97 Fun Facts About Inside Out

Which studio made Inside Out?

Pixar made Inside Out, its 15th feature film, released by Walt Disney Pictures in June 2015.

What happens to Anger's head when he loses his temper in Inside Out?

It bursts into flames, and in the climax Disgust goads Anger on purpose so the fire can melt a window and let Joy and Sadness back into Headquarters.

What does Abstract Thought do to Joy in Inside Out?

Flattens her: Abstract Thought breaks Joy, Sadness and Bing Bong into Picasso-like fragments, squashes them into two dimensions, then reduces them to simple shapes before they escape.

Which comedian voices Joy in both Inside Out films?

Amy Poehler did more than voice Joy: she pitched jokes and ideas from early on and has a screen credit for additional dialogue.

Which actress from The Office voices Sadness?

Phyllis Smith, who played Phyllis Vance on The Office, voices Sadness; producer Jonas Rivera cast her after seeing her in Bad Teacher.

Which colour is Sadness?

Blue is the colour of Sadness; Joy spends the film keeping her away from the console, yet it is Sadness who finally gets Riley to tell her parents how she feels.

Which colour is Fear?

Purple is Fear's colour; to make him properly bug-eyed, the designers took their cues from Don Knotts and Mr. Bean.

Which stand-up comedian voices Anger in both Inside Out films?

Lewis Black voices Anger in both films; with Joy missing in the first, it is Anger who plugs in the idea that Riley should run away from home.

Which emotion is green?

Disgust is green and was first voiced by Mindy Kaling, who on hearing the pitch praised the film for telling children it is OK to feel sad about growing up.

Riley moves from which state to San Francisco at the start of the first Inside Out?

Riley moves from Minnesota to San Francisco for her father's new job; the Andersens' cross-country move sets the whole story in motion.

What form do Riley's most important memories take in her personality?

Each core memory powers a floating island of personality; five islands, including Family and Goofball, stand at the start of the film.

What kind of creature is Bing Bong, Riley's imaginary friend?

Cat, elephant, cotton candy and a dash of dolphin: Riley invented Bing Bong as a toddler, and he now roams long-term memory dreading the day she forgets him.

How do Joy and Sadness try to get back to the control room from long-term memory?

The Train of Thought is one of the few ways into Headquarters, but it runs only while Riley is awake, so when she falls asleep mid-journey the trio must find a way to wake her.

What powers Bing Bong's rocket wagon?

Singing powers the rocket wagon, but it cannot lift two passengers, so Bing Bong jumps out mid-flight to let Joy escape and then fades away.

Where does everything Riley forgets go to fade away for good?

The Memory Dump is the pit at the bottom of Riley's mind where faded memories crumble to nothing; Bing Bong is forgotten there after helping Joy climb out.

Which of Riley's worst fears is freed from the Subconscious to scare her awake?

Jangles the Clown is a giant version of the party entertainer who spooked Riley at an early birthday; Joy and Sadness wake him so he will crash her dream and jolt her awake.

Which part of Riley's personality collapses when she steals her mother's credit card?

Honesty Island crumbles when Riley takes her mother's credit card to run away, leaving only Family Island standing.

What warning light do the emotions notice on the new console at the end of the first Inside Out?

A red Puberty alarm on the upgraded console is waved off as unimportant, a gag that set up Inside Out 2 nine years later.

Who directed the first Inside Out?

Pete Docter directed Inside Out; the idea came from watching his own daughter Elie's personality change as she grew up.

Which emotion originally went on the journey with Joy in early drafts, before being swapped for Sadness?

Fear was Joy's travelling partner for almost three years of development, until the director decided the story was not working and rebuilt the journey around Sadness.

Which emotion on psychologist Paul Ekman's list was left out of Inside Out for being too similar to Fear?

Surprise was struck off while the director was doodling the cast and saw it would look much like Fear; he liked Ekman's short list because it was a manageable number of characters to write.

At which film festival did the first Inside Out have its world premiere?

