How filmmakers made INSIDE OUT 2 2024’s biggest hit

On By Littum

Released: January 10, 2025

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How filmmakers made INSIDE OUT 2 2024’s biggest hit

By Movieguide® Contributor

INSIDE OUT 2 was a huge hit last year and became the first animated film in history to reach $1 billion. The story focuses on 13-year-old Riley navigating her emotions as a teenager.

In a recent discussion with Variety, director Kelsey Mann, producer Mark Nielsen, writers Dave Holstein and Meg LeFauve and composer Andrea Datzman shared some behind-the-scenes thoughts on the box office hit.

LeFauve shared, “Pixar is all about iteration, so not only do you have a story that works on three different levels, it works with Riley, who has her own story that follows its world rules. You have headquarters, then you have Joy down in the mind. So it’s like three-dimensional chess to write it.”

Holstein shared that a thought behind the creation of the story was “How does it feel to be replaced? We take for granted that Joy is the main character and is always driving in these movies, but maybe that’s not the reality. For me, that’s what what works about this movie is that it’s a very fun, LOONEY TUNES drivel for about 70 minutes, and then you realize, ‘Oh, it’s about something very serious.’”

So serious, in fact, that the makers of the film surveyed teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 16 to give their thoughts on the film and share their input.

“For Mann, it was important for ‘teenagers today to be able to look up at the screen and say they were right,'” Variety said.

Movieguide® praised INSIDE OUT 2’s family-friendly values.

INSIDE OUT 2 is a wonderful, family-friendly animated film. The film is lovely, funny, inventive and heartwarming. It has many positive messages. For example, it promotes “the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8:10c) and doing the right thing, controlling your emotions and not letting worries overcome your decision making. INSIDE OUT 2 also promotes kindness, friendship, repentance and forgiveness. MOVIEGUIDE® advises caution for younger children for scenes of danger and a large scary but non-threatening character. Unlike other recent animated films, INSIDE OUT 2 does not have any vigilante or politically correct content.

READ MORE: INSIDE OUT 2 REVIEW

The film boasts the no. 1 seats at 2024 domestic and worldwide box offices, earnings $652,980,194 and $1,698,778,437, respectively.

READ MORE: DISNEY’S 2024 FAMILY FILM RULES AT THE BOX OFFICE

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