Use this sequel to explore kids' evolving emotions, sense of self, and anxiety.
Inside Out 2 is a sequel to the Pixar movie Inside Out. It picks up with the main character, Riley, about to enter high school. As she matures, she experiences more emotions—which become characters in the story—and her relationships become more complex. The pressures to achieve and fit in are central to the plot.
With its personification of her emotions, the movie allows a nonjudgmental view of the sometimes difficult choices we make as we grow up. Students can watch Riley grapple with anxiety, embarrassment, and wanting to be "cool" as they find parallels to their own experiences. And they can reflect on what makes up their own sense of self.
Things to Know Before You Show Pixar's Inside Out 2 to Your Students
This guide offers two different approaches to teaching Inside Out 2:
- Show a few specific clips, paired with discussion questions.
- Show the entire film, paired with a more in-depth lesson plan.
Feel free to use either approach, or even combine the two into one lesson (or an entire unit) based around the movie. If you only have a single class period, showing just a few key clips listed below might be perfect. If you decide to help students delve deeper into the topic, you might show the entire film and have more extensive discussions over multiple days. Of course, you could also use some combination of the two, adapting the lesson to best suit your class's needs. Also, consider pairing this movie with our Thinking Traps and Grind Culture: Pressures and Self-Care lessons to apply these concepts to digital life.
Lesson Objectives
The full lesson is designed to align with the CASEL 5 competencies for social and emotional learning, as well as various Thinking Routines from the Harvard Graduate School of Education's Project Zero.
With this lesson, you can help your students:
- Identify their own feelings.
- Acknowledge the value of having a range of emotions.
- Think through what it means for emotions to have context.
- Connect their own personal experiences to the movie's messages.
- Resolve conflicts constructively.
- Link feelings, values, and thoughts.
- Anticipate and evaluate the consequences of one's actions.
- Think about the ways they currently self-regulate, and explore possibilities for other ways.
- Think about helpful versus unhelpful responses to emotions from themselves and others.
Clips and Discussion Questions for Students
If you only want to show brief parts of the film and discuss them with students, use these helpful clips to get you started. You can also use these in conjunction with the longer lesson plan below.
The time stamps can help you pick and choose your areas of focus. Use as few or as many clips as you see fit, but keep in mind that you may need to introduce the movie's overall plot and talk through some of what happens before or after each clip.
Clip #1: Riley is participating in a hockey game, and Joy, Anger, Fear, Disgust, and Sadness all play a role. (0:58–3:05)
- How do Riley's emotions each serve a purpose during the game? During the course of a typical school day, how often do your emotions change, and what purposes do they serve?
Clip #2: The emotions realize that Riley's memories form beliefs, and those beliefs help form Riley's sense of self. (4:08–5:21)
- Riley has beliefs like, "I'm a good friend." What beliefs do you have about yourself? Can you trace any back to specific memories? How do they help form your sense of self?
- Riley starts believing she is a good friend when she helps a new student who has had an embarrassing moment. How do you think Riley's words and actions make the new student, Grace, feel better?
Clip #3: Even as her parents congratulate her, Riley focuses on how her penalty could have cost her team the game. (7:11–9:09)
- Discuss: Why isn't Riley just focusing on the win? Why do you think the memory about the penalty just pops into her mind?
- What do you think of Joy's plan to put negative memories in the back of Joy's mind? What do you do with your negative thoughts and self-talk?
Clip #4: Joy and Sadness visit the Belief System. (9:15–11:30)
- Joy says to Sadness, "Where I go, you go." This is a big change from the beginning of the first movie, in which Joy tried to prevent all sadness! What do you think this statement means?
Clip #5: The emotions wake up to the puberty alarm, and a demolition team comes in to make adjustments for new emotions. (11:47–15:04)
- Riley's 13, but puberty can start at different times for different people. What are some signs that puberty might be starting? What are some ways the movie shows how puberty can affect emotions and their intensity?
Clip #6: Riley finds out Brie and Grace aren't going to the same high school as her. (15:08–18:04)
- Talk about the part where the friends are reading each other's facial expressions and reacting.
- If you can read facial expressions, think about a time when you could tell someone was hiding something just from their nonverbal communication. We don't have these kinds of clues via text message. Why is that important to consider?
- Why does Riley pretend it's no big deal that her friends are going to another high school?
Clip #7: Riley expresses her sadness and then realizes there are high schoolers nearby. (17:47–18:18)
- Why does Joy say, "It's OK. We need this"? Similarly, why do some people say, "It's OK to cry" or "I need a good cry"? What's important about letting ourselves feel our emotions fully?
- Do you feel like Riley when you're around older kids? Why or why not?
