The Minnesota Interview: ‘Inside Out 2′ director dishes on the blockbuster’s Twin Cities roots

Riley Andersen, the lead character in “Inside Out 2,” is a Minnesota native still adjusting to her family’s move to San Francisco. That’s not the film’s only connection to the state. The hit, which just began streaming on Disney+, was directed by Kelsey Mann, who was born in Hopkins and spent his teenage years in Burnsville. The 2015 original was helmed by Bloomington native Pete Docter.

The film, which revisits Riley’s inner emotions as they react to a newcomer named Anxiety, has connected with audiences. It recently surpassed ”Frozen 2″ to become the most successful animated movie ever in global box office sales.

Mann, 50, chatted via Zoom from a New York hotel room earlier this month about how his childhood influenced Riley’s struggle to control anxiety.

Q: How do you explain the film’s massive success?

A: When I started, it was January 2020. Anxiety was on the rise among teenagers before that, but the pandemic made it worse. I felt like we were really onto something that could speak to a lot of people.

Q: How is your childhood, and own struggles, reflected in the story?

A: A few years ago, we were having a lot of fires up in Sonoma County, where I live. I decided I should scan all my photos so I had copies. As I was dating them, I notice something about my birthday pictures. When I was 5, I’m sitting in front of my cake with the biggest smile on my face. Then when I was 13, I’m just staring at my cake. The smile went away. I had to think about why. Deep, deep down, I was probably wondering if I was worth celebrating. Science shows that you become incredibly self-conscious when you become a teenager. So when you talk about seeing myself in the film, that’s where I go to.

Q: Why is Riley from Minnesota?

A: What Pete [Docter] was originally looking for was for her to face a change in life that would cause her to feel sad and then try to suppress that sadness. What kind of thing could trigger that in an 11-year-old? Oh, a move. Part of the reason he picked Minnesota was that she played hockey and was moving to California, where it would be harder for her to do what she loves. Ironically, neither Pete nor I really know hockey. I have a little guilt about that. I’m terrible at skating.

Q: What was the first movie you remember seeing as a kid?

A: One of my earliest memories is going to see “Star Wars” with my dad. The place was packed so we had to sit in the front row. I must have been 3 or 4.

Q: Did any of it scare you?

A: I remember being scared at [”Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom”] but not “Star Wars.” It was pure spectacle and fun. It’s one of those movies you can watch over and over again. That’s one of the things I wanted to be true about “Inside Out 2.”

Q: What movie do you think you’ve watched the most times?

A: “Back to the Future.” I love that movie. My kids really love it, too, especially my daughter. We want to see the musical version. I think it’s a perfect movie.

Q: How did you get interested in animation?

A: I was known in Burnsville as the kid who could draw. In all my notebooks in school, the margins were full of drawings. I loved comics. Every Sunday, we would go to my grandmother’s house and she would set aside all the daily newspapers for me in the garage. I would go in and cut out all the “Garfield” and “Calvin and Hobbes” strips and paste them in a scrapbook.

Q: What about animated films?

A: “Beauty and the Beast” had a pretty big impact. It’s sometimes hard for animation to be taken seriously as an art form. But “Beauty” broke the barrier by being Oscar-nominated for best picture. I loved the Muppets. They were zany, but they talked about real things. Kermit has a soul that I believe in, and he’s just a piece of cloth. It’s an amazing illusion. Pixar films do the same thing.

Q: A lot of people admit that the “Inside Out” movies make them cry. What movies do that for you?

A: The other day, after James Earl Jones died, I rewatched “Field of Dreams.” That always hits me. When I joined Pixar, my first wrap party was for “Up.” I had just gotten there, so I hadn’t seen it yet. The first 20 minutes, oh my god. Pete Docter has a history of making films that make you cry.

Q: Is it just a coincidence that you and Pete are both from Minnesota?

A: Isn’t that crazy? I feel like I’ve been following in Pete’s footsteps my entire life. The first place I ever got an animation job was at Reelworks Animation in Minneapolis. This was around 1998. They were like, ”Hey, there was this kid here named Pete and now he’s up in the Bay Area directing a movie.” When I finally got to Pixar, I worked closely with him on “Monsters University.” That’s when I found out we grew up just a few miles away from each other.

Q: What’s next for you?

A: When I was in Japan with Pete and our producer Mark Nielsen, we went to Studio Ghibli and met Hayao Miyazaki, who had just finished “The Boy and the Heron” [which won the Oscar for best animated feature in March]. I asked him the same question you asked me. He said that making a movie takes so much out of you. When it’s done, you have to find yourself again. I can relate to that. I’m trying to find time to just grab my sketchbook, get out to the West Coast and draw just for me.

The Minnesota Interview is a new feature in which we dive deep into the personal side of public figures with special ties to our region and readers.