It’s time to get all up in our feelings again with Inside Out 2, as the sequel to the much-loved Pixar film is finally out in cinemas.
After we were introduced to the rambunctious emotions inside Riley’s head nine years ago, there’s now a bunch of whole new recruits thrown into the mix as our protagonist hits her teenage years.
In addition to the emotions we met first time around, 13-year-old Riley now has Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) to deal with too.
But fans of the first film might notice that a few of the original characters sound slightly different this time around.
That’s because Disgust and Fear, who were previously voiced by Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader, respectively, have been recast.
Disgust is now voiced by Liza Lapira, who’s previously been in Crazy, Stupid, Love and Fast & Furious, while Arrested Development and Veep actor Tony Hale is taking over as Fear.
Back in January 2023, Mindy confirmed to The Wrap that she wouldn’t be back for a second film. “I had a great time working on Inside Out and am sure Inside Out 2 will be great. But I’m not working on it,” she said.
The former star of The Office also stressed that she wasn’t involved in the movie “right now”, but we know by now that she didn’t end up reprising the role of Disgust.
Mindy, Bill and Pixar have all remained tight-lipped about the reasons behind the departures, multiple outlets have suggested that a pay dispute was to blame, which entertainment journalist Matthew Belloni’s Puck newsletter was the first to report.
While no one involved has commented on exactly what went down behind the scenes, producer Mark Nielsen told LADbible in May: “It’s been nine years since that first film, and you try to get their original cast back together, but it doesn’t always work out.”
“Man, we love Bill Hader and Mindy Kaling,” he added. “They’re always going to be part of this Pixar family.
“But we also love Tony Hale, who was also Forky in Toy Story 4, and Liza Lapira.”
The producer continued: “Adding them to the family has been an absolute treasure the last four years. [We’ve enjoyed] recording them and watching them really grab onto these characters.”
As for how the new actors went about embodying the distinctive characters, Inside Out 2 director Kelsey Mann added: “I wasn’t interested in doing any kind of impressions or anything.
“I think that’s what I love about Lisa and Tony: they’re just being themselves.”
Kaitlyn Dias, who voiced Riley in the first Inside Out, has also been recast to Kensington Tallman. However, this one makes a bit more sense since her character is older in the new film.
Inside Out 2 is the latest film to leave fans questioning its significant casting changes, after Paddington fans spotted that Sally Hawkins had been replaced as Mrs Brown in the third instalment of the beloved franchise.