Amy Poehler and Maya Hawke believe that Inside Out 2 cost a billion dollars that actually did something good for the world

Maya Hawke joined her Inside Out 2 Co-star Amy Poehler on his podcast Good slope in a special session where the duo discussed the films Billion dollar impact.

Hawke played Anxiety in the Pixar sequel and the character became one immediately Fan favorite that represents a new emotion that emerged as part of Riley’s coming of age journey. Meanwhile, in the film, Joy (Poehler) and the rest of Riley’s more familiar emotions had to deal with her child’s growth and the impending teenage years.

Inside Out 2 It won so many hearts and filled theaters just when the industry – and seemingly the world – needed it most. Hawke described the success of Inside Out 2 as a welcome surprise, “for something that makes a billion dollars and is good for the world; I don’t think there’s anything that does that.”

Poehler added: “The word ‘billion’ and ‘good for the world’ (don’t) go together.”

Attributed to the duo Inside Out 2Its enormous success lies in the fact that the creative team focused on the diversity that a person can cope with in adolescence, when so many things can feel so uncertain. However, as Hawke explained, anyone at any age can relate to making space for a mix of feelings.

“The joy-fear relationship taught me a lot about how to show love to that part of me and allow other people to see it so they can show it love,” she said. “One way to calm (your anxiety) is to invite him into the conversation, look at what he’s thinking and worried about and address each point, then offer him a comfortable chair and say, ‘Okay, you’re invited. I’m not trying to shut you out behind a door.’ Because that just gets it going even more. The biggest thing I learned from this and the opportunity to be welcomed into the beautiful world of this film is to give my fear a comfortable seat. I mean, fear might be the defining emotion of our time.”

Poehler agreed. “It was so much fun working on these characters together because when times are really scary, like these times, you want to find a way to tune in, check, help yourself and help other people. Like, you want to get in and out. But if you just say ‘toxic positivity,’ like, ‘That’s great,’ it’s like, ‘Baby, things are bad. Things are really bad.'”

Hawke added: “Yes, then you still have to welcome some (joy). You don’t help anyone if you exclude joy completely.”

Poehler pointed to a specific moment that struck a chord with her Inside Out 2. “Riley, our character, has calmed down on the ice. She’s been talking to her friends. She’s feeling a little bit like herself. She gets back on the ice. She starts skating. And Joy gets called back. And Anxiety does a little gesture like ‘(right) this way.’ …It made me cry so much. And I just thought, “Oh, this little gesture is kind of what we need to try to do in this banana-care season we’re living in. Because that’s all we can do, baby — make space for each other.”

Check out the rest of the interview below:

Want more io9 news? Find out when you can expect the latest Wonder, star WarsAnd Star Trek Releases, what’s next for the DC Universe in film and televisionand everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.