Cannes hosted the premiere a month before the US release, and the audience is said to have given the film an eight-minute standing ovation.

Which film kept Inside Out from opening at number one in the US?

Jurassic World, in its second weekend, held Inside Out to second place, ending the studio's unbroken run of number-one openings.

Which short film played before Inside Out in cinemas?

Lava, a musical short about a lonely volcano, played before Inside Out; its director fell for Hawaii on his honeymoon and later wrote the song on a ukulele he bought there.

Which Academy Award did Inside Out win?

Best Animated Feature went to Inside Out at the 2016 Oscars; accepting it, the director told teenagers they can't choose when they feel sad or angry, but they can 'make stuff'.

Who composed the score for the first Inside Out?

Michael Giacchino began by writing an eight-minute suite, tied to no scene at all, based purely on how an early screening of Inside Out made him feel.

Baby Riley's voice reuses old recordings of which toddler from an earlier film by the same studio?

Boo from Monsters, Inc. was voiced by Mary Gibbs, a toddler so restless that staff trailed her round the studio with a microphone; those old recordings supplied baby Riley's voice.

Which Red Hot Chili Peppers member voices Mind Worker Cop Jake?

Flea's Cop Jake starts after Joy when she races through Cloud Town, but his partner stops him with 'Forget it, Jake. It's Cloud Town', a nod to the last line of Chinatown.

Which 2015 animated film was the only one to out-gross Inside Out worldwide?

Minions took about $1.16 billion to Inside Out's $859 million, yet it was shut out of the Oscar race that Inside Out went on to win.

Which film did Inside Out's director make immediately before it?

Up reached cinemas in 2009, and within months its director, watching his daughter grow quieter, began sketching the idea that became Inside Out.

Who is the credited director of Inside Out 2?

Kelsey Mann traced the story to his own birthday photos: beaming as a small boy, miserable by his early teens, and he wanted to know what had changed.

In Inside Out 2, Riley's friends are bound for a different what?

School is the news: Riley's two best friends admit they are off to a different high school, which is why Anxiety pushes her to win over the older players instead.

Which colour is the new emotion voiced by Maya Hawke, who takes over Headquarters in the sequel?

Orange is the colour of Anxiety; the director auditioned Maya Hawke over Zoom from Walt Disney World during a family holiday, and her take moved him to tears.

Which new emotion in Inside Out 2 works the console from her phone without leaving the couch?

Ennui, voiced by French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos, steers from a phone app; once Riley turns sarcastic, a 'Sar-chasm' opens across the old emotions' path.

What does the new emotion Embarrassment hide inside in Inside Out 2?

His hoodie is where Embarrassment retreats whenever Riley is mortified; the big pink emotion barely speaks, yet he quietly helps Sadness stay hidden in Headquarters.

Which star of The Bear voices Envy?

Ayo Edebiri voices Envy, one of the self-conscious emotions that the film's science adviser told the director arrive in the teens, when life is all about social comparison.

Who replaced Bill Hader as the voice of Fear in the sequel?

Tony Hale, Buster on Arrested Development, took over Fear after Bill Hader reportedly turned down an offer worth a fraction of the lead actor's fee.

Which veteran actress voices Nostalgia, the elderly emotion in Inside Out 2 who keeps being sent back to her room?

June Squibb, then in her nineties, voices Nostalgia, whose fond memories are all comically recent because Riley is still so young.

What sport is Riley playing at camp during Inside Out 2?

Ice hockey replaced a talent show: the sequel's first test screenings had Riley on stage, until the team decided her sport was what made her unique.

What is the name of the high-school team Riley hopes to make at camp?

The Fire Hawks are the team Riley is desperate to join; under Anxiety's control she sneaks into the coach's office and reads that she is not ready yet.

What is the new part of Riley's mind that holds her beliefs, which Anxiety and Joy fight over?

Riley's Sense of Self grows from her beliefs; Joy fills it only with good memories, firing the bad ones to the Back of the Mind.

Bloofy, the character from Riley's favourite childhood TV show, has a sidekick that is what?

