By: Emma Xing

Almost as soon as it was released, Inside Out 2 broke box office records. Many people, especially children, loved the movie. And instantly, the film made 295 million dollars. But what makes Inside Out 2 such a great movie? Here are some of my opinions.

First, Inside Out 2 teaches an important lesson to kids, which is to never repress their true self. They shouldn’t act differently just to be popular or to have more friends. As the main character, Riley, goes to hockey camp with her friends, she starts to hold back her true self. She starts pretending to like different things and stops hanging out with her actual friends. But at the end, the audience can see that being who you are is important after Riley finds out the popular girls she was trying to impress liked her just as much, maybe even more, when Riley showed her true self.

Next, Inside Out 2 shows older children how to balance your emotions as you get older and hit puberty. From Inside Out one, there are only five emotions. The very basic emotions such as joy, sadness, disgust, anger, and fear. However, in Inside Out 2, three new emotions move in: Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment, and Envy. The movie shows how Anxiety took over her as the former and new emotions couldn’t work together. Soon, Riley began to lose herself. She always thought she wasn’t good enough. But at the end of the movie, all the emotions let Riley choose who she wanted to be. The movie shows the stress that hits when children hit puberty and how children must balance their emotions.

Finally, Inside Out shows people that friends are important. In the movie, Riley has two best friends, Grace and Bree. They all play hockey and go to the same school. However, during summer break at a hockey camp, she finds out Grace and Bree will be attending a different school. Disappointed, Riley stops talking to her friends. She tries to hang out with the older and popular girls instead. But Riley was so desperate to impress them, it made her miserable and nearly get kicked out of the camp. But in the end, it was Riley’s friends that helped her regain her true self.

In conclusion, Inside Out 2 teaches kids many lessons to help them in the future, which is why so many people love the movie. I recommend watching this movie.