The Voices Behind Riley, Grace and Bree Discuss the Incredible Impact of Inside Out 2
Today, Sep. 25, is a very important day, because Disney and Pixar's record-breaking Inside Out 2 is finally available to stream on Disney+.
The sequel to the beloved 2015 classic Inside Out released in theaters in June and has since gone on to become the highest-grossing animated film of all time thanks to its lasting and resonant story. Truly, Inside Out 2 is a tale for everyone.
The story revolves around Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman), following both her external life, including her relationships with best friends Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green), and the internal life taking place between the emotions living in her head. It's a richly layered story with some of our favorite film moments shared between this unbreakable trio. We had the pleasure of hopping on a Zoom call with Kensington, Grace and Sumayyah to learn more about their friendship, the recording process and the incredible impact of Inside out 2. Read it all in the interview below.
In the film, Riley, Grace and Bree immediately click and become best friends. How did the three of you get along when you first met?
Kensington Tallman: This is so perfect. We actually got to record a couple of sessions together, which is really rare and unique for voiceover, since oftentimes, you record alone. We were just talking about this—how from the moment we met, we just immediately clicked and it felt like we've known each other for so long.
(Photo credit: Lydia Canbakal)
Grace Lu: It feels like our characters and us were destined to be friends.
It just worked out.
(Photo credit: Johanna DeGeneres)
Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green: Oh yeah, 100%. It was instant, as quick as you see it happen in the movie. That's pretty much exactly how quickly we became friends.
(Photo credit: Johanna DeGeneres)
GL: I feel like Kelsey [Mann], our director, orchestrated some of that, too, because some of the first things that we did together were the group scenes where we're just laughing and being goofy, and that really bonded us for sure.
(Inside Out 2 via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
SH: Do you think that authentic connection helped you record some of the more emotional scenes in the film?
SNG: 100%. We did a lot of scenes that day we first met. We did a lot of silly stuff at the beginning, and then we had to go into these more vulnerable, sad moments. Right after a really fun scene—I think it was winning the championship—we did the scene where we tell Riley that we're not going to the same high school.
KT: Yes! That scene still breaks my heart, because that's hard. I've experienced that, moving away or not being able to be with your friends. Some of my friends are off in college now, and it's such a relatable feeling. It's not easy. We immediately clicked, and then it was it was harder to do those scenes because we love each other so much and it's it's hard to have those sad moments.
SNG: Definitely. I think it was our second time recording together, and we had to do the scene where Riley is trying to get in with Val and the rest of the girls. At that point, we'd already established ourselves as besties on and off screen, and we have so much fun together, so it was really sad seeing the girls not get along. Playing that was really challenging.
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SH: Your characters are all on a hockey team together, and those scenes are pretty physical. When you're in the recording booth, how do you get in the right mindset to demonstrate that physicality when, in real life, you have to stand in place?
GL: Something that I loved about when we recorded the first time is that at the Burbank Studios and in Emeryville, they have these efforts bars that are so helpful!
KT: Life-savers!
GL: As somebody who did a lot of efforts in the past without the bar, it is very nice to have something physical that you can hold onto when you're making all of those intense grunting sports noises—to have something that grounds you in the physical reality of it.
SH: Can you explain more about that?
GL: "Efforts" are the kind of sounds you do to build the sound out of the scene. When we're doing hockey, it's the noises as of moving across the rink. Usually, when I've done efforts in the post, you just tighten your torso, ground yourself in your feet and you do them straight into the mic, but we were lucky enough to have a studio equipped with an efforts bar you pull on, and it won't make any noise, so you can use that to tighten up your body. It's a little bit easier when you have to pretend you're pulling a heavy box.
SNG: You know what else was really fun to record? Our "awoogas." I remember when I had to do them alone, it was so awkward. Obviously, Kelsey, our director, did a really great job and he'd do them with me sometimes so it felt less awkward, but when we did a lot of them, actually together, instantly the awkwardness went away. We were all just being so silly and they were so fun to do.
KT: I love the awoogas. They were so much more fun to do with each other because we were able to have that chemistry. We were laughing and improv-ing. And back to the effort bar, it's literally my best friend. I showed up to Pixar for the first time in Emeryville and they had this bar thing. I was like, "What is this?" Our engineer had built this effort bar. I am so physical. My arms are moving and flailing when I record. I look crazy. The effort bar was was so helpful for pushing and pulling, especially during the hockey scenes where I'm saying, "I'm not good enough! I'm not good enough!" I was able to really get those sounds out.
GL: When you're doing voiceover, you can't move. You gotta stay here, you you gotta stay centered.