A talking fanny pack called Pouchy is Bloofy's sidekick; when the old emotions are locked in the vault, a stick of dynamite from his pocket blasts them out.

Lance Slashblade, locked in the vault with the old emotions, is what kind of character?

A video game hero Riley once secretly adored, Lance Slashblade has one special move, curling into a ball and rolling, which finally helps the emotions get past the guards.

What turns out to be Riley's Deep Dark Secret in Inside Out 2?

She burned a hole in a rug, the hulking secret finally admits to Joy after the credits; Joy had been expecting something about the swimming pool.

Which film did Inside Out 2 pass as its studio's biggest?

Incredibles 2 had been the studio's biggest earner since 2018; Inside Out 2 passed its $1.24 billion in under a month, a relief for a studio whose staff saw the release as 'life or death'.

Which Chinese animated film overtook Inside Out 2 as the highest-grossing animated film in 2025?

Ne Zha 2 passed Inside Out 2 less than three weeks after opening in early 2025, having already earned more in China alone than any film had ever taken in a single country.

What nickname did the filmmakers give the nine real teenagers who reviewed Inside Out 2 as it was made?

Riley's Crew, nine girls aged 13 to 19, watched the film every four months and sent notes the director said were sometimes better than the professionals'.

Which Man of Steel star voices Riley's mother in both Inside Out films?

Diane Lane voices Jill Andersen in both films; when the family dinner ends in a row, the emotions in her head sigh over a memory of a Brazilian helicopter pilot.

Which two writers co-wrote the first Inside Out with Pete Docter?

Cooley also voices Jangles the Clown, and Ronnie del Carmen served as co-director.

Which Twin Peaks star voices Riley's father, Bill Andersen?

Kyle MacLachlan voices Bill Andersen in both films; when he sends Riley to her room at dinner, the emotions in his head cheer that the foot is down, while his wife's call it a disaster.

Which two Muppet performers voice the pair of guards in Riley's Subconscious?

Dave Goelz and Frank Oz, Muppet veterans, voice the Subconscious guards; in an in-joke Goelz plays Frank and Oz plays Dave.

Which advert do the Forgetters keep sending up to Headquarters for fun?

A gum jingle for TripleDent is one memory the Forgetters say will never fade, so they send it up to Headquarters for no reason at all, to Anger's fury.

What is the name of the best friend Riley leaves behind when her family moves?

Meg is the best friend Riley left behind; on a video call she raves about a new friend, and Riley's jealous reaction brings down Friendship Island.

In early character designs, Anger was a brick, Joy a star and Sadness a what?

A tear was the starting point for Sadness, and her finished body still follows a teardrop's outline; Fear, by the same logic, began as a raw nerve.

Which emotion held Disgust's seat in the main cast for much of the first Inside Out's development?

Pride sat in the main cast for a long time, the film's editor recalled, outlasting most of the two dozen or more emotions the team tried, until Disgust took its place.

Inside Out's 2015 debut set the opening-weekend record for an original film, taking it from which blockbuster?

Avatar's $77 million had been the best start for a film not based on existing material; Inside Out opened to $90.4 million and still finished the weekend in second place.

Which part of Riley's mind got its own Disney+ series in 2024?

Dream Productions, the studio that films Riley's dreams, got a mockumentary set between the two films, in which a veteran dream director fights to make her next hit.

Which vegetable, swapped for green peppers in Japan, does toddler Riley refuse in Inside Out?

Broccoli is not seen as gross in Japan, where children love it, so the studio asked what was. Three scenes were then reanimated with green bell peppers.

Inside Out was inspired by its director noticing which family member grow quiet and reserved?

His daughter Elie had become quieter and more reserved, and he began to wonder what was happening inside her head. The project was approved in October 2009.

Fear in Inside Out was modelled on actor Don Knotts and which wide-eyed British comedy character?

Mr. Bean, played by Rowan Atkinson, shares famously wide eyes with Don Knotts, who was Deputy Barney Fife on The Andy Griffith Show.

