Adolescence is a complicated time when emotions and personal transformations feel as if they are on an endless merry-go-round. As if trying to make sense of the bodily changes that come with puberty is not stressful enough, teens must also navigate shifting friendships, and their search for an identity in a school environment where coolness and conformity are often intertwined.

It is this confusing time, where the path to adulthood resembles a ball of yarn rather than a straight line, that Kelsey Mann’s Inside Out 2 attempts to make sense of.

The sequel to 2015’s Inside Out, which won an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature Film, finds Riley Andersen (Kensington Tallman) entering her teen years after finally adjusting to life in San Fransico. Guided by her trusty emotions – Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), and Disgust (Liza Lapira) – Riley has by all accounts turned out to be a good kid. She has loving parents (Diane Lane, Kyle MacLachlan), is doing well at school, and has been invited to attend a three-day hockey camp alongside her best friends Grace (Grace Lu) and Bree (Sumayyah Nuriddin-Green).

Her sunny outlook on life is soon blocked by the clouds of uncertainty when she learns on the drive to camp that Grace and Bree will not be attending the same high school in the fall. Already scared by the prospect of entering a new school on her own, Riley’s life gets more challenging when the awkward nightmare that is puberty sneaks up on her like an assassin in the night.

Unprepared for this rapid change, Joy and the other emotions soon discovery that Riley is far more volatile than ever before. The simplest phrase or gesture can set her off.

Complicating matters further for the group is the fact that they must now share the teen’s mind with a whole knew team of emotions. Although Joy and crew have been on the job since day one, newbies Anxiety (Maya Hawke), Envy (Ayo Edebiri), Ennui (Adèle Exarchopoulos), and Embarrassment (Paul Walter Hauser) seem far more equipped to steer the ship through this unexpected angst-ridden fog.

As Riley tries to impress the high school coach (Yvette Nicole Brown) running the camp, and the team’s star player Valentina ‘Val’ Ortiz (Lilimar), her anxiety beings to take over as the desire to fit in begins to consume her.

In focusing on the way anxiety can make people lose sight of themselves, Inside Out 2 finds its opening to send Riley’s original emotions on a new adventure. On a quest to find the teen’s true self, one where her core experiences have formed the basis for a belief system that used to guide her, Joy and her colleagues must venture to the uncharted regions at the back of the teen’s mind. A place where Joy has been discarding memories that she felt Riley would be better off forgetting.

Viewing her actions as simply making room for positive experiences that reaffirm Riley as a “good person,” Joy never considered the ramifications that might follow. However, as Mann’s film shows, striving for unequivocal goodness is a pressure far too great for anyone to handle on their own.

It can be argued that, similar to Riley, Inside Out 2 is saddled with its own burden of unattainable expectations. As with any sequel to a beloved work, it will forever live within the towering shadow of its predecessor. What made Pete Docter and Ronnie Del Carmen’s original film so special was they way it simplified the teaching of emotions to younger audiences, while simultaneously giving older viewers a story that was rich in feelings.

As charming as the sequel is, Mann’s film never quite strikes a resonating chord with the heartstrings. This is not to say there is not plenty to enjoy, the film features a wealth of sharp humour and inventive visuals that make it a solid addition to the Pixar canon. However, in attempting to tell the complexities of teenage emotions in a way that kids can understand, the film occasionally wrestles with its own identity crisis.

While there are some wonderfully inspired moments, such as the Dora the Explorer-esque cartoon character Bloofy (Fon Funches) and its magical fanny pack, and video game hero Lance Slashblade (Yong Yea), large swaths of the film feel ripped straight out of the first film.

Whether traversing theme-inspired regions or hitching a ride to get to far off destinations, Joy’s journey feels as if she is visiting the same rooms of the past just with new wallpaper. Riley may be growing up, but Inside Out 2 often feels like it is desperately trying to remain the same.

By revisiting familiar beats, Mann’s film does not leave enough space to fully explore Riley’s beliefs which are frequently mentioned but rarely expanded on.

Although its commentary on the nature of teenage anxiety may not be as thought-provoking as the way the original tackled the therapeutic nature of sadness, Mann’s film still entertains. The new group of emotions in the film each get their comedic moments to shine. Furthermore, even in her most misguided choices, the audience always understands Anxiety’s motivations.

A charming work, Inside Out 2 never loses sight of its overall heart. As the film captures, even though the voice in our head may not have it all figured out, it is our best and worst traits that make us whole.