Inside Out 2 characters, left to right, Sadness, Joy, and Anger stand together in poses appropriate to their personalities at the film’s world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 10. The backdrop behind them features the film’s logo repeated in white on a multicolored background.

The Cast of Inside Out 2 Picks Their Favorite Disney Movies

By Bruce C. Steele

Things are about to get emotional.

When D23 asked cast members and the director of Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 to name their favorite Disney or Pixar film, most were eager to pick… Inside Out! Told that that wasn’t an option—since we expected a bias in that direction—we were faced with a bit of sadness, some anxiety, and maybe a little anger. But in every case, joy soon kicked in as other beloved choices came to mind…

Read on to compare your second-favorite Disney or Pixar movie to these picks… and be sure to see Inside Out 2, only in theaters, opening June 14!

Inside Out 2 cast member Amy Poehler stands next to the character Joy at the film’s world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 10. The backdrop behind them features the film’s logo in white on a multicolored background. She’s wearing a floral gown.

Amy Poehler (Joy)

D23: Was there a Disney film or a Pixar film that really meant a lot to you when you were growing up?

AP: Let me think. I mean, my brain goes to the ones I saw when I was really small. Does it have to be animation?

D23: Of course not.

AP: Okay, because I used to like the live-action ones, like Bedknobs and Broomsticks. I think that’s Disney, right?

D23: Sure!

AP: It’s a classic, from 1971, the year I was born. It was a musical—like Mary Poppins adjacent—and it had action and animation. And it had Angela Lansbury. I fell in love with Angela Lansbury, who was, as we know, a great actor and voice actor. That was a big one for me.

Inside Out 2 cast member Maya Hawke stands in front of a backdrop with the film’s logo on it in white on purple at the film’s world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 10. She’s wearing a dark green low-cut gown.

Maya Hawke (Anxiety)

MH: When I was a little girl, I loved Cinderella. I loved that movie. I loved the way the animals talk to each other. The whole thing lit up my imagination in such a wonderful way. Since then, as I grew up, WALL•E is a work of staggering genius that I watched at exactly the right time. I think about it probably every single week as I watch the world change around all of us. So that’s a favorite. And then came Inside Out. I would pick those three as kind of the demarcators of [certain] times in my life.

Inside Out 2 cast member Lewis Black stands in front of a backdrop with the film’s logo on it in white on purple at the film’s world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 10. He’s wearing a blue sport jacket over a black T-shirt.

Lewis Black (Anger)

LB: Fantasia, because Walt Disney took it out of the space of just Disney. I also like [anything with] Goofy, because whoever came up with Goofy is just demented. Who conceived of this character, you know? All of those cartoons as a kid had an effect on me. Because I’m it, right? I’m the target audience.

Inside Out 2 cast member Tony Hale stands in front of a backdrop with the film’s logo on it in white on purple at the film’s world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 10. He’s wearing a gray sport jacket over a green shirt.

 Tony Hale (Fear)

D23: What Disney or Pixar film other than Inside Out has meant the most to you growing up or as an adult or in any way in your life?

TH: Man, so many times, even when I was doing press for Toy Story 4 [Hale is the voice of Forky. –Ed.], I would always mention Inside Out as my most influential movie. Let me think a minute. I mean, they’re all so beautiful. I mean, Up definitely has a special place in my heart. I also just love The Incredibles, which came around during a time when you never really saw the weaknesses of superheroes. But, again, Inside Out is always the immediate answer.

Phyllis Smith (Sadness)

PS: I loved Up. It really hit home with me because I had elderly parents, and about the time that Up came out, my dad was in a precarious position. And he’s no longer with us. My mom is still with me, but… So Up really hit home with me. I identified with it a lot.

D23: Was there any Disney film that was special to you when you were a child?

PS: Cinderella, because every little girl wanted to be a princess or turn into a princess. So, yeah, I’ve been a Disney fan all my life.

Inside Out 2 director Kelsey Mann stands in front of a backdrop with the film’s logo on it in white on purple at the film’s world premiere at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, California, on June 10. He’s wearing a blue sport jacket over a black T shirt.

Kelsey Mann (director)

KM: I was always a huge fan of Disney growing up, and I wanted to work there. It wasn’t until I was in college when Pixar started making movies, and I saw Toy Story and was blown away by it. And I was blown away by a bug’s life. But I vividly remember going to Toy Story 2 and being like, “Okay, they’ve made some great original movies. Are they going to phone in the sequel?”… The fact that Toy Story 2 was as good as the original blew me away—that even in the sequel, they were committed to quality and making a great film. I remember watching the end credits for Toy Story 2 and just having this sense of wishing that my name was on it. I just pinch myself that I get to work here, every day. And I try to remind myself, whenever I get stressed, of that moment and that feeling. To be a part of the legacy of Disney and Pixar has been absolutely incredible.