Inside Out 2 Writer Reveals Shame, Guilt, and More Characters Cut From the Movie

Pixar’s Inside Out 2 brought a handful of brand new emotions into the mind of teenager Riley, but there were even more that didn’t end up making the final cut of the film. Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui highlighted the crop of new faces in the smash hit sequel, and they were almost joined by the likes of Shame and Guilt. During an exclusive interview with ComicBook.com, Inside Out 2 writer Meg LeFauve broke down some of the characters and ideas that were cut throughout production.

“We had a fisherman for ideas named Gail, and we went to the Facts and Opinions factory and saw how those were made. And that was super fun” LeFauve told us. “I think in terms of emotionally, we really tried for quite a while to have Shame in the movie, and Guilt. Shame being more self-loathing, that thing that attacks you. And we talked to a lot of experts about it. The difference with shame is really not a great thing for you because it is just about attacking you. Whereas guilt is about taking responsibility and it’s a behavior, not who you are.

“But it really just never quite clicked. And for this version, because we really needed to center on Anxiety, it start to bifurcate too much of the storyline. But I do think we all have that self-loathing critic in our head, and we got to go there a little bit with the projections and how Anxiety can start to do that to you. So I think it’s in the movie, but that was one thing we explored that we didn’t ultimately feel was fruitful for this version.”

With a setting like the inside of a person’s mind, there are all sorts of ideas to explore in the Inside Out franchise, many of which don’t ultimately make it into the movies we see on the big screen. Director Kelsey Mann has talked about a place in Riley’s mind called Procrastination Land that they tried hard to fit into Inside Out 2, but it wasn’t in the cards.

“I love Procrastination Land. I was sad it didn’t make the cut, but I understood why,” LeFauve said. “I loved watching them run through a basically empty lot and then, all of a sudden, ‘Where’s Anger?!’ And he’s sitting watching television, and it was really, really funny. And Fear got a moment to inspire them all to go forward, but I understood why it didn’t make it.”

Inside Out 2 is now playing in theaters.