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The National Comedy Center, the nation’s official museum and
cultural institution dedicated to comedy, and Pixar announced today
that the studio has donated rare concept art from its feature film
Inside Out 2 to the Comedy Center’s permanent archives.
The artwork will be accessioned into the national archive, and
is now on display within the state-of-the-art museum’s cartooning
and animation gallery in Jamestown, NY.
“I’m so proud of Inside Out 2 and loved voicing ‘Joy’ once
again. To have this character and this film’s story art placed in
the archive of the National Comedy Center – my favorite museum of
all time – is quite fitting, because both the film and the museum
have resonated with me so deeply,” stated Amy Poehler, who is also
a National Comedy Center Advisory Board Member.
“The Inside Out film series stands out in the animated film
genre because it exemplifies the use of comedy and great comedic
talent to deliver material addressing topics less often broached –
in this case with kids. Leading the way on emotional self-awareness
and mental health with the Academy-Award-winning original, and now
on the topics of anxiety and puberty – comedy as an art form, and
its artists, have always helped us into these conversations,” said
National Comedy Center Executive Director Journey Gunderson.
“To have Inside Out 2 concept artwork in the National Comedy
Center archive – and on display alongside work from masters of this
art form, including Al Hirschfeld, Saul Steinberg, Chuck Jones,
Charles Schultz, Bill Watterson and so many legendary cartoonists
and illustrators is an honor for our work at Pixar,” stated Pete
Docter, Pixar Chief Creative Officer and the director of the
original Inside Out.
Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2, which opened in theaters on
June 14, had the biggest theatrical opening of 2024, the
second-highest opening weekend in Pixar history and the
second-biggest animated opening ever. It follows the blockbuster
success of Inside Out in 2015, which won an Academy Award® for Best
Animated Feature Film and a Golden Globe® for Best Motion Picture –
Animated.
“As someone who has spent a stand-up career evoking laughter
with anger, it’s a thrill to bring the character of ‘Anger’ back to
the big screen and see that little guy accessioned into the
official cultural institution for comedy – the National Comedy
Center. I wish I’d had this film as a kid, and this museum. People
should go see both – truly,” stated Lewis Black, who voiced “Anger”
in the original film and in Inside Out 2, and is known in stand-up
as the “King of the Rant.”
Inside Out 2 brings audiences back into the mind of Riley, who
is now a teenager learning to confront new emotions: Anxiety, Envy,
Ennui and Embarrassment, while still managing her original
emotions: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Fear, and Disgust. Maya Hawke lends
her voice to Anxiety, alongside Amy Poehler as the voice of Joy.
The voice cast also includes Lewis Black, Phyllis Smith, Tony Hale
and Liza Lapira. The film is directed by Kelsey Mann and produced
by Mark Nielsen. The first Inside Out 2 trailer, released last
November, had the biggest launch in Pixar history, with 157 million
views in just the first 24 hours.
Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer Pete Docter, and Inside Out 2
cast members Amy Poehler, Lewis Black and Paula Poundstone are all
Advisory Board members of the National Comedy Center.
The non-profit National Comedy Center is the United States’
Congressionally-designated museum and archive for the art form of
comedy. Its mission is to provide education on the comedic arts in
the form of commentary and contextualization of its bodies of work,
telling the vital story of comedy in America across all eras and
genres. The museum celebrates comedy’s great minds and unique
voices, while providing an examination of the time-honed creative
processes that have elevated comedy to an art. The award-winning
museum visitor experience opened in 2018 in Lucille Ball’s hometown
of Jamestown, New York.
Disney and Pixar’s Inside Out 2 is now playing exclusively in
theaters worldwide.
About the National Comedy Center
The National Comedy Center is the United States’ official
cultural institution and museum dedicated to presenting the vital
story of comedy and preserving its heritage for future generations,
as formally designated by the U.S. Congress. Opened in 2018 in
Jamestown, New York, the museum complex offers an unprecedented,
immersive visitor experience using state-of-the-art technology,
interactivity, and personalization.
USA Today named the National Comedy Center the “Best New Museum
in the Country, TIME magazine named it one of its “World’s Greatest
Places,” and U.S. News & World Report selected it as one of the
“25 Top Family Weekend Getaways in the U.S.,” while Condé Nast
Traveler called the National Comedy Center “one of the best museums
in the country,” and People magazine named it one of “100 Reasons
to Love America.”
The National Comedy Center has been featured in The New York
Times, on CBS Saturday Morning, CBS Sunday Morning and on NBC’s
TODAY Show, which called it “the Smithsonian of Comedy.” Visitors
from all 50 states and eighteen countries have given the Center a
rare 5/5 rating on TripAdvisor, ranking among the highest in the
attraction and tourism industry.
Based on the vision of Jamestown native Lucille Ball for her
hometown to become a destination for comedy, the non-profit
National Comedy Center’s mission is to provide education on the
comedic arts in the form of commentary and contextualization of its
bodies of work across all eras and genres of the art form.
The National Comedy Center has collaborated with dozens of
artists and estates to preserve materials that represent comedy’s
significant artistic, social, and political contributions to
American culture including collections illustrating the careers of
legendary artists like George Carlin, Johnny Carson, Lucille Ball
and Desi Arnaz, Carl Reiner, Joan Rivers, Don Rickles, Lenny Bruce,
The Smothers Brothers, and the development of groundbreaking
creative work such as sketch comedy series In Living Color,
Saturday Night Live, and more.
The National Comedy Center operates the Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz
Museum, which explores the lives, careers, and legacy of the “First
Couple of Comedy” and the incredible impact they had on the world,
as well as the pioneering role and remarkable influence that I Love
Lucy and Desilu Studios had on the entertainment industry for
generations to come.
The annual Lucille Ball Comedy Festival, produced and presented
by the National Comedy Center, showcases comedy’s most significant
artists including Jerry Seinfeld, Trevor Noah, Lily Tomlin, John
Mulaney, Margaret Cho, Gabriel “Fluffy” Iglesias, Jeff Foxworthy,
Taylor Tomlinson, Jay Leno, Amy Schumer, Sebastian Maniscalco, W.
Kamau Bell, David Spade, Jim Gaffigan, Paula Poundstone, Joan
Rivers, Kevin Nealon, The Smothers Brothers, and more than 300
comedic artists. The 2024 festival, August 1-4, will feature
“Roastmaster General” Jeff Ross, Nicole Byer, and dozens of comedic
artists over 50 live events.
The National Comedy Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit national
archive and museum. Donations and grants support its work to
present the vital story of comedy and preserve its heritage for
future generations.
Stay connected to the National Comedy Center and Lucille Ball
Desi Arnaz Museum:
Websites: www.ComedyCenter.org | www.LucyDesi.com
Facebook: National Comedy Center Lucille Ball Desi Arnaz Museum
Lucille Ball Comedy Festival
X and Instagram: @ntlcomedycenter @lucydesimuseum
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Gary Hahn, 202-285-1356 Ghahn@comedycenter.org