Inside Out 2, the sequel to Pixar’s incredibly clever spin on the voices inside our head, is heading to theaters on June 14. If you’re unfamiliar, the first film personified the emotions of a teenage girl named Riley as five colorful people in her noggin. The whole thing was built on taking concepts related to the mind, such as the “train of thought,” and interpreting them literally, but with great comedic flair and invention.
And sometimes they’re not just on people; they’re on cartoon characters,” director Kelsey Mann told Total Film. “That’s speaking from experience! Or videogame characters. We thought, ‘Oh, that would be so great. Riley could have a crush on a video game character. We could animate that character like he’s from a videogame, and have that kind of look – that kind of pixelated look.’ We were like, ‘That could be really fun to do, and hopefully something that’s really relatable to a lot of people.