Pixar’s newest release,Inside Out 2, officially had one of thestudio’s highest-grossing opening weekends, achieving the success that Pixar has now come to expect. This long-awaited sequelis all about growing up and mental health, focusing on Riley’s (Kensington Tallman) emotions as she matures. The film introduces Anxiety (Maya Hawke) into the mix, as Riley tries to figure out who she is and loses parts of herself — literally her Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Tony Hale), and Disgust (Liza Lapira) — which are all pushed away by the overwhelming nature of Anxiety. Thestory shows Riley growing up and navigating new situations as new emotions join the team, forcing the group in her head to learn to work together despite their differences.
JoiningPixar’s long list of popular films,Inside Out 2had a lot to live up to, especially as a sequel, and it carries on Pixar’s legacy in many ways. Not only does the movie continue the tradition of exploring difficult conversations and centering on an emotional story, but it also features one of the studio’s surprising strengths: skillfully depicting embarrassing teenage protagonists.Over the years, Pixar has had several girl leads dealing with unique growing pains, includingTurning Red’s Mei (Rosalie Chiang),The Incredibles' Violet (Sarah Vowell), and evenBrave’s Merida (Kelly Macdonald). This crew now includesInside Out’s Riley, as the sequel ages her up to 13 years old, opening up new struggles. Through these unique characters,these Pixar films get one thing right about tween girls– being that age is embarrassing!
Inside Out 2
Inside Out 2 follows the emotional journey of a now-teenage Riley as she encounters new challenges and emotions. As her mind expands, so does the complexity of her inner world, where new emotions must collaborate with old ones to guide her through adolescence, creating dynamic and heartfelt experiences.
‘Inside Out 2’s Riley and ‘Turning Red’s Mei Grow Through Their Embarrassment
One universal experience of growing up is finding yourself in embarrassing situations, and the tween protagonists of Pixar are no different.Inside Out 2literallyadds the emotion of Embarrassment(Paul Walter Hauser) to Riley’s mind, showing her increased capacity for the feeling. The big, shy emotion plays an important role in the story, but he also offers a lot of humor. Throughout the film, Riley embarrasses herself several times. The most prominent example is when she makes a bad impression on her local hockey idol, Val (Lilimar Hernandez), the team captain at the high school she’s about to attend. When Riley is unable to stop herself from talking, the emotions shift control, making her try out a few different tactics, each getting worse. Finally, Embarrassment takes over the control panel in her mind, showing how she is feeling. It’s a funny gag, but all too real.
Although the audience cannot see inside other characters’ heads, this is not the first time Pixar has shown the power of embarrassment.In 2022’sTurning Red, Mei’s overwhelming emotions — namely her embarrassment —literally turn her into a giant red panda. Almost everyinteraction with her motherembarrasses Mei, and rightly so, like when Ming (Sandra Oh) discovers the sketches Mei drew of the convenience store cashier, Devon (Addison Chandler), who Mei is secretly crushing on. As if her mother knowing these exist isn’t bad enough, Ming drives to the store to confront him, showing him and everyone else present what Mei drew, including some drawings of Devon as a shirtless merman. It’s no wonder Mei wants to change her identity after that experience.
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Mei is embarrassed many more times throughoutTurning Red, both by Ming, and by her uncontrollable ability to turn into a red panda. Later in the movie, Ming shows up at Mei’s school with supplies, believing Mei is on her period. Mei’s embarrassment is palpable as she hides her face while her class watches her mother running from a security guard and screaming about Mei’s period products. While Mei gets an unfair helping of embarrassment, this makes her relatable. Most parents embarrass their kids at some point (though hopefully not to the extent of Ming).Feeling embarrassed is a real part of thetween girl experience, making Mei’s emotions resonate with the audience— even if they have never been cursed to transform into a red panda.
