Inside Out 2

Having been nearly a decade since the original film, one of Pixar’s most anticipated sequels, Inside Out 2, is set to arrive this summer. The trailer begins with a check-in (or reintroduction) to the original set of emotions from the first movie. Against a generic, Motown-inspired rhythmic groove with syncopated guitar and bass, we see a scene in which our protagonist, Riley, tears up the ice during a hockey game. While perfunctory (so far), the music stops at key moments, following a pattern set by many a comedic trailer as Riley’s new set of teenage emotions are introduced, with appropriate breaks in the music for punchlines.

By roughly the halfway mark, however, we get a couple of key shifts in musical tone—as well as the introduction of a choice track. At 1:06, we hear the piano intro from Gladys Knight and The Pips’ “Feeling Alright” during a scene where Riley embarrasses herself while trying to make new friends at school. The song was clearly chosen, at least in part, for the lyrical associations; Knight sings “are you feeling alright?” at 1:24, alongside the date title card and a new epic string arrangement.

This uplifting segment is short-lived, however, as an audiovisual blackout at 1:39 leads to the original emotions from Inside Out being, well, quite literally bottled up. Yet these arpeggiated, hopeful-sounding epic strings continue, perhaps signalling that Riley’s new emotions aren’t necessarily bad—just reasonably antagonistic, as would be the case for anyone’s internal feelings growing up.

Following a montage sequence we hear at 2:02 some epic percussion to help emphasize the action. “Feeling Alright” returns at 2:05 as light background music, to help indicate a comedic kicker to the trailer—introducing the “sar-chasm.”

While there’s little in the way of precise music editing or a hook like a cover song, the trailer nonetheless manages to mix in various easygoing, comedic, and hopeful tones. Collectively, they keep the trailer feeling light. While there will be, no doubt, some heavier scenes in the film itself, there’s little to no indication of that here—a conscious choice, made in tandem with its positioning as family fare for the summer.

Inside Out 2 gets dragged into theatres June 14th.

— Curtis Perry