A few years have passed since the first “Inside Out” movie: Riley, now a teenager, is heading for a summer hockey camp, when the puberty alarm in headquarters goes off and the emotions in her head are suddenly facing a swift demolition to make room for something entirely unexpected: new Emotions. Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear and Disgust, who have long been running a rather successful operation, aren’t sure how to feel when Anxiety shows up. And it looks like she’s not the only newcomer about to plunge Riley’s mind into chaos.

In a sea of animated sequels that often feel like corporate attempts to milk people’s nostalgia without adding much to an existing IP (Hello Lightyear!), “Inside Out 2” is a rare example of a movie that actually helps to build upon an existing story. While the first film shows how a child would deal with a difficult situation in their life, this film is all about the big and small roadblocks that may throw a teenager into an existential crisis. The change of director from Pixar veteran Pete Docter to Kelsey Mann does little to detract from this continuity. Not only are the lessons from the original “Inside Out” heeded, but the story here is told as empathetic as that of its predecessor, with at least one statement that will haunt your mind for a good while. (SaL)