In 2015, Pixar took movie audiences into the mind of a pre-teen girl, Riley Andersen, in the animated film "Inside Out." The movie introduced audiences to Riley’s emotions including Joy, Anger, Fear and Sadness as they sought to help guide Riley through the difficulty of moving to a new city.
Next week, Pixar again takes us back into Riley’s mind with the sequel, "Inside Out 2." But now, Riley is a teenager of 13 and she has a whole bunch of new emotions.
The filmmakers say they did a lot of research to bring the sequel to the screen and that included consulting with experts in adolescent mental health.
Cleveland-area clinical psychologist Lisa Damouris a leading expert on the topic. She’s a best-selling author of three books including “Untangled” and the “Secret Lives of Teenagers.” She also hosts the podcast, “Ask Lisa” that helps parents navigate their children’s teenage years. Damour helped the filmmakers navigate what Riley was going through in the sequel.
"When we decided we were making a movie about a teen girl and the chaos that comes with adolescence we knew we needed to talk to an expert, so we immediately called Lisa. Not only does Lisa have an incredibly empathetic understanding of the emotional lives of teens, she’s a storyteller herself, and that combination of experience and creativity was just what we needed,” said Kelsey Mann, the director of “Inside Out 2.”
The movie will be released nationwide and only in theaters on June 14.
Damour joins us for the entire hour on Wednesday’s “Sound of Ideas” to talk about her work with Pixar as well as the how the teenage years can be daunting for parents and children alike.
Guests:
-Lisa Damour, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist, Author, Advised on "Inside Out 2"
Resources:
Check out Dr. Lisa Damour's website help for families