Clip #8: Riley meets her idol, Valentina, and the new emotions are introduced. (18:24–23:04)
- Why doesn't Riley correct Val about where she's from? Think about meeting your idol: Would you correct them? Why or why not?
- There are probably other emotions the creators could have included: Why do you think they chose the ones they did (Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui)?
- Joy and Anxiety disagree about whether to focus on having fun with existing friends or making new ones out of fear of possible negative future scenarios. Do you think the real-life emotions of joy and anxiety are at odds inside of us? Why or why not?
Clip #9: Joy guides Riley's decision to sit with her friends but also to keep having fun, which gets her in trouble with the coach, who punishes the whole team. (23:43–25:12)
- Up until now, it's been OK for Riley and her friends to be goofy and have fun in the locker room, but this high school coach is tougher and more serious. Some kids face tough and serious situations much earlier than 13. What do you think this says about Riley's life experiences so far (also taking into account what we know from the first movie)? How do you think tough and serious experiences or people we might encounter as young kids could shape our emotions and reactions?
- Riley's parents are supportive and pay attention to her, but this isn't true for everyone. How can we form a positive sense of self even when caregivers aren't as loving or supportive as Riley's parents?
Clip #10: Riley overhears the girls talking about her, and Anxiety decides that Riley needs to impress Val. Then, Anxiety breaks Riley's belief that she's a good friend and bottles up Riley's other emotions. (25:13–29:54)
- Anxiety is focused on Riley's future and goals that she thinks will improve things. What does Anxiety not care about? In other words, when Anxiety takes control, what can we lose sight of?
- Riley's original emotions are the pure emotions that begin with childhood, and the new ones (anxiety, etc.) usually come as we mature (or sometimes with tough and serious life experiences). So what do you think life feels like if the pure emotions from childhood are bottled up, leaving the others to guide us?
- Sometimes negative thoughts are based on conditions we can't really control or that don't totally make sense. Riley's new belief is like this: "If I'm a Firehawk, I won't be alone." How is this "if/then" thinking different from her former belief of "I am a good friend?"
Clip #11: The original emotions are taken to the Vault of Secrets, but they escape with the help of Riley's other secrets. (29:55–34:47)
- Riley's secrets are pretty amusing and harmless. Again, what does this tell us about her life so far? Would every 13-year-old's secrets all be this innocent? How might more serious secrets affect someone?
- Is there a difference between secrets and information you want to keep private? If so, what is it?
- It's really common to still like things that are meant for younger people. Are there any "little kid" things you still like? Why do you think they still appeal to you?
Clip #12: Joy says her plan is to retrieve Riley's sense of self from the back of her mind while Anxiety and Envy run the console, so she can prioritize being the best hockey player and being friends with Val. (34:47–38:39)
- Why do you think the creators used paper cutout-style animation to show Joy's plan? What do you think of her plan? Why?
- What do you think about Anxiety's system of making Riley skate a lap every time she misses a shot? Why?
- How do you think it feels to try to make a new friend with Anxiety in control? What about with Joy in control?
Clip #13: Riley forms another Anxiety-made belief and hangs out with Val and her friends. (40:22–43:11)
- Riley's new belief is that if she's good at hockey, she'll have friends. What qualities do you think make someone appealing as a friend? Do they need to be good at the same activities as you? How is Anxiety's reasoning flawed?
- Riley is worried about what other people think about her, which makes her feel self-conscious, and it might influence her to try anything to fit in. What are the downsides of denying what you actually enjoy and feel to fit in?
Clip #14: As Riley hangs out with the high school hockey players, she denies what she likes and uses sarcasm when questioned. (43:33–47:11)
- How and why does she use sarcasm in the process? Talk about how sarcasm can be complicated.
- Why do you think Dani asks Riley if she still likes the band Get Up and Glow using that particular tone of voice and body language?
- Riley is characterized as being "a really good friend" at the beginning of the movie. But later, we see her make a choice that she knows is hurtful to her friends. Why do you think she acts this way? What thoughts and feelings might be motivating her actions?
Clip #15: The Firehawks hockey team tell Riley about the scrimmage, and Anxiety plans a long night of predicting concerns that may pop up in the future. (47:16–52:14)
- The high school girls keep telling Riley information (about the coach's notebook, and the scrimmage) in a particular way, in contrast to the way Val communicates with Riley. What's the difference? And why do you think some of the players deliver the information as they do?
- Discuss what Envy says: "How do we be ourself if our new self isn't ready yet?" When can we "be ourself"?
- Anxiety drinks a bunch of energy drinks as Riley stays awake, worrying. Why do you think it's so hard to sleep when Anxiety is in control?
