An image of a figurine toy representing Disgust from the film Inside Out set against an orange dotted background with a blue halo

Inside Out 2: Emotional V&A Objects 

We bet you love Inside Out 2 and the new emotions? Well, the V&A has its own collection of emotional objects, some surprising and some outright bizarre and weird! Check them out!

Sadness

A photograph of a young woman in a white top looking sad and down holding her necklace. The photo is in sepia and a circle crop with grey borders.

Victorian photographer, Julia Margaret Cameron, had an incredible career. She only started taking photos aged 48, proving you can start something at any age! Like Sadness in Inside Out, Cameron has perfectly captured the beauty and complexity of sorrow. Sometimes we all need a sad moment!

Joy

An illustration of people on a bus top in the sunshine with black text that says GENERAL JOY bordered with orange.

What is more joyful than enjoying an activity with friends on a sunny day? This 1928 poster illustrated by Vera Willoughby shows just that, depicting an open bus tour in the London sunshine. We think Joy from Inside Out would find this, well, joyous!

Disgust

A pencil illustration of four young boys with digusted expressions looking at a lit firework on the floor. The image has orange borders either side.

Four little boys are disgusted, presumably with one another or one ringleader in particular, as a lit firework goes off on the ground beside them. Sometimes when we have done something naughty, we can feel disgust at ourselves or others. As Inside Out’s Disgust would know, this is helpful in teaching us not to do a naughty thing again!

Fear

A photo of a statue of a young boy in a cloak looking scared against a white background with orange borders

Inside Out’s Fear is represented as a purple man, who the creators said was supposed to look  like a raw nerve (cool huh?). In this sculpture, the unknown artist represented fear as a young boy wrapped in a cloak. How would you draw or sculpt fear? What would fear look like to you? Why don’t you have a go!

Anger

A photo of a scary looking sculpture with spiky horns and little teeth. It's supposed to be a dragon but could be anything. It is called Anger and sat against a grey background with orange borders.

Well, this is certainly an angry looking sculpture! Representing one of the seven deadly sins – Wrath (which means ‘extreme anger’) is part of a set with the other six sins: Envy, Avarice, Gluttony, Pride, Sloth and Lust. This series of sculptures certainly tests our emotions and reactions. Do they make you wince or grimace!? Do the spiky backs and teeth remind you of anything? A fire-breathing mythical creature perhaps? We think Anger from Inside Out would love this on his mantlepiece!

Just a quick random question – you don’t have to answer it if you don’t want to.

Hey there! Do you mind telling us how old you are?

Group of friends holding hands

6-10 years old 11%

11-13 years old 22%

14-17 years old 26%

18+ years old 41%

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Anxiety

A photo of a robotic seal pup toy that is designed to help people with anxiety. It is grey with black eyes and lying down against a black background.

Now for something much more cuddly! This is PARO, a seal-shaped robotic comforter. This cuddly pup was made for a number of conditions, including people suffering with anxiety. It has calming purring noises and other sensory features that help reduce stress and upset. What a beautiful invention. We bet Riley’s headquarters would love one of these.

Embarrassment

A photo of a plastic carrier bag advertising wart cream against a black background with orange borders

What better way to encourage shoppers to bring reusable bags by handing them a plastic carrier bag that says they have just bought wart cream! Omg can’t cope. It’s not something you’d necessarily want everyone on the bus home to know about, is it!? Customers who bought these 5p plastic bags in the East West Market, Vancouver, found them funny, but it certainly brought the message home. Imagine Embarrassment being given one of these bags – he’d go bright red!

Envy

A photograph of a grey sculpture of an angry looking woman eating a heart sat with her back to a man facing away set against a grey background with orange borders

This powerful sculpture depicts Envy and Fury as a woman and man with their backs to each other. The woman, Envy, gnaws at a heart in her right hand. Ew! When we are struck with envy, it can feel like we really want something the other person has. What do you think the heart represents here? I’m not sure Envy from Inside Out 2 would want to chew on a heart, but she certainly wanted a red streak for Riley’s hair!

Ennui

An illustration called Ennui by the famous painter Walter Sickert, showing a married couple in a livingroom in a state of boredom. The man is seated and facing the viewer whilst the woman stands behind him facing the wall with her head in hand. The drawing is in pencil with orange borders.

In this etching of the famous painting by Walter Sickert, we see a married couple turned away from one another in an apparent state of total dissatisfaction. Ennui is the name for the feeling of when we are fed up and cannot be bothered. Ennui can be useful to contemplate life, reflect and recognise how we’d like to move forward. Like all of the characters in Inside Out, emotions have their use and function to make us act and react appropriately so that we are balanced individuals with healthy mindsets. They all need to work together, as one being dominant is not always a good thing!