Summary
- Inside Out 2 almost introduced more emotions, including Shame and Jealousy, but ultimately cut them for being too negative or redundant.
- Guilt and Love were considered for Riley’s mind in the sequel, but were deemed unnecessary as Riley had already experienced these emotions.
- Characters like Pride, Hope, and Gloom were also explored but ultimately left out of the final story to focus on new additions.
Inside Out 2 introduced five new emotions to Riley’s head, but there were very nearly many, many more. Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, and Embarrassment (not to mention Nostalgia) all ushered Riley into the beginning of puberty, allowing her to process her world through more nuanced emotions. It seems that, from the very beginning of production, Pixar knew that it wanted to make Inside Out‘s protagonist’s mind far more crowded, but they were at first unsure how many new additions there should be. So, they conceived of as many as possible.
During a Pixar press conference, which Screen Rant attended, Inside Out director Kelsey Mann and producer Mark Nielsen discussed the many characters they thought up as possibilities for Riley’s mind in the sequel. In addition to the five they settled on, a total of 12 were conceived, many of which only ever got a concept drawing. By the time Inside Out 2 had its first screening, nine additional emotion characters made it to the screen. Ultimately, Mann explained that this was just too much, but it’s interesting to consider how these characters might have changed Riley’s story.
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12 Shame
Shame Would Have Been Too Heavy
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Shame was a character who made it rather far in Inside Out 2‘s development. She was initially meant to be one of the central new emotions coming in to take over Riley’s mind. However, she was ultimately cut because this negative emotion took things a touch too far. Mann explained that Shame wasn’t fun to watch and that it was hard to maintain the levity of the original Inside Out movie with such a character on screen.
It’s easy to imagine Shame taking things to a dark place in Inside Out 2. Though there was a lot of emotional impact that came with Anxiety and the rest, each of the Pixar sequel’s new emotions wanted what was best for Riley. The same wouldn’t have been true for Shame. Instead, this feeling was wrapped up in the negative side of Riley’s “sense of self,” making an individual emotion unnecessary.
11 Jealousy
Jealousy Might Have Been Too Close To Envy
Custom Image By Debanjana Chowdhury
Jealousy is another emotion that made it as far as the first screening of Inside Out 2 before being chopped. This character would have been rather similar to Envy, who was included in the film’s final cut. The overlap here might have made Jealousy (or Envy) redundant, so if this character had stuck around, there would have needed to be a distinction. While Envy was cute and well-intended, Jealousy might have been a much darker force.
Envy bordered on admiration in Inside Out 2. She wasn’t overtly negative, though it was clear that things could easily tip toward a darker place if taken too far. Jealousy, on the other hand, is typically something of a great green monster. In Riley’s case, she might have become jealous that her two best friends were going to a different high school together while she was left out. Or, perhaps she would have become aggressive when someone else made the hockey team, but she didn’t.
10 Guilt
Guilt Wouldn’t Really Be Anything New
Guilt might have been a good substitute for Shame in Inside Out 2 since guilt isn’t as inherently negative. Guilt in moderation can help someone be a better person since this emotion allows them to identify when they have done something wrong and motivates them to make up for it. Since Riley made a few mistakes in Inside Out 2, this would have been highly relevant.
Guilt is not something new that comes with puberty but a feeling that she would have developed as a toddler when she learned right from wrong.
The problem with introducing Guilt in Inside Out 2 is that Riley already demonstrated this emotion in the first movie. It’s not something new that comes with puberty but a feeling that she would have developed as a toddler when she learned right from wrong. In addition, each individual emotion in Riley’s head showed the ability to experience guilt, so this character might not have fit.
9 Love
Riley Would Already Have Had Love
When Riley went through puberty, she gained no new positive emotions. Of course, this is pretty fitting with this stage of life, but it seems that Pixar initially tried to introduce some emotion characters that would bring something a bit more upbeat to the story. Love might have been a sweet character that Joy would have immediately taken a liking to. However, it’s easy to imagine that this would quickly get complicated.
While puberty certainly changes how a person experiences love, it’s not an emotion exclusive to those early teen years. Riley loved her parents in the first Inside Out movie, and she had already developed a few crushes by 12. Like Guilt, it might have been hard to explain why a Love emotion arrived in headquarters only at the start of puberty.
8 Pride
Pride Could Be A Good Or Bad Thing
Pride would have been an interesting emotion in Inside Out 2 since this is another feeling that can be either negative or positive, depending on the character. Riley takes a lot of pride in her ability as a hockey player in Inside Out 2, and this is part of what gives her confidence. However, if a Pride character had taken things too far, Riley might have been unwilling to listen and learn new things or admit when she had made a mistake.
The concept art for Pride indicates that the latter would have been true for Inside Out 2, which certainly would have made sense with the existing story. It’s difficult to say why this emotion was cut, but it might have again been because it wouldn’t have had much to do with puberty. Pride can be a pitfall at any age, so it would have been more important to focus on emotion characters that brought something new to Riley’s life.
7 Hope
Hope Could Have Been The Antithesis Of Anxiety
Custom image by Ana Nieves.
Hope is another positive emotion that would have brought brightness to Inside Out 2. However, there would have again been a problem differentiating this character from one of Riley’s existing emotions. Joy already encapsulates hope since her eternal optimism is essentially the same thing. While she has moments of despair in Inside Out and Inside Out 2, Joy’s natural state is extremely hopeful.
