Fans are buzzing with love about the latest installment, Inside Out 2, which has already grossed $165 million worldwide and continues to climb. If you’re craving more coming-of-age narratives set in the realm of animation, we’ve curated a must-watch list just for you. Here are five films akin to Inside Out 2 that will fulfill your craving for animated entertainment.
Turning Red
Directed by Domee Shi, Turning Red is about the life of Meilin Lee, a Chinese girl living in Toronto. Like Inside Out 2, the movie focuses on Mei’s struggles in puberty, with a fantastical twist; When Mei gets overemotional, she turns into a giant red panda. It’s a curse that runs in her family, but while her mother, Ming, wants her to suppress it until they can seal the red panda away entirely during the lunar eclipse, Mei finds that she likes being a red panda. With the help of her friends, she learns to control her emotions and embrace both parts of herself, but this causes issues with her mother and relatives, who expect her to get rid of the red panda entirely. Similar to Riley, Mei has to deal with keeping her emotions in check, deal with puberty, and struggle to reach the high standards expected of her by the people around her.
Tinkerbell
While an older movie compared to the other suggestions in this list, Tinkerbell is a wonderful watch. It centers on Tinkerbell (yes, that one!) before she met Peter Pan– Specifically, right after she was born. Upon being born, each fairy is assigned a role based on their special talent, and Tinkerbell gets assigned the role of a tinker fairy. At first, she’s excited, but then she finds out that tinker fairies don’t get to visit the human world like other fairies do. To solve this, she decides to try and switch roles, taking the help of her friends to learn their talents. Unfortunately, this fails, but Tinkerbell soon learns that her own role and talent is useful too. Just like Inside Out 2, Tinkerbell (the movie) gives great insight on what it’s like to try and figure out your identity, and the importance of accepting yourself as you are.
Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse
With amazing stylish animation and impressive fight scenes, Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse is a great new take on the classic Spiderman story. Miles Morales, a laid-back teenager in Brooklyn, finds his whole life turned upside down when he gets bitten by a radioactive spider, and then watches the original Spiderman die in a fight to stop Kingpin from turning on a multiversal collider. Now, he has to send the five misplaced Spiderpeople back to their own universe and stop Kingpin from destroying the city before everyone he knows dies. Other than the parallels to puberty with Mile’s spider powers (”I don’t think you understand how puberty works!“, says Gwen), Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse delves into many of the themes presented in Inside Out 2, like academic pressure and struggling with your friends, through gorgeous animation and emotional dialogues.
Soul
Soul was directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. It follows the story of Joe Gardner, a school music teacher who dreams of becoming a professional Jazz musician. When he finally strikes gold and gets the opportunity to perform with one of his favorite Jazz musicians, Joe gets in an accident and falls into a coma. He discovers that he’s supposed to die, but refuses, instead teaming up with a soul that’s yet to be born, named 22. Together, they try to discover the purpose of life. Like Inside Out 2, Soul explores what it’s like to chase an unattainable goal, and the importance of healthy relationships in your life.
Steven Universe: The Movie
Although it’s a sequel to the cartoon Steven Universe, this movie does an awesome job illustrating what it’s like to deal with suddenly staying in an unfamiliar environment and feeling out of your depth. When Spinel shows up and erases the memories of all of Steven’s friends, he’s tasked with trying to restore all their memories and remove the drill Spinel placed in the Earth before it destroys the environment, as well as trying to regain his own powers, which he lost while fighting Spinel. By the end of the movie, Steven learns that it’s unhealthy to try and chase constant happiness, and that he should settle and appreciate what he currently has in life, just like Riley and her Anxiety.
Turning Red
Directed by Domee Shi, Turning Red is about the life of Meilin Lee, a Chinese girl living in Toronto. Like Inside Out 2, the movie focuses on Mei’s struggles in puberty, with a fantastical twist; When Mei gets overemotional, she turns into a giant red panda. It’s a curse that runs in her family, but while her mother, Ming, wants her to suppress it until they can seal the red panda away entirely during the lunar eclipse, Mei finds that she likes being a red panda. With the help of her friends, she learns to control her emotions and embrace both parts of herself, but this causes issues with her mother and relatives, who expect her to get rid of the red panda entirely. Similar to Riley, Mei has to deal with keeping her emotions in check, deal with puberty, and struggle to reach the high standards expected of her by the people around her.
Tinkerbell
While an older movie compared to the other suggestions in this list, Tinkerbell is a wonderful watch. It centers on Tinkerbell (yes, that one!) before she met Peter Pan– Specifically, right after she was born. Upon being born, each fairy is assigned a role based on their special talent, and Tinkerbell gets assigned the role of a tinker fairy. At first, she’s excited, but then she finds out that tinker fairies don’t get to visit the human world like other fairies do. To solve this, she decides to try and switch roles, taking the help of her friends to learn their talents. Unfortunately, this fails, but Tinkerbell soon learns that her own role and talent is useful too. Just like Inside Out 2, Tinkerbell (the movie) gives great insight on what it’s like to try and figure out your identity, and the importance of accepting yourself as you are.
Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse
With amazing stylish animation and impressive fight scenes, Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse is a great new take on the classic Spiderman story. Miles Morales, a laid-back teenager in Brooklyn, finds his whole life turned upside down when he gets bitten by a radioactive spider, and then watches the original Spiderman die in a fight to stop Kingpin from turning on a multiversal collider. Now, he has to send the five misplaced Spiderpeople back to their own universe and stop Kingpin from destroying the city before everyone he knows dies. Other than the parallels to puberty with Mile’s spider powers (”I don’t think you understand how puberty works!“, says Gwen), Spiderman: Into The Spiderverse delves into many of the themes presented in Inside Out 2, like academic pressure and struggling with your friends, through gorgeous animation and emotional dialogues.
Soul
Soul was directed by Pete Docter and Kemp Powers. It follows the story of Joe Gardner, a school music teacher who dreams of becoming a professional Jazz musician. When he finally strikes gold and gets the opportunity to perform with one of his favorite Jazz musicians, Joe gets in an accident and falls into a coma. He discovers that he’s supposed to die, but refuses, instead teaming up with a soul that’s yet to be born, named 22. Together, they try to discover the purpose of life. Like Inside Out 2, Soul explores what it’s like to chase an unattainable goal, and the importance of healthy relationships in your life.
Steven Universe: The Movie
Although it’s a sequel to the cartoon Steven Universe, this movie does an awesome job illustrating what it’s like to deal with suddenly staying in an unfamiliar environment and feeling out of your depth. When Spinel shows up and erases the memories of all of Steven’s friends, he’s tasked with trying to restore all their memories and remove the drill Spinel placed in the Earth before it destroys the environment, as well as trying to regain his own powers, which he lost while fighting Spinel. By the end of the movie, Steven learns that it’s unhealthy to try and chase constant happiness, and that he should settle and appreciate what he currently has in life, just like Riley and her Anxiety.
