The ‘Inside Out 2’ director explains why it’s considered a takeover movie.
The Big Picture
-
Inside Out 2
follows Riley hitting puberty with new emotions, including Anxiety, Embarrassment, Ennui, and Envy. - Director Kelsey Mann cites
All About Eve
as a major inspiration for
Inside Out 2
. - Anxiety will cause a takeover in Riley’s mind, pushing Joy and other emotions out.
Emotions are high as we inch closer to the highly anticipated Inside Out 2 this summer. The sequel to Inside Out follows Riley (Kensington Tallman) as the teenager hits puberty, and with it, new emotions, such as Anxiety, voiced by Stranger Things star Maya Hawke, invade Riley’s mind and her sense of self, throwing Joy (Amy Poehler) and the rest of Riley’s emotions in for a loop. The sequel also stars Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, and Tony Hale.
During a press conference at Pixar Animation Studios where Collider was in attendance, Inside Out 2 director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielson shared different sources of inspiration for the movie. Although Mann and Nielson revealed how their teenagers impacted the story of Inside Out 2, they also looked to other films for inspiration. When asked about other influences on the themes of the Inside Out sequel, Mann revealed that Inside Out 2 is a takeover movie in the vein of All About Eve. Here’s what Mann said:
“I always pitched it as a takeover movie. And that movie, to go back to your question was
All About Eve
, do you guys know
All About Eve
? For those of you don’t know, it’s about like a young ingénue actress that takes over like an established stage actress’ career. And I’m like, “Oh, I want to make that type of movie. I think that would be really interesting.” So
All About Eve
is the one I would definitely say.”
The 1950 film stars Bette Davis as Margo Channing, an esteemed actress fading out of Broadway. Her entire life changes when her superfan Eve Harrington (Anne Baxter) inserts herself into Margo’s life. This leads to Eve taking roles from Margo and her rise to fame while wreaking havoc on Margo’s life and career. All About Eve is one of three films that hold the most Oscar nominations to date; the other two films are Titanic and La La Land. The film ended up winning six Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
‘Inside Out 2’ and ‘All About Eve’ Are Both Takeover Movies
With the plot of All About Eve in mind, it starts to piece together the relationship Anxiety will have with Joy and the rest of her emotions. Just as Eve infiltrates Margo’s life, Anxiety enters Riley’s world and pushes Joy out of headquarters, with the help of other emotions such as Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser), and Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Mann describes how early on in development, he knew that he wanted Anxiety to take over headquarters from them. This is what Mann said:
“So I always knew that I wanted to do a movie where Anxiety came in and she took over. And ‘cause your emotions definitely can take over, especially at this age, and so I’m like, “Oh, it’s a takeover movie.””
Inside Out 2 will be released in theaters June 14, 2024. Stay tuned at Collider for further updates.
Inside Out 2
Follow Riley, in her teenage years, encountering new emotions.
This article was originally published on collider.com