Inside Out 2ventures further into the depths of Riley’s mind and uncovers her Deep Dark Secret. The 2024 animated coming-of-age film, directed by Kelsey Mann and written by Meg LeFauve and Dave Holstein, is a sequel to Pixar’s hit 2015 movie and picks up one year afterInside Out’s ending.Riley becomes a teenager inInside Out 2,meaning that she hits puberty and experiences several new emotions, including Anxiety, Envy, and Embarrassment. However, when the new emotions move into headquarters, their ideas about what’s best for Riley contradict Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger’s plans for their girl.
Although Pixar hasn’t confirmed it,Inside Out 2’s success indicates that the animation studio will produce more sequels (which will hopefully introduce more new emotions).
Soon after its premiere in June 2024,Inside Out 2broke multiple box office records. Many anticipated that the Pixar sequel would perform well in theaters, but its actual showing exceeded all expectations.Inside Out 2’s box office success led to it becoming the highest-grossing animated movie of all time. The success is a testament to the public’s continued interest in Riley’s story.Inside Out 2’s story undoubtedly contributed to its success as it further explores the complexity of growing up(and, consequently, keeping secrets).
Riley’s Deep Dark Secret Is That She Burned A Hole In The Rug
Inside Out 2’s Post-Credits Scene Reveals Riley’s Secret
When Anxiety banishes Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger from headquarters, the five emotions end up in Riley’s memory vault inInside Out 2.Anxiety thinks Joy is sabotaging Riley’s experience at hockey camp, so, she gets rid of the problem. While Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, and Anger are in the vault, they come across Bloofy and Pouchy (characters from a cartoon show Riley likes), Lance Slashblade (a video game character Riley has a crush on), and Deep Dark Secret. Unfortunately,the characters and the audience don’t learn what Riley’s Deep Dark Secret is untilInside Out 2’s post-credits scene.
Steve Purcell
Deep Dark Secret
Joy returns to the memory vault duringInside Out 2’s post-credits scene to break Deep Dark Secret free and to ask what Riley’s most horrifying secret is. Deep Dark Secret informstheInside Out 2characterthathe embodies the memory of Riley burning a hole in the rug.The moment is rather anticlimactic as burning a hole in a rug isn’t regarded as the juiciest of secrets. However, at least the Pixar sequel reveals what Riley’s Deep Dark Secret is.
Why Riley’s Deep Dark Secret Stays In The Vault
Riley’s Deep Dark Secret Is A Locked Away Memory
Bloofy, Pouchy, and Lance Slashblade escape the vault alongside Joy, Sadness, Fear, Disgust, andAnger inInside Out 2while Deep Dark Secret remains in the locked place. Deep Dark Secret probably decides to stay because, while menacing in appearance, he is quite timid. He is evidently very ashamed of the secret (just Like Riley is). So,Deep Dark Secret retreats into the vault because of his shameand doesn’t resurface until the coming-of-age film’s post-credits scenes.
Since some fans speculate that Riley is LGBTQ+ in theInside Outmovies, they thought that would be her biggest secret that she locks up in a vault.
When Deep Dark Secret tells Joy about the burning a hole in the rug memory duringInside Out 2’s end credits, she is surprised. Joy expresses thatshe thought Riley’s deepest and darkest secret would be the time she peed in the pool.After being reminded of yet another embarrassing moment in Riley’s life, Deep Dark Secret starts crying and locks himself back into the vault. Hopefully, this isn’t the last viewers have seen of Deep Dark Secret, though, and he’ll return alongsidenew emotions inInside Out 3.
Does Riley Have Another Deep Dark Secret?
Some Speculate That Riley’s Has More Secrets After Inside Out 2
As mentioned above,the truth behind Riley’s Deep Dark Secret was a bit disappointing.Since some fans speculate thatRiley is LGBTQ+ in theInside Outmovies, they thought that would be her biggest secret that she locks up in a vault. Even though that wasn’t the case, Riley might have other Deep Dark Secrets lingering in the back of her mind that could reveal themselves in anInside Out 2sequel as the teenager continues growing up.
The Reveal Of Riley’s Secret Is A Missed Opportunity
Pursuing The Possibility That Riley Was LGBTQ+ Would Have Been More Interesting
There are many hints inInside Out 2that Riley is attracted to girls, specifically through her “crush” on Val. While it could be simply seen as an infatuation with an athlete who Riley looks up to, it does feel as though it is a romantic connection at times as well.This planted the possibility that Riley’s secret in the movie was that she was LGBTQ+.
This could have provided a real LGBTQ+ story for Pixar to tackle, which is something the studio is overdue to try. Pixar has touted the fact that several of its movies have had gay characters, such asLightyearandOnwardbut the studio has also been criticized for including these elements as mere background dressing rather than actually depicting an LGBTQ+ relationship in one of its movies.
StreamInside Out 2on Disney+.
Riley would be the perfect character to finally achieve this and her secret being that she was gay set up an interesting way to explore this. The fear of coming out and even admitting their true selves is a big struggle for a lot of members of the LGBTQ+ community. Seeing Riley deal with that in one ofInside Out’s profound coming-of-age stories, along with how the emotions react, would have made for a beautiful approach.
The idea that this part of her is being kept as a secret she is not ready to acknowledge or share is the start of a compelling story. It was perhaps something that could have been saved for apossible (and likelyInside Out 3), but the reveal in the post-credit scene ofInside Out 2takes away the possibility of connecting Riley’s secret to this storyline.
Inside Out 2
Cast
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.
