Anxiety, deciding that Riley needs to change to fit in with the older players, launches the Sense of Self to the back of the mind and has the old emotions bottled up and thrown into a memory vault.

The new emotions then create a new anxiety-dominated Sense of Self and encourage Riley to befriend popular hockey player Valentina "Val" Ortiz, straining her friendship with Bree and Grace.

The original emotions escape the vault; while the others go to retrieve Riley's old Sense of Self, Sadness returns to Headquarters to prepare to bring them back via a recall tube.

Living in peace, the nine emotions work together to protect Riley, who checks her phone for the Fire Hawks' recruitment results[d] and looks at herself in the mirror with a proud smile.

[16][17] Inside Out director Pete Docter was germinating ideas for a sequel while the original film's nominations were unveiled at the 88th Academy Awards in January 2016.

[20] Pixar officially confirmed the sequel's development during the D23 Expo announcement in September 2022, with Amy Poehler coming on stage to discuss the film alongside Pete Docter.

[25][26] The production team frequently consulted author and clinical psychologist Lisa Damour and used her books as guidance on accurately portraying how teenagers' emotions change during puberty.

After about three test screenings, Nielsen, Mann, and LeFauve decided it was best to center the story on Riley playing hockey, as they felt it was a unique aspect of her character.

The decision was also influenced by input Mann received from Turning Red director Domee Shi when he asked how to make the film unique from other teenage coming-of-age stories, including her own.

[6] Following a dispute over pay, both Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling declined to reprise their respective roles as Fear and Disgust; they and the rest of the returning cast were reportedly offered $100,000 each, equivalent to two percent of Poehler's salary.

[32] On November 9, 2023, with the release of the teaser trailer, it was revealed that Tony Hale and Liza Lapira would replace Hader and Kaling as Fear and Disgust, respectively, while Maya Hawke joined the cast as Anxiety, a new emotion.

[6][8] Story artist Rebecca McVeigh and lead editor Maurissa Horwitz played key roles in refining the film's emotional beats.

To ensure accuracy, she often created isometric maps of environments to determine camera placement and background visibility..[35] On March 7, 2024, with the release of the second trailer, it was reported that Andrea Datzman had composed the film's score, taking over for Michael Giacchino.

[44] This trailer also marked the debut of the "standard" variant of the 2023 Walt Disney Pictures logo, which was introduced the year before for the studio's centennial anniversary.

[46] As part of a partnership with Airbnb, a new rental home in Nevada just outside of Las Vegas modeled after "headquarters" in the film was listed on the website beginning June 12, 2024.

[f] According to Animation Magazine, most critics praised its color palette, storyline, and the introduction of new emotions, but some expressed dissatisfaction with the predictability of the external plot related to Riley's acceptance by her new hockey team.

The website's consensus reads: "Spicing things up with the wrinkle of teen angst, Inside Out 2 clears the head and warms the heart by living up to its predecessor's emotional intelligence.

[87] Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph gave the film four stars out of five, praising the animation, metaphors, and wit while saying "the cast-iron ontological brilliance of Docter's original premise bears expansion well".

[88] Owen Gleiberman of Variety praised Hawke's performance as Anxiety and the film's emotional impact, calling it "the most poignantly perceptive tale of the conundrums of early adolescence since Eighth Grade".

[89] Manhola Dargis, in The New York Times, praised "Pixar's skill for turning ideas into images, some of which actually manage to slip past the safety of its nice worldview with shocks of the sublime.

[10] Various reviewers, including Cindy White for AV Club,[96] unfavorably compared the film to its predecessor and the new characters received a diverse appraisal.

Anxiety was the new emotion attracting most attention, for example from Alison Willmore in Vulture[97] or Jordan Hoffman for Entertainment Weekly,[98] while Peter Bradshaw in The Guardian[99] and Odie Henderson in the Boston Globe[100] particularly praised the character of Ennui, voiced by Adèle Exarchopoulos.

In his review for NPR, Justin Chang analysed the nostalgia at work in the film but, precisely, criticised the retro sequence based on cartoon images.

[101] Robert Daniels, in his review on RogerEbert.com, felt that the film effectively used Anxiety to transform Riley into a blank character, while Joy and other emotions navigate her mind.

For Daniels, this structure allowed the film to blend visually stunning scenes with a whimsical style that is both gentle and entertaining, addressing the pressures faced by teenage girls.

[102] Writing for Deadline, Damon Wise, however, was rather negative about the film and concluded, "Battle-weary parents of surly teens will have some fun here and there, especially when Ennui's blasé influence opens up a 'sar-chasm' in Riley's brain that makes everything sound, well, sarcastic.

"[103] When asked whether fans could expect a third Inside Out film, the Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Iger briefly stated that he "would love" to see it get made.