Inside Out 2 editor Maurissa Horwitz said working on the latest Disney/Pixar film allowed her and the film’s team to dig deep into the universal experience of feeling big emotions.

Horwitz spoke with Sharronda Williams for Blavity’s Shadow and Act about the “long and collaborative process” of crating Inside Out 2.

“I had to experience the team really working together and finding a new solution or an emotional moment, whether it was throught he voice performance or working with animation and watching [the animators’] magic get created. Those have all been really special moments,” she said. “As the editor, feeling like we’ve got the balance of the storylines right, you’re having fun with the characters but also really feeling at the end or throughout the movie, it means a lot to me and my because because we have lived with this movie for so long.”

“I just feel proud that I got to be a part of this, a part of making thismovie and hoping that it’s something that can go out into the world and people can use it to talk about their own emotions, talk to their kids or their friends and just feel connected,” she added.

Connecting with others is also what filmmakers Kelsey Mann and Mark Nielsen focused on when creating the movie. Nielsen talked about how main character Riley’s (Kensington Tallman) transition to middle school is a relatable emotional battle all audience members can identify with.

“I think in middle school and I’m just thinking about that time of life when all of a sudden you’re so much more aware of what people think of you and your place in the world and your fear of being alone and not having a group, and being isolated,” said Nielsen.

Mann added that middle school is that age when many people are thinking more about their place in the world.

“A lot of us at this time are just worrying about fitting in and it’s totally at time when you’re going from middle school to high school, I remember that feeling of what’s it going to be like?” he said. “There are a lot of unknowns, and I think that’s why anxiety comes in. It’s like, ‘I don’t know what’s gonna happen and I’ve gotta…worry about it.’ But anxiety is all about…a perceived threat. It’s all about the future, it’s all about what could happen, what might happen…there are a lot of unknowns at that age.”

Watch the full video, with more interviews with animation supervisor Evan Bonifacio, story artist Rebecca McVeigh and director of photography Adam Habib, below. Inside Out 2 comes to theaters June 14.

Inside Out 2

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