Joy's hair in Inside Out was made blue so she would not resemble which Disney character?

Tinker Bell was too close a match for an early Joy, so the designers changed her hair. One of them thought the finished Joy looked like Audrey Hepburn.

Which term coined for Inside Out became a Gen Z expression and a TikTok trend in mid-2022?

Core memories, the moments that shape Riley's personality, were invented for the film and have little scientific basis. Some parents now try to engineer them for their children.

In Inside Out 2, what does Anxiety do to the original emotions before seizing the console?

Bottles them up is meant literally: the film turns a phrase for suppressed feelings into a real container, which is then thrown into a vault.

How does Bing Bong help Joy's third rocket-wagon escape attempt succeed in Inside Out?

He jumps off in mid-climb, because the two of them together are too heavy to reach the top. He fades away below as she escapes.

To promote Inside Out 2, which company listed a real house modelled on the emotions' Headquarters?

Airbnb listed the rental, just outside Las Vegas, two days before the film opened in June 2024, giving fans a full-size version of the control room.

In Inside Out, what kind of object holds each of Riley's memories on its way to long-term storage?

A coloured orb holds each memory. By the end of the film some orbs carry several colours at once, because Riley's feelings about a moment have become mixed.

What happens to Riley in front of her class on her first day at a new school in Inside Out?

She bursts into tears because Sadness has turned her joyous memories sad. Joy's struggle to get rid of the result sweeps both emotions out of Headquarters.

Why does Riley's family leave their old home for San Francisco at the start of Inside Out?

Her father's new job uproots the family when Riley is eleven. The director chose a girl because research found no one is more attuned to expressions than girls aged eleven to seventeen.

When Riley runs away from her San Francisco home in Inside Out, what kind of vehicle does she board?

A bus is meant to carry her back to her old home town, until Sadness removes the idea that started the trip and Riley gets off and hurries home.

In Inside Out, what does Anger plug into the console to make Riley run away?

A light bulb stands for an idea in Riley's mind, just as in old cartoons. This one later shorts out the console and sinks her into depression.

In Inside Out, Bing Bong leads Joy and Sadness into which dangerous shortcut through Riley's mind?

Abstract Thought lies behind a warning sign that Bing Bong misreads, and the detour costs them their ride home. For some languages he was redrawn pointing at its letters from right to left.

Which theme-park-like part of Riley's mind is being rebuilt in Inside Out as she outgrows Bing Bong?

Imagination Land is where Bing Bong laments being left behind, and where he turns down Joy's attempts to cheer him up in favour of sympathy from Sadness.

At the end of Inside Out, what does a tearful Riley finally admit to her parents?

She misses her old life, and her parents reply that they miss it too. The moment creates a new kind of memory that is happy and sad at once.

In Inside Out 2, what do the stranded emotions use to ride a flood of bad memories home?

Dynamite blows up the cliff beneath a mountain of memories Joy had been throwing away, and the wave carries the emotions back to Headquarters.

In some countries' versions of Inside Out, the game in Riley's dad's daydream became which sport?

Soccer was offered because it is huge in so much of the world. Even so, some soccer-loving countries kept the original, because it suits where Riley's family comes from.

Which actor voices Bing Bong in Inside Out, a role kept secret in the film's marketing?

Richard Kind sat out the publicity so audiences would meet the character cold. He had already voiced Molt in A Bug's Life and Bookworm in Toy Story 3.

Which actress voiced Disgust in the first Inside Out but declined to return for the sequel over pay?

Mindy Kaling turned down the sequel after a pay dispute: the returning supporting cast were reportedly offered $100,000 each, a fraction of the lead's fee.

Which star of Richard Jewell and Black Bird voices the new emotion Embarrassment in Inside Out 2?

Paul Walter Hauser broke through in the title role of Clint Eastwood's Richard Jewell, then won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for Black Bird.

Which Community actress voices Coach Roberts, the strict camp director, in Inside Out 2?

