Inside Out 2 Characters: Complete List of New & Returning Emotions

Few animated sequels create as much buzz as Pixar’s return to the mind of a teenager. Inside Out 2 brings back Joy, Sadness, and the rest of the original emotions — but this time, four new characters shake up Headquarters: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui. With a fresh set of voice actors and a story about navigating puberty, the film expands the emotional vocabulary in a way that feels both truthful and entertaining.

New emotions in Inside Out 2: 4: Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, Ennui ·
Returning emotions from original: 5: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, Disgust ·
Total emotions depicted: 9 ·
Voice actor for Anxiety: Maya Hawke ·
Voice actor for Nostalgia: June Squibb (expert role)

The six key facts below give you the essentials at a glance — from release details to the full cast of emotions.

The implication: this table shows how a tight emotional ensemble of nine feelings powers a coming-of-age narrative.

What Are the New Characters in Inside Out 2?

Complete list of new emotions introduced

• Anxiety — a small orange character who arrives with six suitcases, representing worry and nervousness. Voiced by Maya Hawke (D23).
• Envy — a wide-eyed light blue emotion that embodies jealousy and resentment. Voiced by Ayo Edebiri (D23).
• Embarrassment — a burly pink-skinned character who feels awkward and self-conscious. Voiced by Paul Walter Hauser (D23).
• Ennui — a slouched, bored purple character representing apathy and boredom. Voiced by Adèle Exarchopoulos (D23).

Voice actors for each new character

All four new emotions are voiced by acclaimed actors: Maya Hawke (Stranger Things) as Anxiety, Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) as Envy, Adèle Exarchopoulos (Blue Is the Warmest Colour) as Ennui, and Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird) as Embarrassment (D23).

Design and personality traits of the new emotions

Each new emotion is visually distinct. Anxiety is small and jittery, colored orange like a warning sign. Envy is a cute, wide-eyed blue figure. Embarrassment is a large pink blob that often hides his face. Ennui is a tall, purple, droopy-eyed character who rarely moves or speaks with energy (Disney Pixar promotional video).

The pattern: each new emotion arrives with a distinct visual logic that mirrors its psychological function, making complex teen feelings instantly readable.

What Are the 9 Emotions in Inside Out 2?

Full roster of the nine emotions

• Joy (Amy Poehler) — yellow, the leader who wants Riley to be happy
• Sadness (Phyllis Smith) — blue, the empathetic emotion
• Anger (Lewis Black) — red, explosive and passionate
• Fear (Tony Hale) — purple, cautious and protective
• Disgust (Liza Lapira) — green, discerning and protective
• Anxiety (Maya Hawke) — orange, the new nervous energy
• Envy (Ayo Edebiri) — light blue, covetous
• Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) — pink, awkward
• Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos) — purple, bored

All five original emotions return, with Tony Hale taking over Fear from Bill Hader (D23). Liza Lapira replaces Mindy Kaling as Disgust.

Which emotions return from the first film

Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust all return. Their voice actors have been confirmed: Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Lewis Black, Tony Hale, and Liza Lapira respectively (D23).

Why only nine emotions are shown

Director Kelsey Mann has noted that the sequel focuses on nine emotions to keep the story manageable while still showing how puberty complicates Riley’s emotional landscape. The film does not attempt to depict all 27 emotions referenced in the original (ODEON Cinemas guide).

What this means: director Kelsey Mann’s decision to cap the cast at nine avoids the clutter of the original 27-emotion throwaway line, keeping the narrative focused.

What Emotion Is Ennui in Inside Out 2?

Meaning of Ennui as an emotion

Ennui represents boredom and apathy — the feeling when nothing seems interesting or worth the effort. In the context of a teenage brain, Ennui embodies the “whatever” attitude that often surfaces during adolescence (Disney Pixar video).

How Ennui is portrayed visually and behaviorally

Ennui is drawn with a slouched posture, half-closed eyes, and a flat voice. The character rarely moves quickly; even speech is delivered with minimal effort. The color purple reinforces the muted, low-energy vibe (D23).

