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Released last June, Inside Out 2 became the biggest hit in animated history, grossing over $1 billion at the box office. Riley's emotions thus pushed aside Avengers of the top 10 biggest hits in cinema. For this sequel where the main character goes through adolescence, introducing a whole host of new emotions, it's a full house. However, behind its colorful appearance, a darker truth could be lurking.
Joy was certainly not in control of the minds of Pixar employees during the making of the feature film. According to several anonymous sources who spoke toIGNthe animators of Inside Out 2 reported difficult and exhausting working conditions, leading to mental and physical overload, undue pressure, excessive working hours and dismissals: “It seems to me that for a month or two, the animators worked seven days a week.”
While intensive work is not unusual when production is nearing its end, the case presented by former employees of American animation studios differs, with constant last-minute changes. More than ever, the desire to move on was felt. And for the vast majority, it ended in a general layoff:
“The day of the layoffs sounded like a funeral. There were tears and complaints in the courtyard. These are images that will remain in my mind for a long time.”
All left without receiving a bonus tied to the film’s resounding success—a supplement to their salaries that they said were necessary to make a decent living. As the article explains, because Pixar is not a member of the animators’ union, it is not forced to raise its employees’ salaries. It therefore offers lower salaries than other studios, but in exchange promises its animators a bonus on top of that based on the commercial success of their production. Leaving without this bonus, one of the former employees confided, is like receiving “a final 'kiss my ass' from Disney.” All the more so since Inside Out 2 being the biggest Pixar success, the latter would have been substantial:
“This success is bittersweet. Basically, it's like seeing your ex become a big movie star, and saying 'I'm happy for you, but why?'”
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The excesses reported by the various sources are exposed as repercussions of the COVID-19 years, and the recent strikes in Hollywood. The latest films from Disney/Pixar studios, Elementary And Buzz Lightyear having been failures, it was agreed that Inside Out 2 would allow them to get their heads above water. It was therefore unimaginable that it would flop at the box office. From now on, they would focus on sequels and no longer on original stories – no longer wanting to take the risk of hiring new voices.
Within the creation of Inside Out 2the former animators explained that many contradictions arose, particularly concerning Riley's sexual orientation. There was talk, at one time, of considering a romantic feeling for Valentina Ortiz, the girl he met during the hockey camp. The idea was quickly put back in the closet. For some, Pixar was uncomfortable with the idea of evoking LBGTQ+ themes, especially after the flop of Buzz Lightyear, partly due according to them to the presence of a kiss between two female characters.
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Also, in order to avoid this pattern, employees were reportedly asked to rework many scenes to make Riley a “less gay” character, and ensure “that no one will be able to see them as potentially non-heterosexual” :
“Mind you, Riley is not gay. In the movie, there's no clear indication that she's gay from what you see. But it's kind of inferred based on certain contexts. It's something they tried to downplay a lot.”
According to one source interviewed, the likelihood of seeing an LGBTQ+ main character in a Pixar film is at an all-time low.
Since the article was published, neither Pixar nor Disney have been willing to comment. However, Inside Out 2 is not the only animated film from the studios to find itself in turmoil. Eliothe next on the list, delayed for various reasons, is also a victim of these problems:
“It was rushed, paranoid work, with paranoid management and mixed messages. You're working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. At a certain point, your body starts to fail.”
Given its success, fears of seeing the creative and toxic process repeated for the next feature film are not to be ignored. The machine is even said to be already engaged:
“I think during a meeting someone said 'really? You killed everyone with it Vice Versaand now you want to do the same with Elio ?'”
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