Yvette Nicole Brown, who played Shirley Bennett on the sitcom, voices the coach whose private notebook Riley later sneaks a look at.

Which Cheers actor, also heard in Toy Story and Cars, plays the mechanic Fritz in Inside Out?

John Ratzenberger, Cliff on the sitcom, first voiced Hamm in Toy Story. Fritz, who maintains the emotions' console, was his first part for the studio since Onward when he returned in the sequel.

In Inside Out 2, Riley's best friends Grace and who else are bound for a different high school?

Bree is short for Breonna, and her news with Grace is what drives Anxiety to push Riley towards the older players.

Which comedy writer voices the Dream Director in Inside Out and leads the series Dream Productions?

Paula Pell spent eighteen years writing for a famous sketch show before her dream-directing character was given a full name, Paula Persimmon, for the series.

Which IT Crowd star voices Xeni, the daydream director in the Inside Out series Dream Productions?

Richard Ayoade, the awkward Moss of that sitcom, plays the nephew of the studio boss, who thinks Riley's dreams ought to be more grown-up.

Bing Bong in Inside Out was partly modelled on which star of Planes, Trains and Automobiles?

John Candy's overly friendly travelling salesman, Del Griffith, was one model for the character, along with Oliver Hardy and Jimmy Durante.

The producer of Inside Out found the voice of Sadness in a lunch scene from which 2011 comedy?

Bad Teacher, a Cameron Diaz comedy, won her the part: the producer watched it late one night and rang the director to say he had found Sadness. Joy's voice was the last of the emotions to be hired.

Disgust in Inside Out was based on April Ludgate, the apathetic intern from which sitcom?

Parks and Recreation made April, played by Aubrey Plaza, one of its breakout characters. She starts as a college intern and rises to deputy director of animal control.

Sadness in Inside Out was restyled to resemble Debbie Downer, a character from which TV show?

Saturday Night Live introduced Debbie Downer in 2004, spoiling a family breakfast at Walt Disney World with grim news. Several of the film's voice cast are veterans of the show.

In the Inside Out short Riley's First Date?, her dad bonds with young Jordan over which rock band?

AC/DC was chosen because the short's director saw the band as one that connects generations: at one concert he stood between a seven-year-old and an eighty-year-old.

Dream Productions, the Disney+ spin-off of Inside Out, is set at which point in Riley's story?

Between the two films is where its four mockumentary episodes sit, following the studio that makes Riley's dreams as she starts to outgrow the childish ones.

Inside Out Emotional Whirlwind, a spinner ride that opened in 2019, stands in which theme park?

Disney California Adventure built the ride on Pixar Pier, on the site of a 180-foot launch tower that had been removed in 2010.

Alongside its Oscar win, the first Inside Out was nominated for which other Academy Award?

Best Original Screenplay was its second nomination, but that award went to Spotlight, which was also named Best Picture that night.

Before choosing a sports camp, the makers of Inside Out 2 built the plot around which event?

A talent show was dropped after about three test screenings, when the team decided Riley's sport was a more distinctive part of who she is.

Which 2019 crime thriller was cited as an inspiration for Anxiety's scenes in Inside Out 2?

Uncut Gems, in which Adam Sandler plays a jeweller and gambling addict racing to pay off a debt, shaped her most visually intense moments.

Inside Out was the first original Pixar film made almost entirely without which studio co-founder?

Steve Jobs died in 2011, about two years after the project was approved, so nearly all of the film was made without him.

Which Berkeley psychology professor advised the makers of both Inside Out films on emotions?

Dacher Keltner also hosts the podcast The Science of Happiness, and has worked with Facebook's designers on its reaction buttons.

In Inside Out, a Brazilian man who appears in the memories of Riley's mother has which job?

Helicopter pilot is his job, and he is voiced by Carlos Alazraqui, who also plays one of the emotions inside her husband's head.

The director of Inside Out 2 began the sequel after revisiting photos of which childhood event?

A birthday party of his own, seen in old photographs, set him thinking in January 2020. The story then took shape during the pandemic lockdown.