‘The Incredibles’ and ‘Brave’ Also Feature Awkward Teen Protagonists
In the Pixar universe, Mei is not alone in these feelings. While Violet is not thecentral character inThe IncrediblesorThe Incredibles 2, she uses her powers to disappear because she’s embarrassed to be seen. Violet’s powers are very telling, because aside from turning invisible, her other ability is creating force fields to literally shield herself from the outside world. However, the best scene to show Violet’s embarrassment is inThe Incredibles 2, when her father drags the family to a restaurant, knowing full well Violet will run into her crush, Tony (Michael Bird), whose memory of her was erased.When Violet sees Tony, water shoots violently out of her noseand her face turns red as she chokes and coughs. These moments are funny because they are relatable, whether the audience is a teen themselves or just remembers what it was like. Everyone gets embarrassed, especially young teenagers, and that is what Pixar shows.
In a different way, even a fearless character likeBrave’s Merida suffers from this kind of pressure. Withher perpetually untamed hairand the way that her mother points out how she is not the perfect princess, Merida goes through similarly awkward moments.Though Merida herself is carefree, her mother often seems embarrassed by her behavior, like snorting when she laughs or being caught mid-snack while making an important entrance. In this attitude, these characters portray a major part of the tween experience. Even the audience feels second-hand embarrassment at times, remembering just how awkward this age can be.
Pixar Doesn’t Shy Away From the Awkwardness of Growing Up
Yet, Pixar goes a step further than letting these characters feel embarrassed, as they show awkward tendencies that the characters don’t even realize they will someday be embarrassed by.With hindsight, being a tween is even more embarrassing than it was at the time, and Pixar reinforces that idea.Inside Out 2shows Riley and her friends, Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green), goofing off, stopping to take silly pictures, and just being kids. These moments show that they are awkward, and that’s okay. Similarly,Turning RedshowsMei, Priya (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), Miriam (Ava Morse), and Abby (Hyein Park)having random dance parties, obsessing over the boyband 4*Town, and even spying on a cashier they find attractive. The totally un-self-aware awkwardness intensifies the sensation of being this age. Adults have clear memories of what it was like being a tween, often being retroactively embarrassed by what they did, and these films show that.
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“Oh my gosh! I’m anxiety! Where can I put my stuff?”
Inside Out 2’s clearest depiction of this is in a scene where Riley is trying to fit in with the older girls at her hockey camp and lying about her favorite band, but when her friends overhear and reveal the truth, Riley tries to cover her tracks with sarcasm. It’s easy to see through her words, butRiley believes she succeeds, resulting in a cringe-worthy moment for the audience. While Riley continues as normal, the audience, especially those who have had similar experiences, want to shrink back and hide their faces in sympathy. These moments create a connection between Riley and the audience, making her more endearing even as she makes poor choices, because many can relate to this kind of experience that may still keep them up at night.
Pixar’s Portrayal of Tween Girls Is Relatable for Children and Adults
There are many characters in this age range throughout film and television, but so often, they are made into the person everyone wants to be, never awkward or embarrassing. It’s significant that Pixar defies that to accurately portray the experience of being a tween. It should not be lost on us that a large portion of Pixar’s audience is younger, including the age range of these characters. By creating awkward and embarrassing characters,Pixar shows the good and bad of this stage of life, demonstrating that those in the midst of this experience are not alone. Characters likeInside Out’s Riley andTurning Red’s Mei validate their emotions and normalize their struggles, which makes these characters important. And, as a bonus, it makes for a good joke for adults who remember the feeling all too well.
Pixar’s characters embody the embarrassing life of a tween, showing the difficult parts of this stage. Yet they don’t get so caught up in that they are not joyful, exuberant, and fun, evenat an age when it seems like every little mortification is the end of the world. Pixar allows these girls to be young, even as they are growing up, becausethey are still children.Turning RedandInside Out 2are especially good examples of this, not only because the girl is the central character, or in Riley’s case, her specific emotions, but because their lives are easily relatable.Turning Redfocuses on a mother-daughter relationship, whileInside Out 2is about friendships and struggling to fit in. With these stories, Pixar doesn’t shy away from the realistic struggles of being a tween girl, but they highlight the joy of it as well, allowing the characters to be young, carefree, and, yes, awkward.
