By The reviews are in for Pixar’s “Inside Out” sequel and whilst not as gushingly positive as they were about the original, the film still had a strong showing.
With eighty reviews counted, Rotten Tomatoes indicates the film has landed an 89% positive score and 7.3/10 average rating. The 2015 original by comparison was a 98% positive and 8.9/10 rating.
Some complaints suggest Disney pulls its punches at times in the movie – potentially ready to go some place interesting before pulling back to a safe harbour.
Here’s a sampling of review quotes:
“The story beats, action sequences and sentimental moments — Joy’s despair when she’s out of ideas is quite touching — are expertly fine-tuned, and the dazzling visuals no less so.” – David Rooney, THR
“This sequel knows that when you leave childish things behind, you risk leaving key parts of the child’s personality and personal growth as well. It also recognizes that young adulthood is a different game altogether.” – David Fear, Rolling Stone
“As expected, the picture is a visual delight, as bright and shiny as Joy’s demeanour, but what’s most stirring is its willingness to tell children (and their parents) that they should not repress parts of themselves out of fear that they’ll be judged.” – Tim Grierson, Screen
“The film’s director, Pixar animation veteran Kelsey Mann, and the screenwriters, Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, build on the earlier film’s playful brilliance and come about as close as we could have hoped for to matching it.” – Owen Gleiberman, Variety
“In more ways than one, Mann’s movie feels like a much-needed feature-length refuge from today’s anxiety-producing devices. Unlike many of Pixar’s moving metaphors of parenthood, this one is, affectingly, for the kids.” – James Coyle, Associated Press
“Even a curmudgeon would smile at scenes… But the movie always stiffens up again, aware of the Disney grown-ups nearby. And, like the first film, the sequel is torn between knowing cleverness and not wanting to do anything too weird.” – Danny Leigh, The Financial Times
“Inside Out 2’s view of growing up has nothing in it as powerful or real as the When She Loved Me song from Toy Story 2 – but there are a lot of entertaining moments.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“So perfectly ticks Pixar’s boxes in a way that forces the sincerity of its storytelling into a losing battle with the cynicism of its existence.” – David Ehrlich, Indiewire
“The new emotions, and the whole structure of the film, don’t feel sophisticated enough for someone suddenly experiencing the agonizing pressure of wanting to fit in and tearing herself to bits in a self-loathing effort to do so.” – Alison Wilmore, Vulture
“Disappointingly, the film’s PG rating keeps the two sensations we’d be most curious to see get a dusting of Disney magic – PMS and Libido – from crashing Riley’s hormonal rager.” – Amy Nicholson, Washington Post
The film releases in multiple countries from today and opens wide in the United States on Friday. Projections are the film will have a domestic debut weekend around the $85 million range.
The post The “Inside Out 2” Reviews Are In appeared first on Dark Horizons.
