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Movie popcorn, a clapperboard, and a film camera laying on a table

Talking to Kids about Inside Out 2

By Tamar Davis, CEO

On the Gateways office Teams chat this morning, someone asked for recommendations on cool family activities during hot summer weather. My first instinct is always to embrace the heat, go to the beach and have lots of ice cream! But for the less heat-inclined, another colleague suggested taking your family (or just yourself!) to go to the movies to see Inside Out 2.

Recently, my husband and I took our own 5- and 7- year-old children to see Inside Out 2. Not only did my kids get a kick out of the big comfy movie theater seats that recline, but they loved the movie as well! This is a movie that has something for any age and any stage of life. It’s not a spoiler to share the main character Riley gets some new personified emotions, including anxiety, as she reaches her teen years and faces increasing social pressures. Yet, even though my children enjoyed the movie, I struggled a little bit afterwards with how to talk with them about it, since some of the finer points went over their heads.

Movie poster for the film Inside Out 2, showing the different emotion characters squished together in the frame.

Poster for the film Inside Out 2. Source: https://www.amazon.com/INSIDE-MOVIE-POSTER-ORIGINAL-POEHLER/dp/B0CYXG1XCW

So, as I often do, I asked my wonderful and expert Gateways colleagues for advice. Below are some of the thoughtful questions they suggested to open the door to a larger conversation with my young children about identifying and processing their emotions in a safe and comfortable way. This kind of a discussion can be beneficial for a wide range of children, whether or not they experience anxiety like the main character Riley. In fact, I even used them for my own self-reflection, too. 

So, if you haven’t already, I suggest beating the heat by going to the movies to see Inside Out 2 . And for those, like me, who benefit from processing dialogue with visual or text prompts (especially for animated films), most movie theaters now provide assistive listening devices that have the script running throughout the film – just make sure your theater does beforehand and give yourself some extra time before the movie to access this service. I look forward to learning what came up for you during your viewing experience!

Discussion Questions for Inside Out 2:

  • Who was your favorite character in Inside Out 2? Why did you like them?
  • Can you tell me about a time when you felt like one of the characters in the movie?
  • What do you think caused Riley to start changing what she believed about herself?
  • Have you ever felt emotions that surprised you?
  • Can you think of a time when you felt a mix of different emotions at the same time?
  • How did Riley act when her anxiety was at the ‘control panel’? What did you think about how she responded to that feeling?
  • If you were to make a movie like this with you as the main character instead of Riley, what other emotion might you add?