Pete Docter and Jim Morris tell THR the moment they realized they wanted to make an 'Inside Out' sequel. Plus, the two talk about opportunities to create more 'Inside Out' films.
00:00You directed the first film, and it was such a passion project for you.
00:04How soon did you know you wanted to make a sequel?
00:06It was way after we were done. We were just so worried about getting the first one right.
00:10We were like, let's just make sure we got it, wrap it up, deliver it to the audience, great.
00:14And it wasn't, you know, a couple years later, people kept talking about it,
00:18kept referencing it as some film that changed the way they thought about themselves,
00:23and dealing with their kids.
00:25We never know we want to make a sequel until somebody comes up with a good idea for a sequel.
00:29And then it gets approved by the original filmmaker and feels part of things,
00:34which is why it's often a long time between an original and a sequel for us,
00:38because we don't just rush into something when a movie's successful.
00:41I think it was January of 2020 that Jim and I talked to Kelsey and said,
00:47let's fish around, what else is there to play with?
00:50And he came back with this idea that, you know, features anxiety,
00:54and I think everybody was like, yes.
00:57Because we can watch Riley grow up, this feels like a franchise that is perfect for sequels.
01:03Have you thought about if we will see more Inside Out movies that follow Riley throughout her life?
01:07And if so, what's another stage you think would be fun to check in with her at?
01:12We've scripted it out until she gets on Social Security, so it's all planned.
01:17Right now we're kind of catching our breath after this one.
01:20After the after strike, there was a lot to do in a very short amount of time.
01:24But, you know, there are a lot of opportunities, both in terms of age and just the set.
01:29You know, the world of the mind is huge, so there will be a lot of places to go.
01:34I got to see the movie on Friday, and I honestly loved it so much.
01:38And I feel like it kind of healed something in me that maybe I'd put at the back of my mind,
01:42like Joy does with those bad memories she wants to forget.
01:46For each of you working on this movie, how did it affect you personally?
01:50Well, certainly it was in the foreground of our thinking as we were dealing with the new characters, anxiety and so forth,
01:57and thinking about, you know, I think we and the whole country and the world to an extent have been through a rough time.
02:04Probably a lot of things were pushing out of our mind to go forward and not dwell on those things.
02:09And it seemed like an apt thing for Joy to do.
02:13Yeah, it was just, for me, a real pleasure to be back in the world, to work with these characters again.
02:19I kind of wasn't sure if I would like that or not, but it was a real joy, especially to be back with the great Amy Poehler.
02:27She's just fantastic.
02:29The entire crew of the first one and the sequel are so perfect that they practically write lines just by speaking.
02:37You know, they are those characters.
02:39It's really cool.
02:41On another Pixar note, it's been about 15 years since WALL-E was released.
02:46At the time, did you realize how the climate crisis would evolve and just kind of how much that movie would still mean to people and the impact it would have?
02:54We didn't actually make WALL-E with a message movie in mind.
03:00We kind of reverse engineered that.
03:02We wanted to make a movie about a lonely robot and kind of reverse engineered everything else.
03:07I know people don't tend to believe it, but nor did we anticipate that everybody would walk around looking at their iPad or their phone like that.
03:15We were doing it, so we thought we had to put that in the movie because look what we're doing.
03:19We don't even walk to the next office and talk to each other.
03:21We text and so forth.
03:23It is funny how that stuff just kind of grew out of that.
03:26Yeah, of course, Jim was producer on that film.
03:29I think the first version of it, it wasn't even set on Earth.
03:33It was just a planet full of trash.
03:35I think it was Steve Jobs that sort of suggested, you know, let's bring it closer to home and place it on Earth.
03:41It was not with an intention of, as you say, sending a message.
03:44It just worked out that way.
03:47Pete, you recently said that at Pixar you guys are trying to find the balance between doing sequels,
03:52but also investing in making movies about new original ideas.
03:56What do you both think is the key to finding that balance and what's Pixar focused on right now going forward?
04:02Well, one of the things for our audience, they love to go back with characters they're familiar with, like with Inside Out.
04:08We just thought we'd like to create a better balance where we have more sequels in the equation.
04:13We've been doing about one sequel to every two originals,
04:16and we're going to probably load balance that a little closer to one-to-one when we can.
04:20You can never predict 100% if you're going to have a great idea for a sequel or an original,
04:25so it's subject to change, obviously, but that's sort of the feeling now.
04:29I think the other thing that's occurred to me is even with originals,
04:33people are looking for something that connects to them.
04:36Like, well, we all believe toys came to life when we were in the room.
04:40We believe monsters scared us in the closet.
04:43I think this one was another one, the original Inside Out, where you're like,
04:46oh, yes, I totally think that way, and all the voices in my head.
04:51So I think we're looking for something that is almost a sequel even when it's an original,
