other characters
Riley’s mom and dad played a huge role in the first film, so it felt odd for them to have such a reduced presence in the second one. But if they’d had a similarly significant role in Inside Out 2, it could’ve felt like a rehash of the original. There’s only so much dramatic ground to cover in an angsty kid’s relationship with her parents. Pivoting to explore a different aspect of Riley’s life – her relationship with her friends and their fragile dynamic – helped to keep the sequel feeling fresh.
By limiting Riley’s parents’ roles, Inside Out 2 made more room for new characters like Anxiety, Val, and Nostalgia. If Pixar gets around to making Inside Out 3 in a few years, it should follow suit. Rather than rehashing the second film’s focus on friendship, the third film should focus on a different aspect of her life. Maybe when Riley is a young adult, Inside Out 3 can explore her first serious romantic relationship.
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Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the 2015 original film, which starred a young girl named Riley with a head full of emotions. - literally. With Amy Pohler as Joy, Bill Hader as fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger, the all-star cast brought to life the emotions that adolescents face as they grow, change, and adapt to new situations. This sequel, currently in development, will bring Amy Pohler back as Joy, with Riley, now a teenager.
- Director
- Kelsey Mann
- Cast
- Amy Poehler , Tony Hale , Maya Hawke , Liza Lapira , Lewis Black , Phyllis Smith , Diane Lane
