April 16th, 2024 
Jackson Murphy 
Last month I visited Pixar Animation Studios to screen the first half-hour of the highly-anticipated Inside Out 2 and interview the film’s makers. Ahead of the sequel’s June 14th release date, I’ll have three Animation Scoop Q&A pieces. This first one is with director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielsen. (The first question was asked during a press conference and the remaining questions were asked during a sit-down interview. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.)
Jackson Murphy: There’s a line Sadness says early on that’s something to the effect of, “I don’t want to mess it up. I don’t want to break it. I don’t want to burn it to the ground.” And as I heard that I thought, “How autobiographical is that when it comes to you taking on a sequel to a movie people LOVE?”
Kelsey Mann: Every movie that we do here at Pixar has a high bar. It’s nothing new. It’s been that way since I stepped through those gates on day one — feeling that pressure of needing to make something great. This feels familiar to me too because I worked on “Monsters University.” I’m following Pete Docter’s footsteps yet again, and there’s nobody’s feet I’d rather follow than that man. I feel nothing but excitement. Joy’s at my console. Of course you want to make sure that you’re doing right to everyone that loves the original film. I want to do Pete proud. I want to do everybody who loves the original proud. I’m more excited than I am scared.
Mark Nielsen: I was the associate producer on the first film. I am thrilled to be back working in this world again. Kelsey came-up with such a great story — such a great story to get behind. Some of that pressure starts to drop [when] you know you’ve got something that’s gonna be good for the world.
KM: When 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. And if there isn’t, then we’re not gonna make it.” I narrowed in on something I thought was very true to the way I was as a teenager. I pitched that to Pete. Normally you pitch three ideas when you’re in development, and I was gonna do that, but I knew one of them was Riley as a teenager. I knew that was one of the pitches I should do. And then I looked into what happens in our brains at that age, and it’s a lot. (laughs) There’s a lot that goes on. It gave us everything we kind of need for a Pixar movie. There’s a lot of drama that goes on, but also it’s really funny. I could come-up with a lot of really good gags about Riley — being inside the mind of a teenager.
JM: It’s been about nine years since the first one. In the footage I’ve seen so far, a sense of belief is a strong aspect. The belief in these characters, the belief system and believing in other people. How do you believe in these characters — as you’re bringing the ones we’ve already seen to life again and the new ones?
KM: It’s great to believe in these characters. And the entire team here at Pixar that makes them come to life. They’re pretty easy to believe in.
MN: There are a lot of people to believe in at this studio.
KM: Yeah. You look at a character, and I look at the people who made it come alive. You can’t help but really believe in the wonderful talent that’s behind those characters.
MN: The belief system is something we’re really proud of, and it’s a new element in “Inside Out 2” that’s one of those places in Riley’s mind that audiences have never been to before. That’s just one of the places we’re gonna be taking audiences to — many new unexplored places to visit in this film.
JM: That’s amazing. I talked with Pete Docter a little over a year ago about the depth of Amy Poehler’s voice performance as Joy, which I think is one of the strongest voice performances ever in a Pixar movie. How did you and her approach the depths that Joy is going through in this sequel?
KM: I love Amy Poehler. From the first day I met her I was like, “She is fantastic.” I remember Pete Docter and Jonas Rivera (the producer on the original film) being like, “You’re inheriting a great cast.” We love this cast. And now in working with them, I see what they mean. I wanna put Amy Poehler in everything I do. She’s so fantastic to work with. The best direction I can give Amy is just saying, “Okay, now say it however you want.” (laughs) Gold comes out of that, especially if we’ve worked a line. I go, “Now that you know what it needs to be… it needs to be about Joy’s jealousy of Anxiety doing better than you are… say it however you want.” So many takes are in the movie because she went off and ad-libbed.
MN: No one knows that character better than Amy. She developed it and she loved taking it deeper. And going into this new story, Joy is the protagonist of this film — and going to the next stage of Riley’s life and all the challenges Joy is facing in this — Amy just soaked it in and really connected with it on a deep, emotional level. She brings so much charm, humor and empathy to that character.
JM: Mark, you won an Oscar for “Toy Story 4”.
KM: You did?! (laughs)
MN: Yes.
KM: Is that why you keep telling me to wash your car?
JM: (laughs) And I think a lot of people say, “Oh, why do we need sequels? Why do we need more?” But I love these Pixar sequels because you get more time with these characters. You get more adventures. And is that the appeal for you coming back?
MN: Absolutely. These are characters that I love so much. “Toy Story 4” was so precious to me because I worked on “Toy Story 2” many, many years earlier. And it’s such a pleasure to bring those characters to life. It was inspiring back then. And you want to do right by them. You’re working for those characters to make sure you don’t let them down. You’ve got to have a great story you believe in and a reason to tell it, and it’s gotta add to and expand the universe that that world is in. When you’ve got that, there’s nothing like it, and it’s incredible to revisit with these actors — new stories and take them to new places and face new challenges.
JM: What’s interesting about Anxiety is that she predicts the future — analyzing it, with lots of options. You guys have to do that when it comes to this movie. You’ve been working on it for four years. You have to look at what it will be, what it could be and all of those options. So how did it feel kind of blending who Anxiety is with what you were going through making this movie?
KM: You know what, man? I’m making a movie about anxiety for a reason. It’s because we all have it, and we all have it at different levels. Sometimes that thought feeling can do a lot of good, and it’s a lot of the reasons why I’m here directing this movie. I’m able to think very quickly. “What if this or that happens? How am I able to avoid that? I gotta remember to do that. I can do this and that.” But at times it can be too much and she can take over, which is in part why we’re making this movie. It’s all about a takeover. [Anxiety] was always there from the original pitch. Pretty early on I narrowed in on doing a movie that’s all about that. Anxiety is all about… potential threats. Fear is the feeling you get of a known threat. I see a tiger in front of me. “Ah! I’m scared.” Anxiety is the fear of a perceived threat. “I think there might be a tiger around the corner. There may be one here or there or there. You know what? It’s better to assume that they’re everywhere because then we’ll be safe.” But that can be extremely overwhelming. It is all about the future. A lot of what this movie is about is learning to go, “Okay. I hear you. There may or may not be, but what’s right here in front of us…” It’s about staying in the present and worrying less about the future — just worrying about, “Okay. What’s happening right now?” That’s in part learning to manage anxiety, which is what we tried to put in this movie.
JM: That’s really important. “Inside Out” is one of the highest grossing Pixar movies ever. I think now more than ever, with the return to theaters over the last couple years, families love the theatrical experience, and you are giving them an epic experience. What does that mean to you?
MN: We want nothing more than for people to come out and see this movie in theaters. It’s gonna be a long time if they’re gonna wait for Disney+. They should come out in June and see it in theaters. We made this film in the 2:39:1 aspect ratio to take advantage of the widest possible screen. There’s massive effects sequences in this movie. Literal cliffhangers in this film. (laughs) It’s loaded up with detail that you can really only truly appreciate on a big screen. This is what we love more than anything — the communal experience of families and friends coming together to just experience the movie together in a big room with great sound and picture. That’s what we want.
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