SNG: I feel like when I'm recording, anxiety is definitely on the panel up there and I fidget a lot, so that effort bar was also great to not only help sounds, but to keep me still and grounded, which was great, because like Kensington, I was moving a lot.
SH: Your characters work together so well on the hockey team—were there any group activities you three got to do while you were recording?
GL: Sadly, we lived a little too far apart. But something that was really, really fun—and I'm so thankful that you did this—Kensington made friendship bracelets for the entire crew and us, so now we all have these friendship bracelets that connect us. We brought them to the premiere and D23. It's like the movie is always with us, and she's always part of us, too.
KT: Aw, I love you guys so much. You'll always be a part of me. That was so special, just being able to be at the recording studio with you both. I know Sumayyah lives up in the Bay Area. I live in the L.A., San Diego area, and we're all a little bit further apart, so it is challenging, but even being able to connect over Zoom and text and FaceTime is so amazing. And we got to see each other very briefly at D23, which was so fun.
GL: Sumayyah and I were like ships passing in the night.
SNG: I know! I was like, I'm gonna miss Grace!
(Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for Disney)
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SH: What does it mean to the three of you to be a big part of the highest grossing animated film of all time?
SNG: Insanity! It warms my heart because, obviously, Inside Out has always been a story that speaks to so many people, and I think it's so amazing that the second movie has done the same. What's really beautiful to me is that not only does it have this great friend group, but I feel more little kids can see themselves onscreen because of its diversity. I loved the movie when I was younger—I promise, no bias—and I relate to it in so many ways. Now, there's quite literally more visual representation onscreen in this movie, and all the more people can love it.
There was this younger girl, and she was like, "You're in Inside Out 2?" And I was like, "I am!" and she's like, "Well who do you play?" I said, "Well I, voice Bree, " and she told me, "Well, Bree looks like me!" I was like, "Yeah, she does!" She thought it was just so insane. I could see the awe in her eyes and I wanted to cry right then and there because I know that I would have loved to be in that situation when I was her age. I'm really happy that she can see me and see herself and see Bree, and I hope that so many young kids and even older people feel that way and feel represented,emotionally and physically, in this movie.
GL: I've gotten a few comments from people reaching out to me saying that this is the first time that they've seen someone with their body type onscreen. You don't get to see a lot of chubby Asian girls in film. I think, especially as someone who isn't super light as well, the casual representation that we were able to achieve in this film is really beautiful. All the hijabi girls, too. We exist! And we exist casually in the world. It was a really beautiful homage to the emotional side of teenagehood and also the very real physical side, too. All my friend groups looked like this, and I'm so happy that I get to see it represented this way.
SNG: Kensington and Grace are my real life Riley and Grace, but a lot of my friendships outside of Inside Out 2 look a lot like the friendships represented in this film, so it's so cool being a part of this and having people see themselves in us.
KT: I 100% agree. I think representation is so important, and to represent what real friends look like and what real friends go through, even if that's just not going to the same high school, has encouraged so many teens and young kids and adults as well to know that they aren't alone in this experience. If you are experiencing anxiety, that's totally normal. That's a part of life, and you have your friends and family to help you go through that with you. I think it's bridging generational gaps and bringing people together. It's really special to be a part of a film that's been so well-received.
GL: One of my favorite deleted scenes that didn't make the cut was at the very end, when all of the hockey players confess to each other that they experience anxiety—that they don't know if they're enough—and it was so beautiful, that admission of vulnerability. I feel like in today's society, we put on a brave face or try to seem okay—that kind of Instagram life—but that's not all real. We put our best selves out there, but on the inside, it's really nice to be vulnerable with friends.
KT: It feels good to let it out. It feels good to express that. I think what it's doing for kids is so amazing—they have the language and they have the comfortability to say that to their parents and to their friends and to embrace that vulnerability.
(Inside Out 2 via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
SH: Is there anything else we should know about Inside Out 2?
KT: Something we're all super excited about is the Disney+ release. It's coming on Sept. 25, so definitely tune in. Also, you can buy it at digital retailers like Apple TV, Amazon Prime and Fandango, and on Blu-ray and DVD. I also have to add, because it's kind of cool, that our Blu-Ray and digital releases have bonus content. If you love watching behind-the-scenes and deleted scenes, this is for you. We also have an alternate opening in there.
GL: Thank you, everybody out there, for making this the highest-grossing animated film ever. It's so unbelievable, but it's amazing that it's resonated with so many people.
(Inside Out 2 via Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)
For more interviews with the people who make movies possible, click HERE to read our interview with Jewelianna Ramos-Ortiz, Jenna Ortega's stunt double in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice.