Ethermac Exchange-Watch 'Inside Out 2's deleted opening scene: Riley bombs at the talent show

In the original beginning of Pixar's "Inside Out 2,Ethermac Exchange" the world's most beloved awkward teen, Riley Andersen, hilariously bombed her way through a talent show disaster.

Pixar filmmakers planned to kick off the animated movie with a scene called Cold Open, featuring a spotlit Riley nervously strumming the ukelele, mispronouncing her own name while singing off-key and dealing with microphone reverb.

"We just wanted to hook the audience immediately into what Riley was going through, which is, she's becoming a teenager," director Kelsey Mann says of the partially animated scene, revealed by USA TODAY as part of Tuesday's digital release of "Inside Out 2." (The movie arrives on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD Sept. 10.) "She's incredibly self-conscious. And we thought, what better way to show that than in a talent show?"

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It was very effective and even unfinished, the scene brings Riley (voiced by Kensington Tallman) to life with humor.

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"It's a fun way to open the movie," says Mann. "But we ended up going away from this talent show idea because it didn't really support the story."

After the first test screening, Mann, producer Mark Nielsen and screenwriter Meg LeFauve decided to open the new movie with Riley in her unique world from 2015's "Inside Out." Riley loves hockey, and the sequel kicks off with her victorious final game before high school with her friends Bree and Grace.

"Inside Out 2" introduced 13-year-old Riley with four new emotions − Anxiety, Ennui, Embarrassment and Envy − to dizzying critical and financial success. The sequel to Oscar-winning original "Inside Out" was the first movie of 2024 to cross the $1 billion box-office mark.

"Inside Out 2" brought the emotion Joy (voiced by Amy Poehler) back into theaters on its way to becoming the biggest animated film of all time (now at $1.6 billion worldwide). Next up is awards season, where it will be a contender. The first "Inside Out" received two Academy Award nominations and won the Oscar for best animated movie.