Pixar is following up its 2015 animation hit with Everything Stands on its Head 2 – and once again hits the heart with a more mature story and new emotions
Almost 10 years ago, Pixar and Disney delivered a real stroke of genius with The Standing Stone. The original story about the childlike Riley and her emotions, who have to cope with a move together and learn that sadness is part of life, left a lasting impression not only on animated film fans. With a great rating of 98 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, the film is still considered one of the best representatives of its genre.
So it’s no wonder that Pixar wants to build on this mega-success and is now awaiting the big screen release of Everything Stands on its Head 2. The expectations for the animated sequel were no less high, as were the fears that a sequel would not be able to reach the comedic heights and emotional depths of the first part. It is therefore all the more pleasing that Everything’s Upside Down 2 is in fact almost as good as its predecessor. A new story and new emotions help the adventure to successfully expand the series – first and foremost with the favorite emotion of all new teenagers: doubt.
Puberty causes chaos in Everything is upside down 2 – and brings doubts with it
After moving house, 13-year-old Riley has arrived in San Francisco. Here she has joined the field hockey team and made good friends. But when it’s time to transfer to junior high and the field hockey coach at her new school invites her and her friends to a three-day training camp, puberty hits Riley overnight. And with it comes a whole host of new emotions: Doubt, envy, embarrassment and ennui.
Watch the trailer for Everything is upside down 2 here:
Doubt, in particular, is spreading unusually in the headquarters of Riley’s emotions and is slowly but surely trying to suppress the existing emotions of joy and sadness. As a result, Riley leaves behind more and more of what makes her tick in order to make friends with her new classmates. Joy and the other emotions have no choice but to go on an adventure through the back of Riley’s mind, reminding her who she really is – and stopping doubt from taking over.
Everything is Upside Down 2 is a journey through the emotions and fears of our youth – and our lives
Part 1 of the animated series already shone with its sensitive and emotional wisdom, which went far beyond the boundaries of the childlike Riley and also allowed adult viewers to empathize deeply. Where joy and sadness faced each other back then and had to learn to exist together, doubt (more aptly referred to as anxiety in the original) now finds its way into Riley’s teenage existence in Everything is upside down 2.
Suddenly she starts to question things, is afraid of not belonging, measures herself against others and doubts herself. Childlike innocence is slowly but surely shed as a new place in life has to be fought for. Once again, this is a universally applicable story that anyone who has gone through adolescence will be able to relate to.
(Puberty brings doubts)
The emotion of doubt (voiced in the original by Stranger Things star Maya Hawke) itself is as endearing as it is annoying, as it visualizes a little too precisely all the worries and horror scenarios that keep trying to break into Riley’s head (and ours at the time) and suppress any confidence. However, together with her comrades-in-arms Envy, Peinlich and Ennui, she adds a new dimension to the story, which once again results in a heartbreaking punchline that ultimately lands right in the heart and has a lasting effect.
The journey of emotions through the back of Riley’s head – joy, sadness, disgust, fear and anger – is a fun and exciting adventure full of original ideas and characters. When emotions have to be suppressed, secrets divulged or the canyon of sarcasm and streams of thought have to be crossed, Alles steht Kopf 2 certainly scores points for younger viewers, who may – or rather, fortunately – not yet be able to deal with all the doubts.
