Pixar surprised audiences again with their new film ‘Inside Out 2’, which explores Riley’s new and complicated feelings in her teenage years. Two emotions that stand out in particular are envy and shame, whose stark physical differences go beyond mere aesthetics. Below, we explain the reason for these plans.
Personifying human emotions for a children’s film is no easy task. The designers who were responsible for bringing these new characters to life left nothing to chance, since everything has a reason to exist. On social media, netizens began to wonder why Envy and Shame are such opposites in appearance.
Why is Envy small and with huge eyes?
Envy is represented in “Inside Out 2” as a small, turquoise blue being with huge eyes that glow when she sees something that catches her eye. In real life, envy is associated with lack compared to others and can make people feel small and inferior. By making Envy smaller in stature, Pixar visually represents this sense of “feeling less” and self-perception of inadequacy.
His large eyes also play a key role in his design. In animation, this physical trait is often used to make a character appear more vulnerable, which is effective for Envy and allows him to express a hidden admiration that can be accompanied by anguish and desire.
In fact, although Envy can be perceived as a negative being, one of the most recurring theories on the net is that Riley’s emotion is actually benign, since when expressed it does not harm anyone and even has similarities to admiration.
Shame and the reason for its enormous size
On the other hand, Shame is a huge, pink and timid character, who perfectly visualizes the overwhelming nature of this feeling. Unlike Envy, Shame has a crushing feel to it, and although it wants to hide, it’s quite visible.
This feeling can dominate a person’s thoughts and behaviors, causing them to want to hide or disappear. By portraying it as something large and dominant, Pixar reflects how Shame can occupy a large part of a person’s mental and emotional space. Its size may also be designed to show how this emotion tends to overshadow other emotions and experiences.
Dutcher Keltner, a professor at Berkeley, explained in an interview with Time magazine what shame means in a social context.
The physical differences between Envy and Shame suggest how these emotions affect Riley differently. Envy, with its smaller size, can sneak around and act discreetly, while Shame, with its commanding presence, overwhelms and dominates Riley’s mind. With these characters, Pixar not only enriches the visual narrative of “Inside Out 2,” but also offers a deeper understanding of the emotional complexities we all experience.
What did you think of these characters? Tell us in the comments.
Source: univision
Camila Luna is a writer at Gossipify, where she covers the latest movies and television series. With a passion for all things entertainment, Camila brings her unique perspective to her writing and offers readers an inside look at the industry. Camila is a graduate from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in English and is also a avid movie watcher.
