Behind the Scenes of Inside Out 2 with Kelsey Mann and Mark Neilsen

Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear are back in Inside Out 2! But this time they are joined by four new emotions, led by Anxiety. Director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Neilsen took us behind the scenes of Inside Out 2 to share more about the sequel.

Behind the Scenes of Inside Out 2 with Kelsey Mann and Mark Neilsen

Riley is 13 now, what's the worst that could happen? Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), and Disgust (Liza Lapira) are busy thinking everything is running smoothly when bam! New Emotions! Headquarters undergoes a sudden demolition and the core group finds themselves face-to-face with Anxiety (Maya Hawke) and she's not alone. Joining her are Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos).

I spent some time at the beautiful Pixar Campus getting a behind the scenes look at Inside Out 2. From character development and storyboards to sketches and finalizing animation, it was amazing to see just a small piece of what it took to bring this film to life. Capping off experience was a chance to hear from director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Neilsen. The two shared how the story came about as well as gave a little insight into the new emotions, and a fun little personality island that didn't make the cut… this time.

The first Inside Out won an Academy Award® for best animated feature film and a Golden Globe® for best motion picture – animated. Stepping into Pete Doctor's shoes and living up to the original film sounds daunting. But Kelsey and Mark were ready.

Kelsey: Every movie that we do here at Pixar has a high bar so it's nothing new. It's been that way since I stepped through those gates on day one of feeling that kind of pressure of needing to make something great. There's nobody's feet I'd rather follow than that man [Pete Doctor]. I'm from Minnesota and Pete grew up just a town away from where I grew up. In the first studio I ever worked at, when I started there they're like, hey, there [was] this dude here named Pete and he's off in the Bay Area now making movies. So I've really been following Pete's footsteps for a long time but I feel nothing but excitement. Joy's at my console. And of course you want to make sure you're doing right by everyone that loves the original film and I'm just more excited than I am scared.

Mark: I was the associate producer on the first film [and] I am just thrilled to be back working in this world again. Kelsey came up with such a great story and when you've got such a great story to get behind, some of that pressure starts to drop because you know, you've got something that is going to be good for the world.

Kelsey: When he [Pete] first asked me to go off and think of some ideas, he's like “I don't have a thought of what we could do, but I think you'd be a good person to go off and think about if there's a story there or not. If there isn't, then we're not going to make it.” Then I narrowed in on something that I thought was very true, the way I was a teenager and I pitched that to Pete. Then I looked into what happens in our brains at that age, and it's a lot. It gave us everything that we kind of need for a Pixar movie. There's a lot of drama that goes on but it's also really funny.

Figuring Out The New Emotions Of Inside Out 2

Kelsey: There were lots of emotions that didn't make the cut, both for this film and the original film. I even started by rewatching every single screening of the first movie. I just wanted to see if there [were] any gems that were in there that I could bring back in. One of them is the emotion of schadenfreude…it was this German character that for those of you who don't know, it's the feeling that you get joy at someone else's expense.

My first screening that we did–nine new emotions showed up. I really wanted Joy to feel overwhelmed by all these new emotions…they all cancel each other out because you couldn't keep up with everybody. My first note from the first screening was simplify. Why did we end up with the ones we ended up with? First and foremost, I knew Riley was going to be dealing with becoming a teenager, so it's got to be the emotions that show up and drive at the console when we're teenagers.

I [met] with Dr. Dacher Keltner, he was our emotional expert on the first film. I brought him back in when it was just me by myself in development. I had a list of emotions and he saw them over my shoulders. I [had] written them all down on the wall and I go which ones feel right for a teenager? He looked at the list [and said] “it's all the ones that are the self conscious emotions.” We're hardwired at this age to start to become really self conscious. In part we're doing it because when you're a kid, you've got your parents and your caregivers taking care of you. And eventually, you're going to have to take care of yourself and that's why we're hardwired to push our parents and our caregivers away so that we can become independent people. So that's why you worry so much [about] how do I fit in? Do you like me? […] That's why we kind of worry so much about what others think of us at that age and it turns out it never goes away. You kind of have to manage it, which is a big reason why I'm making this movie.

Procrastination Land- The Personality Island That Didn't Make The Cut

Kelsey: We had a land called procrastination land and the joke with it was, it was always under construction. We had workers who were like, “Hey, should we start building this land today? Maybe tomorrow?” I couldn't fit it in a natural way. It always felt forced. In these movies, you just need to make sure you're having forward momentum and procrastination is the opposite of that. It makes you sit down! So suddenly the movie came to a complete halt and we were like this is really funny, but it just stopped. I swear we can make that work. It's got to come back. It's such a funny thing.

Inside Out 2 releases in theaters June 14, 2024.

*this interview has been edited for clarity and length.