When it comes to movies in 2024, no movie has been more successful than Pixar’s Inside Head 2. The film grossed nearly $1.7 billion worldwide and received critical acclaim for an animated film. As I detailed in my Inside Head 2 review, I loved the long-awaited sequel, which depicts the inner workings of Riley’s mind several years after the events of the first film. But what I experienced with Inside Head 2 also feels like Pixar’s first experience since 2019’s Toy Story 4, which was the last film from the animation studio before the arrival of Disney+ . I’d like to talk about a unique experience I had at Pixar this year. It ended beautifully with my new TV show “Inside Head” on Disney+.
On the heels of Inside Head 2 becoming one of the year’s biggest hits, it’s certainly a cultural phenomenon that we’ll all be looking back on for decades to come (among other things). As for how cathartic this film was for people who’ve been dealing with major anxiety (), Pixar just released a spin-off about another side of Riley’s mind outside of the control center. Dream Productions is a four-episode miniseries that delves into Riley’s mind as she makes dreams come true. I wanted to share my thoughts on this show and how its release has made me think about what I want going forward in terms of Disney+ and Pixar’s relationship.
I had the pleasure of watching the “Inside Head” spin-off on Disney+
I’ve been looking forward to it ever since I heard about Dream Productions, but I never expected it to be released so soon after Inside Head 2. The series was still new to me, so it ended up being perfect. I was literally overjoyed the day it came out. (Honestly, this is different for me as a Disney+ subscriber.) I really enjoyed it because it felt like it expanded on the idea of Inside Head 2. It provided some supplemental entertainment that fans of Inside Head didn’t need, but I still enjoyed it. You can dive deeper into the world created by animators and spend more time with it.
The series follows Paula Persimmon, the longtime director of Riley’s dreams in her head, as she deals with pressure from upper management to create more memorable dreams. Her longtime assistant, Janelle, is promoted to fill her role, potentially putting Paula’s job in jeopardy. Outside of Riley’s brain, the girl has mixed feelings about what to do at her first school dance. Her mother provided her with a dress that she absolutely did not like, and the event there became the main focus of Dream Productions, which runs dream workshops.
Although Dream Productions is a smaller operation than Inside Head 2, the animation quality and storytelling proved to be on par with the film, and Pixar’s animators took advantage of the concept from Inside Head 2. Those around him highly praised his unique interpretation. Dreams work. I would love to see more Pixar shows like this that accompany big movies. Especially since the worlds they create are always too vast to be represented in a single film.
In the early days of Disney+, I was frustrated with Pixar’s treatment.
Since Disney+ launched in late 2019, Pixar movies have largely been relegated to original content on Disney+ rather than the big screen events they should have been, so this past year’s complete version of Inside Head has been particularly popular with me. It warmed my heart. (Of course, the coronavirus pandemic occurred just months after the streaming service launched, but that didn’t stop the Walt Disney Company from releasing movies like Jungle Cruise and Encanto in theaters first.) There wasn’t.)
Some may say that pandemic-era movies aren’t that good, but I think Soul is one of Pixar’s best films ever, and Turning Red and Luca are both extremely underrated. Claim to be valued. I enjoyed watching it at home, but I’m glad that Inside Head 2 gave moviegoers an opportunity to go out.
I too am often overwhelmed by Disney+ content
Another reason I was so excited about Inside Head 2’s movie and TV release strategy is that I pay a monthly fee for Disney+ and am always up to date with all the content the streaming service has to offer. Because I’m a human being who is regularly overwhelmed by. In the case of Dream Productions, I think Disney+ was very smart to pull Inside Head 2 from Disney+ exclusivity, but then it became available as a streaming service and there was an opportunity to profit from the title through tie-ins. I got it. In the series.
This is exactly what I wanted from Disney+. I feel like I’m getting the best of both worlds. Because I had a great theatrical experience with Inside Head 2 before it was available on Disney+, and now I get to celebrate it even more with Dream Productions. This definitely didn’t need to be shown in theaters.
After loving Disney+’s inside-out treatment, what kind of impact do you hope it will have on Pixar’s future?
Basically, I want to see this happen many times in future Pixar movies. I want studio feature films to remain part of the theatrical experience and available for streaming later for those who don’t want to shell out big bucks. And I would love to see Pixar create more originals for Disney+ that are directly related to these releases. For example, when Toy Story 5 was released in 2026 and it became a huge hit, I was very excited to see a supplementary Disney+ series depicting aspects of the movie on the streaming service a few months later. I’m happy.
I’m more invested in Disney+ content if it doesn’t take away from the experience I wanted in the theater and ties into something I’m already passionate about. I really hope that Dream Productions has all kinds of success and that what happened with Inside Head 2 continues for many years to come.