Voice actor for Ennui

French actress Adèle Exarchopoulos voices Ennui, bringing a deadpan delivery that perfectly matches the character’s exhausted tone (D23).

The implication: Adèle Exarchopoulos’s casting as Ennui means the character’s deadpan humor lands through vocal restraint rather than zany energy.

Why Is Joy’s Hair Not Yellow?

Joy’s design change in Inside Out 2

In some promotional materials, Joy’s hair appears less saturated or features subtle highlights compared to the original film. This has led viewers to ask why her iconic yellow glow seems altered (ODEON Cinemas).

Visual symbolism of hair color shift

The design change is believed to reflect Joy’s emotional evolution in a teenage brain. As Riley grows, Joy is no longer the dominant, unchallenged leader. The slightly muted hair may symbolize that even happiness becomes more complex with age.

Filmmaker explanation for the change

Director Kelsey Mann has not given an explicit official explanation for the hair shift. It may simply be a lighting or rendering adjustment rather than a permanent character redesign. The change is subtle and appears mostly in certain scenes and marketing art (ODEON Cinemas).

The pattern: whether a rendering tweak or intentional symbolism, Joy’s less-saturated hair mirrors Amy Poehler’s description of Joy learning to share the controls.

What Are the 27 Emotions in Inside Out?

Reference to 27 emotions in the original 2015 film

In the first Inside Out, a scientist briefly mentions that humans have 27 emotions. This throwaway line has sparked years of fan speculation about what those 27 emotions could be (ODEON Cinemas).

List of all 27 emotions mentioned

Pixar has never released a full official list of the 27 emotions. Fan theories suggest it may include more nuanced feelings like jealousy, shame, hope, gratitude, and awe — but without confirmation, the list remains speculation. The original film only used five core emotions to tell its story.

How these relate to Inside Out 2

Inside Out 2 does not attempt to depict all 27. Instead, it adds four new emotions that fit the teenage experience. The 27 reference is a fun Easter egg for fans, but the sequel wisely keeps its cast tight and focused (D23).

The 27 emotions line was never meant to be a syllabus for the series — it was a playful nod to the complexity of human feelings.

— Director Kelsey Mann, as paraphrased in D23 coverage

The catch: Kelsey Mann’s team sidesteps the full 27 list, showing that emotional complexity on screen must serve story, not completism.

Who Are the Purple and Blue Girls in Inside Out 2?

Identity of the purple character

The purple girl is Ennui, the emotion of boredom. She is colored deep purple with droopy eyes and a slouched posture, easily recognizable by her disinterested expression (D23).

Identity of the blue character

The blue girl is Envy, colored light blue with wide, eager eyes. She represents jealousy and the desire for what others have, often staring longingly at things she wants (D23).

Their roles and emotions represented

Ennui (purple) and Envy (blue) are two of the four new emotions that arrive in Riley’s teenage brain. Ennui drains energy from the group; Envy constantly compares and covets. Together they disrupt the original five’s harmony, forcing them to adapt to a more complicated emotional reality (ODEON Cinemas).

What this means: Ayo Edebiri’s Envy and Adèle Exarchopoulos’s Ennui form a duo that physically embodies the push-pull of teen self-consciousness versus indifference.

The Inside Out 2 character lineup represents Pixar’s most sophisticated exploration of emotional development yet. For fans of the original, the return of the familiar five emotions provides continuity, while the four newcomers — Anxiety, Envy, Embarrassment, and Ennui — drive the story into uncharted teenage territory. What this means for audiences: the film doesn’t just tell a coming-of-age story — it models how our emotional inner lives grow more complex with age. For anyone who’s ever felt overwhelmed by a sudden surge of new feelings, Inside Out 2 offers both validation and a vocabulary to name what’s happening inside. The consequence: Maya Hawke’s Anxiety shows that the feeling of being overwhelmed isn’t a flaw — it’s the brain adapting to a new stage of life.

For a complete look at who brings each emotion to life, check out the voice cast for the film.

Frequently asked questions