Clip #16: The original emotions enter Imagination Land, which has some new features, and they find that Anxiety has taken over Riley's imagination. (52:15–56:34)
- What's Anxiety's motivation for imagining every negative possibility? Does she want to hurt Riley? What does it look like to be prepared while imagining positive outcomes?
- Both Anxiety's and Joy's predictions are possible, and there's a real struggle between them. What are some ways we can choose to use our imaginations to calm us with positive possibilities instead of worrying?
Clip #17: Riley breaks into the coach's office to read her notebook and finds out the coach doesn't think she's ready. (57:09–1:00:49)
- Anxiety says Riley breaking into the office is necessary because, "It's not about who Riley is; it's about who she needs to be." But what benefits come from being yourself, right now?
- When people are motivated by fear, they often feel that they can justify their actions, even if they're deceitful or hurtful. Can you think of personal or historical examples of when fear made people do negative things they normally wouldn't do?
Clip #18: After a "brain storm," Riley's sense of self changes, and Joy gets discouraged. (1:00:50–1:10:07)
- Why are all of Riley's ideas for changing the coach's mind negative (like trash talking, hogging the puck)?
- Discuss Riley's two senses of self: "I'm a good person" and "I'm not good enough." What do you notice about them? How were each formed?
- What do you think about Joy's reflection that "Maybe this is what happens when you grow up. You feel less joy"?
Clip #19: Riley scores two goals but angers her teammates, hurts Grace, and gets a penalty. The original emotions ride a wave of negative memories back to Riley's Belief System. (1:10:08–1:14:55)
- If a younger kid asked you why Riley is hogging the puck and hurting her friend, how would you explain?
- How do Riley's actions in this scene differ from the beginning when Riley helps Grace pick up her jar of coins?
Clip #20: As Riley sits in the penalty box, the emotions fight for control and the situation resolves. (1:14:56–1:21:14)
- What's happening to Riley as she sits in the penalty box? What happens in your body when Anxiety is in control? What strategies does Riley use to calm herself down? What do you do when you're feeling anxious?
- Joy says, "You don't get to choose who Riley is," and realizes that includes all of the emotions. Discuss the difference between emotions and a sense of self.
- Why is it important for Riley's less joyful memories to be included in her sense of self?
- Why do you think Riley's friends forgive her?
Clip #21: Riley plays hockey with her friends, they wait for the team list, and we get a glimpse of a more balanced Riley. (1:21:23–end)
- Joy doesn't take over automatically when Riley plays hockey; Riley invites her. Can you explain this shift in real-life terms?
- How does Joy help Anxiety figure out when thinking about the future is helpful vs. focusing on what's happening in the moment? How do you figure that out for yourself?
- How do Riley's parents' emotions respond to their anxiety?
- How can we have a positive sense of self with all of the imperfect, messy parts mixed in?
SEL Lesson Plan and Graphic Organizer
Begin by introducing the movie and give students some context about why it's worth thinking about more deeply. A lot of students may have seen the movie already, so make a strict "If you know it, don't blow it" rule to prevent spoilers. You might also want to discuss some of the learning objectives or the concept of active viewing.
Before the Movie
Hand out copies of the Active Viewing Guide, and give students a few minutes to finish the Before You Watch question.
- Students will be listing circumstances, situations, people, etc. that cause them anxiety.
- For a more interactive experience, you can have kids create an "anxiety" word cloud using Kahoot or another tool of your choice.
Before you start the movie, explain the next activity that students will complete while they watch. They'll need to identify a moment during which they feel empathy for a character.
During the Movie
Make sure to pause periodically at key scenes throughout the movie (feel free to use the clips outlined above in this article). As you pause and discuss, give students time to do some writing.
After the Movie
Have students complete the After You Watch activities.
- Students can write down their responses individually, then discuss in pairs, small groups, and/or as a whole class.
Discussion Questions:
After the movie ends, it's important to help students reflect on what they've seen and talk about what they're thinking. You can discuss anything that feels particularly relevant to your students. The scenes and discussion questions listed earlier in this article can be a good starting point, but feel free to guide your class discussion as you see fit.
Creative Extensions
- Have students create a representation of their own sense of self and the memories and beliefs that form it. It could be visual art, writing, a song, a game, etc.
- Have students create a children's book (using paper, Book Creator, etc.) with their own messages about emotions, memories, growing up, and/or sense of self.
- Watch other movies with similar themes, but invite students to consider how these approach them in different ways given who they represent and how (e.g., the family in Inside Out 2 is a contemporary upper-middle-class White family, and Turning Red portrays a Chinese Canadian family).:
