Does Inside Out’s Emotional Characters Have Inner Emotions? Fans Demand Answers from Pixar

In the film Inside Out, viewers are introduced to the beings responsible for managing young Riley’s emotions. However, some fans are now curious if the emotions themselves have a central location where they handle their own feelings.

Within Riley’s mind, her dominant emotions, led by Joy, are Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger. These emotions play a crucial role in guiding her behavior and forming lasting memories.

Each emotion is fairly easy to understand, as Joy’s actions in the beginning dictate the actions of the other emotions to some extent. However, do the emotions themselves experience their own emotions?

A video clip of Joy from Inside Out 2 on X/Twitter has left fans questioning just that. In the scene, Joy is seen getting angry and lashing out at the other characters, expressing the difficulty of maintaining constant happiness.

The fan was prompted to wonder about the implications of the person’s outbursts, asking if each emotion has its own headquarters in their mind and if this cycle continues endlessly.

if she’s angry does this imply that each emotion has its own emotion hq in their head, and the chain just keeps continuing forever https://t.co/lewlTbgPK5

— Megalo Don (@fnmegalodon_) June 5, 2024

One could argue that the same question could have been posed during the first movie. In the scene where Joy and Bing Bong fall into the abyss, Joy is clearly upset and even begins to shed tears.

Do each of the characters embody their own emotion? If they are able to feel other emotions, is it possible that they also have their own headquarters in their minds?

Despite the complexity of the question, some fans have developed potential theories on how it operates.

According to one fan, the emotions in Riley’s mind are meant to guide and influence her actions at the control board based on their corresponding emotions. For example, the emotion of happiness would control Riley’s behavior according to societal expectations of a “happy person,”while still maintaining its own distinct personality.

Another fan then inquired why the emotions are prone to experiencing their respective emotions, such as Anger consistently becoming angry or Disgust being repulsed. Shouldn’t they exhibit more typical behavior like regular individuals?

It was suggested that the reason for certain emotions being more prominent in children could be attributed to the brain’s development. As the brain grows, these emotions may become more nuanced. This theory could also explain why parents tend to display more subdued emotions.

This theory could be valid, as a fan suggested that Riley’s emotions are merely fragments of her personality and do not fully embody each emotion.

“According to another fan who shared their thoughts, the first movie delves into Joy’s character development as she learns to embrace her emotions and understand the value of sadness. This growth not only affects Joy, but also Riley, as she learns to accept the complexity of her memories and emotions.”

Inside Out 2 is scheduled to premiere on June 14. You can discover whether or not the film will be available on Disney+, the fresh characters that will be appearing, the spinoff series currently being worked on, and additional movies to view.