Inside Out 2 Takes Inspiration From a Surprising Adam Sandler Movie

This month’s Disney and Pixar sequel, Inside Out 2, will take inspiration from a surprising Adam Sandler movie. Rather than the more obvious (and family-friendly) choices of Hotel Transylvania or Bedtime Stories, or perhaps even his best-known comedies such as Happy Gilmore or Grown Ups, Inside Out 2 instead looks to Sandler’s 2019 crime thriller Uncut Gems for cues on how to portray feelings of anxiety.

In a new feature from Animation Magazine, anxiety being a “core influence” on Inside Out 2 led director of layout photography Adam Habib to take inspiration from Uncut Gems, which follows Sandler as a jeweller and gambling addict who finds himself out of his depth and struggling to pay of debts.

Uncut Gems

Release Date

August 30, 2019

Runtime

130

Tagline

This is how I win.

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At the time, Uncut Gems was praised for its depiction of anxiety, with critics calling the directing duo the Safdies “masters of anxiety-inducing cinema.” Thus, the “visual language” of Inside Out 2 takes influence from the thriller and how they put certain scenes together. As Animation Magazine reveals…

“The shaky cinematography of the Safdie Brothers movie inspired their technique. The Inside Out 2 animation team built static sets during production and then put the digital characters inside those sets. Then they put a virtual camera that could be used like a camera for a live-action film inside the sets. Once this was done, they would move the virtual camera around the sets they’d made to try out new angles and shot setups to see what would work best for the movie.”

Anxiety Will Play a Big Role in Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2

Release Date

June 14, 2024

Director

Kelsey Mann

Studio

Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Tagline

Oh Joy!

Franchise

Pixar

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Directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen, Inside Out 2 stars Maya Hawke as Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as Joy, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, Lewis Black as Anger, Tony Hale as Fear, and Liza Lapira as Disgust. Mann has previously teased the role of Anxiety in the Pixar sequel, saying…

“Anxiety, voiced by Maya Hawke, might be new to the crew, but she’s not really the type to take a back seat. That makes a lot of sense if you think about it in terms of what goes on inside all our minds.

Anxiety is going to try to take control of the console every time, and Maya Hawke knew how to get that sound in her voice when she took on this character. And the other emotions like Joy might try to take control from her, but it’s almost impossible,” Mann revealed. “There were lots of opportunities for us to have fun with that. Anxiety is always two steps ahead; she’s always thinking of the next move. Joy plays checkers but Anxiety plays chess. She can outmaneuver all of them.”

Related

Pixar Channels Inside Out Magic into Upcoming TV Series

Pixar is dreaming big as it ventures into television with the Inside Out TV series.

You can check out the official synopsis for the Disney and Pixar sequel below.

“Disney and Pixar’s “Inside Out 2” returns to the mind of newly minted teenager Riley just as headquarters is undergoing a sudden demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions! Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who’ve long been running a successful operation by all accounts, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not alone.”