Pixar Animation Studios’ Inside Out 2 takes the audience back into the mind of a young girl named Riley and goes beyond the scope of Pete Docter’s original film from 2015. The sequel, directed by FurtherKelsey Mann takes Riley into her teenage years, adding new emotional characters and the physical manifestation of her self-confidence as she navigates big changes in her life.
But aside from the drama Riley experiences around her friends and her social ambitions, the new Pixar film also has one of the best video game character gags since Tron.
[Ed. note: This post contains some spoilers for Inside Out 2.]
About half an hour into the film, Joy (Amy Poehler) and the rest of the original from the inside to the outside Emotions – Fear, Anger, Disgust, and Sadness – end up in a deep, dark vault full of secrets, where they are confronted by the manifestations of some of the things Riley has locked away inside herself. These include Bloofy, a Bluey-like character from a children’s cartoon who Riley still secretly and shamefully likes, and a large, shadowy figure called Deep Dark Secret.
But more importantly, the Vault contains Lance Slashblade, a melodramatic video game character Riley recognizes from the same universe’s equivalent of Super Smash Bros. Riley has a major crush on him, but he gets locked in the Vault because, despite his urbane looks, Lance has one of the lamest power attacks in the game, which embarrasses Riley for liking him so much.
With his pixelated anime hair, giant sword, and comically earnest voice (provided by veteran video game voice actor Yong Yea), Lance looks like he would fit perfectly into any number of Final Fantasy characters. And he’s definitely the kind of character that a 13-year-old who only knows him from a team game would have an embarrassing crush on. (That was Marth in Super Smash Bros. Melee
“They had the great idea of having a crush on somebody,” Mann said at a meeting before the film’s release. “I had crushes on cartoon characters at that age, and you don’t want to talk about it. We had the idea […] and we were so excited.”
Harris told Polygon in a later interview that they delved deep into their 13-year-old secrets when creating the character. As avid gamers, they were drawn to what they call “mysterious characters,” like Cloud Strife from Final Fantasy 7 or Auron in Axel from Kingdom Hearts.
“I remember clearly, though, that among all my friends in junior high, I didn’t know anyone who was interested in these games, who knew who these characters were, much less wanted to admit to having feelings for these characters,” says Harris. “So I immediately suggested, ‘What if Riley has a crush on a video game character? That could be fun.’ That came from a very authentic place.”
All of the characters in the Vault – Bloofy, Deep Dark and Lance – evolved from the filmmakers’ initial brainstorming of Riley’s repressed secrets.
“I drew all three,” says Mann. “And Lance was always there. We always knew he was going to be a warrior. Someone said, ‘He should have a huge sword. A huge one.'”
As the storyboards progressed, story artist Jeff Cole asked Harris for input on Lance’s design, as he was unfamiliar with the touchpoints required for a “beautiful emo boy,” so Harris focused on three specific comments.
“He needs incredible hair, impractical armor and a Maybelline-style beauty,” says Harris.
Lance’s visuals definitely take a lot from Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. But what makes him stand out isn’t just his design – it’s the way he moves and how he looks in relation to the rest. Inside Out 2‘s world. His gestures and gait are a bit jerky and stilted, just like in an old video game. (Or like some of the 8-bit inspired characters in Destroy it Ralph
Animator David Torres tells Polygon that the animation team had to deliberately lower their visual standards to create Lance. That meant keeping the frame rate lower, focusing on minimal movement and animation, and having Lance hold poses for longer than the other characters.
“We knew we had to do one thing – namely Really
Instead of using Pixar’s typical simulation software, the animators had to create Lance’s hair by hand. Likewise, many of Lance’s other textures were created by hand to ensure he looked distinctive. Torres worked briefly in games before moving into feature film animation, and credits his time working on Metroid-Prime as a major influence on Lance’s final appearance. But another major reason for Lance looking so typical of the PlayStation 2 era was an attempt to make him look unique and out of place, especially given the advancements in video game animation.
“We probably had to go back at least 20 years to achieve the quality we were aiming for,” says Torres. “We just had to make some creative decisions to say: OK, we really have to separate him from the world.”
But what really seals it all is Lance Slashblade’s perfectly melodramatic voice-over performance. Yong Yea (Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Persona 3 Reload), an experienced voice actor for video games, knew what a special charisma the character had to have – deep, overly serious and dramatic. From the moment he read the materials for his audition, Yea recognized a major anime influence: Sasuke Uchiha from Naruto.
“[Sasuke] has this very nervous ‘my past is so haunted’ vibe to it,” says Yea. “And I think to myself: I’ll incorporate a bit of that into the audition. That was my first thought – I thought He has a bit of Sasuke energy.”
At that point, Yea hadn’t seen any images of the character, so he relied purely on the script’s melodramatic tone. When he saw the first concept art, he was pleased with how much the filmmakers incorporated the video game tone, he says.
“It looked like Cloud and Sephiroth had a child, but more in purple,” he laughs.
Yea tells us that Mann more or less asked him to relax in the recording booth and channel as much video game and anime energy as possible. Yea used many games and shows he loves as inspiration, but he also had an unexpected reference point from his own career.
“There is this character that I play Cookie Run: Kingdom called Madeleine biscuit,” says Yea. “Now he has a completely different aura, but he’s just as melodramatic. So I think these two characters are two sides of the same coin.”
Lance Slashblade is unique in the world of Inside Out 2but the fact that it evokes so many concrete comparisons from all the people who worked on it speaks to the strength of its concept. An awkward fictional crush is, after all, a milestone for young teenagers.
“It’s just one of the little things that make you grow into a teenager and become who you are,” Harris says. “Understanding that you like certain things and that they’re different from other people can be embarrassing. But hey, it’s actually a good thing that you’re unique and not exactly like everyone else.”
Inside Out 2 is now in theaters.
[Disclosure: Some quotes from this article come from an Inside Out 2 early press day held at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, California, on March 26 and 27. Disney provided Polygon’s travel and accommodations for the event. You can find additional information about Polygon’s ethics policy here.]