Pixar and Anxiety

How do you show a panic attack with sensitivity and have it relatable to children? This is the challenge Pixar had with Inside Out 2, a movie that’s building on its predecessor. Not only was that set up with the first movie, it was inevitable given the subject matter. And while fan reactions have been positive, with a few reservations, I figured it was worth checking it out for myself. I say that despite the movie’s promotional material being garbage.

(By the way, there’ll be mild spoilers. You’ve been warned.)

Let’s address the elephant in the room: yes, this isn’t as good as Inside Out. No, I doubt it could be. Ignoring its tumultuous production history, the starting point was always going to be more interesting. That’s despite going into more detail in a sequel, too. Because while Inside Out 2’s more mature thematically, repeating the magic was like recreating lighting in a bottle. Like even most “good” Pixar sequels, it couldn’t happen.

But this movie isn’t a carbon copy. Instead, it takes a dangling thread, one played as a joke initially, and makes it the core conceit. Like Dory’s memory issues in Finding Dory, puberty is the overarching idea. We’re introduced to four new emotions, five if you include Nostalgia, and have Joy wrestle for control of Riley with Anxiety. Anxiety, despite mostly being reckless and unhelpful, genuinely feels she’s doing what’s best, and I have to give it up for Maya Hawke as her voice. Pixar’s pretty good at casting, but Hawke, a scattered fast-talker, is easily their best since Tom Hanks as Woody. She makes Anxiety work as well as she does.

The way Anxiety interacts with Joy is the heart and soul of Inside Out 2. Like Buzz and Woody, Joy and Anxiety start off in competition, yet learn to settle their differences in the end. That’s not easy writing to execute, as Anxiety could’ve easily been a villain the other emotions have to overcome. For most of the runtime she appears that way, always taking charge and overthinking when it isn’t appropriate. Like with Joy learning to appreciate Sadness, Anxiety has to learn to relinquish control of Riley.

Perhaps the best part is in the dénouement, which leads back to my original question: how do you show a panic attack with sensitivity and have it relatable to children? The answer involves building up the stresses Riley’s feeling gradually, make them reach a boiling point, and then show the unintended consequences that’s throwing onto Anxiety. Riley’s panic attack is rooted in teenage angst, but it feels real. So real, in fact, that it gave me, an adult, a panic attack watching it. As someone with Generalized Anxiety Disorder, I assure you panic attacks are scary, so I’m glad they’re finally getting the respect they deserve.

Even the resolution feels natural, playing from Riley’s and Anxiety’s perspectives. Riley’s decision to rub her hand against the edge of the penalty box, a form of grounding, is a cathartic release for her and the audience. And Anxiety makes the difficult decision to let go with the help of Joy, who empathizes with her for the first time. This is really clever writing, and I appreciate it given that it could’ve easily been bungled with lesser talent. It also moved me on the same level as Riley embracing her parents in the first movie, even if I didn’t cry.

Still, the movie goes further by bringing everything full-circle for Joy too. Like the first film, Joy’s struggle is acknowledging that she doesn’t have all the answers. Yet while this was initially shown through her relationship with Sadness, here it’s through acknowledging Riley’s imperfections. She spends most of this movie acting like bad memories can be discarded and forgotten, ignoring that our mistakes make us who we are. We’re flawed, messy, chaotic beings, and that’s okay. By teaching Anxiety to actually let go, she indirectly teaches herself to let go too.

I love this. As the movie ultimately addresses, anxious thoughts and concerns need to be constantly pruned and tamed for our own mental health. That doesn’t mean avoiding them, nor should you pretend they don’t exist, but we can’t let our worries be the boss of us. That’s not healthy, and it can even lead to panic attacks. Leave it to this movie to remind us about that.

Pixar has been struggling since Cars 2, both financially and qualitatively. The studio has been at a crossroads with its identity inside Disney, and if Pete Docter’s recent statements are indication, this’ll continue to be a challenge for a while. I don’t begrudge the decision to focus more on sequels going forward, everyone has to eat and pay the bills, but with Elio being the only original work for the near-future, it’s disheartening that the company that once prided themselves on unique storytelling is now being kneecapped by shareholders. Still, if Inside Out 2’s indicative of anything, there’s hope for glimpses of Pixar’s brilliance going forward. Especially if they handle mature themes as well as they did here.