Still, as a more nuanced emotion, Hope might have fit in as a way to bring the existing emotion characters together. Anxiety was something of an antagonist in Inside Out 2, but her primary motivation was to protect Riley from all the things that could possibly go wrong. Hope would have been the antithesis of this, perhaps being the one to calm Anxiety in the end rather than Joy.
6 Schadenfreude
Schadenfreude Would Have Been A Comical Addition
Schadenfreude is a German word that means “pleasure derived by someone from another person’s misfortune.” This character would have no doubt been fun had he made it to Inside Out 2. Rather than being an emotion character who sticks around all the time, Schadenfreude might have been one who pops in occasionally, like Nostalgia, such as when Riley’s friends take a comical fall while playing hockey.
The concern with Schadenfreude is that it can be a rather unkind emotion, and he wouldn’t have been particularly important to the overall story. If the choice came down to Schadenfreude or Nostalgia, it makes sense that Pixar would have chosen the latter since the little old emotion foreshadowed the sorts of changes Riley had to look forward to down the road.
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5 Suspicion
Suspicion Would Have Fit In With Anxiety
Suspicion would have fit in well in Inside Out 2 since this emotion is meant to protect a person but can sometimes lead to trouble. As far as the plot of Inside Out 2, Riley might have become suspicious of her friends, leading her to push them away even further. Or, perhaps she would have grown fearful that older teammate Val was only pretending to be her friend and suspicious that she was actually sabotaging her efforts to get on the team.
Of course, such fear would already be well covered by either Anxiety or Fear in Inside Out 2…
Of course, such fear would already be well covered by either Anxiety or Fear in Inside Out 2 since these two were constantly worrying about the people around them. While Suspicion might have been a more nuanced version of these emotions, there wasn’t much of a need for it in the final story.
4 Courage
Inside Out 2 Could’ve Explored The Darker Side Of Courage
Custom Image by Yailin Chacon
A Courage character could have meant a lot of changes for Inside Out 2. Another typically positive emotion, Courage might have balanced out negative feelings like Anxiety, since, like Hope, this emotion would have helped Riley face the unknown rather than trying to obsessively prepare for it. However, Courage might have gotten in the way of Joy’s big confrontation with Anxiety in the end.
It is also interesting to consider how Courage might have been presented as a negative emotion. While such bravery is often a good thing, it can sometimes be taken too far, leading a person to make rash decisions. This is common in puberty and is seen through Inside Out 2, especially when Riley breaks into her coach’s office. Of course, this moment was just as impactful without Courage, so this character was evidently unnecessary.
3 Greed
Greed Doesn’t Really Fit With Riley’s Story
Riley wasn’t a particularly greedy character in Inside Out, but part of the lesson of Inside Out 2 was that humans are complex. It’s certainly possible that Greed might have been one of the primary emotion characters in the sequel, but it again seems likely that this would have been among those who would come and go. Everyone experiences greed from time to time, but there is nothing in the plot that would necessarily benefit from these characters.
Perhaps Riley Riley would have been greedy with a friendship in a version of Inside Out 2 that included a Greed character, attempting to keep one of her friends to herself. Aside from this, it’s difficult to imagine how this would have fit in.
2 Awe
Awe Would Also Come Too Close To Inside Out 2’s Envy
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Awe could certainly be applicable to Riley since she was in awe of the older girls at hockey camp in Inside Out 2. If there had been a character dedicated to this feeling, it might have worked well with Ennui, who would have wanted to suppress Awe to appear aloof and apathetic.
Of course, Envy was similar to what an Awe character might have been in Inside Out 2. As previously stated, Envy was more like admiration, except that the people and things she admired made her want those things for herself. Awe fits right in along with this, so cutting this character was likely the right move.
1 Gloom
Gloom Would Be Taking Sadness A Little Further
Gloom could have quickly become a pretty dark force in Inside Out 2. This character would fit right in with the film’s new emotions and the rest since they would have grown stronger as Anxiety continued to negatively impact Riley. Of course, like Shame, this might not have been much fun to watch.
Moreover, Gloom is yet another example of a cut emotion made somewhat redundant by an existing character. Sadness could certainly become pretty gloomy, and the first Inside Out movie already covered the importance of embracing this emotion rather than shutting it out. Gloom wouldn’t have been able to offer anything new to the story. So, like all the other known emotion characters cut from Inside Out 2, Gloom was better off left out.
Inside Out 2 
3.5 PGAdventureComedyAnimation
Inside Out 2 is the sequel to the 2015 original film, which starred a young girl named Riley with a head full of emotions. – literally. With Amy Pohler as Joy, Bill Hader as fear, Mindy Kaling as Disgust, Phyllis Smith as Sadness, and Lewis Black as Anger, the all-star cast brought to life the emotions that adolescents face as they grow, change, and adapt to new situations. This sequel, currently in development, will bring Amy Pohler back as Joy, with Riley, now a teenager.
Director Kelsey Mann Release Date June 14, 2024 Studio(s) Disney Distributor(s) Disney Writers Meg LeFauve , Dave Holstein , Kelsey Mann Cast Amy Poehler , Tony Hale , Maya Hawke , Liza Lapira , Lewis Black , Phyllis Smith , Diane Lane Runtime 96 Minutes Franchise(s) Disney prequel(s) Inside Out Main Genre Animation Expand