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Lena McBean
Outside of National Comedy Center, Jamestown, NY
The National Comedy Center, the nation’s official museum and cultural institution dedicated to comedy, and Pixar announced today that the studio has donated rare concept art from its feature film Inside Out 2 to the Comedy Center’s permanent archives.
The artwork will be accessioned into the national archive, and is now on display within the state-of-the-art museum’s cartooning and animation gallery in Jamestown, NY.
“I’m so proud of Inside Out 2 and loved voicing ‘Joy’ once again. To have this character and this film’s story art placed in the archive of the National Comedy Center – my favorite museum of all time – is quite fitting, because both the film and the museum have resonated with me so deeply,” stated Amy Poehler, who is also a National Comedy Center Advisory Board Member.
“The Inside Out film series stands out in the animated film genre because it exemplifies the use of comedy and great comedic talent to deliver material addressing topics less often broached – in this case with kids. Leading the way on emotional self-awareness and mental health with the Academy-Award-winning original, and now on the topics of anxiety and puberty – comedy as an art form, and its artists, have always helped us into these conversations,” said National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson.
“To have Inside Out 2 concept artwork in the National Comedy Center archive – and on display alongside work from masters of this art form, including Al Hirschfeld, Saul Steinberg, Chuck Jones, Charles Schultz, Bill Watterson and so many legendary cartoonists and illustrators is an honor for our work at Pixar,” stated Pete Docter, Pixar Chief Creative Officer and the director of the original Inside Out.
Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which opened in theaters on June 14, had the biggest theatrical opening of 2024, the second-highest opening weekend in Pixar history and the second-biggest animated opening ever. It follows the blockbuster success of Inside Out in 2015, which won an Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature Film and a Golden Globe® for Best Motion Picture – Animated.
“As someone who has spent a stand-up career evoking laughter with anger, it’s a thrill to bring the character of ‘Anger’ back to the big screen and see that little guy accessioned into the official cultural institution for comedy – the National Comedy Center. I wish I’d had this film as a kid, and this museum. People should go see both – truly,” stated Lewis Black, who voiced “Anger” in the original film and in Inside Out 2, and is known in stand-up as the “King of the Rant.”
Inside Out 2 brings audiences back into the mind of Riley, who is now a teenager learning to confront new emotions: Anxiety, Envy, Ennui and Embarrassment, while still managing her original emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Maya Hawke lends her voice to Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as the voice of Joy. The voice cast also includes Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Tony Hale and Liza Lapira. The film is directed by Kelsey Mann and produced by Mark Nielsen. The first Inside Out 2 trailer, released last November, had the biggest launch in Pixar history, with 157 million views in just the first 24 hours.
Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, and Inside Out 2 cast members Amy Poehler, Lewis Black and Paula Poundstone are all Advisory Board members of the National Comedy Center.
The non-profit National Comedy Center is the United States’ Congressionally-designated museum and archive for the art form of comedy. Its mission is to provide education on the comedic arts in the form of commentary and contextualization of its bodies of work, telling the vital story of comedy in America across all eras and genres. The museum celebrates comedy’s great minds and unique voices, while providing an examination of the time-honed creative processes that have elevated comedy to an art. The award-winning museum visitor experience opened in 2018 in Lucille Ball’s hometown of Jamestown, New York.