When Pixar released Inside Out in 2015, it seemed like just another animated film for children. But as I watched it, both as a teacher of mathematics for three decades and as a mother who has raised two children in Delhi’s competitive schooling system, I knew instantly that this was no ordinary film. It was, in fact, a beautifully illustrated psychology textbook disguised as entertainment. Years later, when Inside Out 2 released, adding more emotions and venturing into adolescence, it only confirmed what I already felt: these films should be required viewing for every parent, every teacher, and anyone who wishes to truly understand children.
Part 1 introduces us to Riley, a young girl uprooted from her familiar life and struggling with the newness of change. Inside her mind, five personified emotions—Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust—guide her reactions to the world. What struck me deeply was how accurately this captured the hidden classroom reality. I have taught hundreds of children who carry exactly these voices inside them. Some hesitate to answer not because they don’t know, but because Fear is holding them back. Others lash out or sulk in class because Anger is stronger than words. Some smile all the time, trying to stay in Joy, while bottling up the Sadness they are terrified to show.
For parents, the first film delivered an important lesson that many of us resist: Sadness is not an enemy. Riley’s healing begins only when her parents and Joy finally acknowledge the role of Sadness in making her whole. In India, where parents are quick to dismiss sadness with lines like “Don’t cry, be strong”, this was a powerful reminder. Children do not need us to erase their difficult emotions—they need us to accept and hold them.
Part 2 ventures into adolescence and introduces new emotions: Anxiety, Embarrassment, and Envy among them. If Part 1 was about childhood, Part 2 is unmistakably about the teenage years, that messy period of identity formation. I found this expansion brilliant. In classrooms, I often see teenagers weighed down by performance pressure. In India especially, children preparing for board exams, IIT entrances, or NEET are guided almost entirely by Anxiety. Their actions are not dictated by curiosity but by fear of falling short. To see Anxiety given a face and a voice in Inside Out 2 was a revelation—it is precisely what adolescents live with but rarely articulate.
One reason these films feel so vital is that they challenge the traditional focus of schools. In a system obsessed with marks, ranks, and achievements, emotional education is treated as secondary. Yet in reality, emotions drive learning. A child who feels safe and understood will attempt a math problem repeatedly; a child who feels anxious or shamed will give up quickly. Pixar has managed to show this truth to millions, more effectively than any lecture on child psychology could.
I remember one student of mine, the child of two IAS officers, who came to my math class every week and wanted to chat endlessly before we began work. He was not wasting time—he was craving connection. Perhaps he didn’t have the space at home to simply share his thoughts. Inside Out reminded me of him, and of countless other children who are not defined by their grades but by their inner emotional lives.
The great gift of Inside Out is that it validates what every child feels but rarely has the words to express.
Another aspect of the films that resonated with me as a parent is the way they illustrate the transition of priorities. My daughter once asked me, “What if I don’t want to play football?”—a question that revealed the conflict between identity and expectation. Similarly, Riley in Inside Out 2 begins to negotiate who she really is and what matters to her, under the heavy watch of Anxiety and Envy. The film captures the universal adolescent struggle: Am I enough? Will I be accepted?
For Indian families, where adolescence is often a time of intense academic pressure, the message is urgent. We must remember that children are not just exam-takers. They are human beings trying to reconcile a noisy inner world. If we dismiss their emotions, we may produce marks but at the cost of resilience, creativity, and self-worth.
Why Parents and Teachers Should Watch
- To build empathy: You will begin to see your child’s tantrum not as defiance but as Fear or Sadness taking control.
- To encourage acceptance: You will understand why “Don’t cry” is less effective than “I see you’re sad.”
- To navigate adolescence: Part 2 is particularly valuable in understanding teenagers grappling with Anxiety and Envy.
- To reframe success: You may begin to value emotional well-being as much as academic scores.