* Work where this franchise's characters or settings appeared as part of a crossover.
Inside Out is an American media franchise created by Pete Docter and Ronnie del Carmen. It takes place inside the mind of a girl named Riley Andersen, where multiple personified emotions administer her thoughts and actions. The franchise is produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by its parent company Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It began with the 2015 film of the same name, and was followed by Inside Out 2 (2024). The franchise also includes a short film, an animated series, several video games, and two theme park attractions.
Inside Out follows the inner workings of the mind of Riley, a young girl who adapts to her family's relocation as five personified emotions administer her thoughts and actions.[1]
Director Pete Docter conceived Inside Out in October 2009 after observing changes in his daughter's personality as she grew older.[a] Docter invited Ronnie del Carmen, who had previously worked as story supervisor on Finding Nemo (2003) and Up (2009), to come on as co-director, a role del Carmen accepted.[6][7] They sought inspiration for the film from their own personal histories and experiences,[8] including del Carmen's inspiration through his upbringing,[9] and consulted psychologists and neuroscientists in an effort to portray the mind with greater accuracy.[10][11] The film's principal characters were cast in August 2013.[12] Development lasted for five and a half years.[13][14]Inside Out debuted at the 68th Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2015,[15] and was released in the United States on June 19.[16]
Inside Out 2 follows a teenage Riley with four new emotions who join the original five, with opposing views on what kind of person Riley should be as she strives to prove herself at a hockey camp.[17]
Development of Inside Out 2 was first announced in 2022 during the D23 Expo announcement.[18] It features Docter's "five to 27 emotions" idea from the first film that new director Kelsey Mann pitched during its production to utilize "truthful" worldbuilding.[19] Like the first film, psychologists were consulted with during production,[20] and also had a group of teenagers who gave feedback to various early screenings of the film.[21]Inside Out 2 debuted at the El Capitan Theatre on June 10, 2024 and screened at the 2024 Annecy International Animation Film Festival on the same day.[22] The film was released in the United States on June 14.[18]
Riley's First Date? was released on November 3, 2015, on the first film's Blu-ray release with Josh Cooley as director and writer.[23]
The short follows the events of the 2015 film Inside Out and involves Riley's parents and their emotions, suspecting that Riley is going out on a date with a boy named Jordan.
A streaming series based on Inside Out is in development at Pixar. Soul co-writer Mike Jones will develop the series.[24] The series, titled Dream Productions, will premiere on Disney+ on December 11, 2024.[25][26] It will explore how the dreams inside Riley's mind are made, and is set between the events of the first and second films.[27][28]
Video games
Inside Out: Thought Bubbles (2015)
Inside Out: Thought Bubbles is a mobile Puzzle Bobble-style game, released in 2015 for some app stores.[29][30] Riley's new emotions were added to the game starting in June 2024 to coincide with the release of Inside Out 2.
In June 2023, an update with a limited time event based on Inside Out was released in the world-building game Disney Magic Kingdoms, including the five emotions as playable characters, as well as the emotions' Headquarters and Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind as attractions.[36] On June 13, 2024, the day before Inside Out 2's release, kart-racing game Disney Speedstorm began its eighth season, Journey of Emotions, which is based on Inside Out. The season added a track environment based on Riley's Mind, with all five original emotions plus Anxiety and Ennui added as playable racers. Additionally, several other Inside Out characters were added as crew members, with different moods of Riley Andersen being the epic crew member for each of the emotions.[37]
Cast and characters
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This section includes characters who will appear or have appeared in the franchise.
An empty grey cell indicates the character was not in the film, or that the character's official presence has not yet been confirmed.
The second film is the highest-grossing film of 2024, the highest-grossing animated film of all time, and the eighth highest-grossing film of all time. It holds several records, including the highest worldwide debut in Pixar history,[39] the third-highest opening for an animated film domestically,[40] the highest-grossing Pixar film of all time, and the highest-grossing animated film domestically, the latter two surpassing Incredibles 2. It managed to outperform the first film in just two weeks.[41] It also became the second animated film to gross $1 billion internationally.[42]
Inside Out is the seventh highest grossing animated film series.
Collective knowledge of the Inside Out franchise has been used for therapy, due to being about physical representations of emotions, which can help children and older people understand emotions. Mental health professionals have praised the franchise for not villainizing any emotion.[60][61][62][63][64]