Riley Andersen

Riley Andersen is the overarching protagonist of the Inside Out franchise. She has five emotions who ensure her well-being: Joy, Sadness, Anger, Disgust, and Fear. In her teenage years, she has four new emotions; Anxiety, Envy, Ennui, Nostalgia, and Embarrassment.
==History==
===Inside Out===
Riley was born in Minnesota. Her first memory was a happy one of seeing her parents. As she grew, she formed many more happy memories, as well as some sad, fearful, angry, and disgusted ones. At some point, she met and befriended Meg and learned to skate and play hockey. Certain Core Memories in her head shaped her personality.
When Riley was eleven, her parents announced they'd be moving to San Francisco because her father had gotten a job at a startup there. To get through the move, Riley remembered all the things Mr. Andersen had promised she'd get in her new home, like a cool new room. When they arrived, Riley was disappointed because the moving van hadn't arrived and she didn't have her things. Despite this, she tried to stay cheerful, starting a game of paper ball hockey in the house to get her parents into a better move and suggesting a pizzeria for lunch one Mr. Andersen got called away.
Riley was let down again when the pizzeria only served broccoli pizza. Things started to change in her head and Riley struggled to stay at cheerful as she had been.
That night, when Riley went to bed, Mrs. Andersen thanked her for remaining their happy girl, which she said would help Mr. Andersen as he made the adjustment to his new job. Riley agreed and went to sleep.
The next day, Riley got ready for her first day at her new school. She was happy when she got to school but when the teacher asked her to introduce herself and talk about her life in Minnesota, she started to cry, saying she missed Minnesota.
That night, while eating dinner, Mrs. Andersen noticed something was different with Riley and tried to probe about her day, only to have Riley shrug her off and then yell at Mr. Andersen when he asked the same question. Mr. Andersen sent Riley to her room. Then he came up to check on her, but she refused to speak to him, so he decided to give her space.
Riley did a video call with Meg, who told her about the new girl on Riley's old hockey team. When Meg continued to talk about her, Riley got angry and ended the call.
Mrs. Andersen took Riley to try out for a new hockey team, but Riley quickly became frustrated when she struggled to perform as well as she was used to. She ended up throwing down her stick and leaving the ice without finishing the tryout.
The next day, Riley decided to steal her Mrs. Andersen's credit card and buy a bus ticket back to Minnesota. She bought the ticket and got onto the bus, but after a while, she got sad and decided to get off the bus before it could leave.
Riley went home and told her parents the truth about how she felt about San Francisco. She admitted that she missed Minnesota. Mrs. Andersen and Mr. Andersen said they missed it as well and they shared happy memories of Minnesota and hugged. Riley eventually tried out for hockey again and ended up on a team called the Fog Horns. Her parents came to her games and supported her by painting their faces and cheering from the sidelines. Additional, her personality continued to grow as she went through more experiences.
===Riley's First Date?===
Riley was upstairs in her room when a boy, Jordan, whom she met at the end of the Inside Out, arrived to take her skating. Her parents greeted the boy at the front door and immediately suspected that Riley was going out on a date with him.
Riley's mother, Jill, awkwardly tried to divine more information from Riley by trying to use slang. This only confused and disgusted Riley, who then realized Mrs. Andersen had left Mr. Andersen alone with Jordan. They both went downstairs and found Jordan and Mr. Andersen playing air guitar. Mrs. Andersen and Mr. Andersen then saw Jordan and Riley off.
===Mind Candy===
Riley was sitting at a table when she suddenly perked up.
===Inside Out 2===
As time passed, Riley got used to her life in San Francisco, playing on the Fog Horns and making friends with Grace Hsieh and Bree Young. After winning the last game of the season, Riley, Grace, and Bree celebrated. Coach Roberts approached them and invited them to come to her skills camp. They all decided go to.
On the day of camp, Riley woke up distressed because her emotions were more sensitive as she started puberty. She declared that she was too gross to go to camp or anywhere ever again. Mrs. Andersen assured her that wasn't true, that she was just changing.
Riley was able to get ready and Mrs. Andersen and Mr. Andersen drove her, Grace, and Bree to camp. On the way, Riley expressed how excited she was to show Coach Roberts their skills, as her team, the FireHawks, won the state championship every year and the camp was a way she chose her players. Riley noticed a chance in Bree's expression and wondered what it meant. Finally, Grace revealed that she and Bree were going to a different high school and so wouldn't be on the FireHawks. Riley pretended to be okay with it and promised Grace and Bree they'd be friends forever.
When they got to camp, Bree and Grace got right out of the car while Mrs. Andersen and Mr. Andersen made sure Riley had everything she needed. Riley then went to find Bree and Grace, but ran into Val Ortiz, a senior she knew had been on the FireHawks since she was a freshman. Val had heard of Riley, but mistakenly believed she was from Michigan. Rather than correct her, Riley pretended she was and went with Val to meet some other players instead of going to Bree and Grace.
In the locker room, Val introduced Riley to some other players. Val offered for Riley to sit with them, but she said she wanted to save spots for Grace and Bree. Riley was goofing off with them, taking silly selfies, when Coach Roberts came in and called for them to settle down. They didn't and Coach Roberts sent all the players to skate lines. As they did so, she specifically called out Riley for not keeping up. While they were on a break after these drills, Riley overheard Val's friends talk about how immature Riley was. After the friends left, Riley went to talk to Val without revealing that she'd overheard them. Val said that the coach's focus on her meant she was on her radar, which was a good thing. Then she suggested they try to get on the same team for the camp. Riley went back to the ice, where Bree and Grace expected Riley to join their team and were upset to see her join the other team with Val instead.
Riley woke up early the next day to practice before the rest of the players arrived. She was doing so when Val came in, impressed at Riley's dedication. Riley asked Val about being on the FireHawks as a freshman and Val said it was hard, but rewarding. Her teammates became her friends. Once the other players arrived, they played a game and Riley scored a goal. Once the game was over, Coach Roberts sent the players to relax. Riley went with Val and her friends. They walked past Coach Roberts' office, where they looked at her red notebook and the others told Riley that everything Roberts thought about her was written in that book.
Riley struggled with trying to fit in with the older players, embarrassing herself when she said that Get Up and Glow was her favorite band. She tried to save it by pretending she was being sarcastic, surprising Grace and Bree, who heard her and reminded they'd just gone to a concert and had a great time.
As they decided to break up and get some rest, Val told Riley to get some rest before the scrimmage the next day. Roberts always had one and Val made the team as a freshman by scoring two goals in the game, something no freshman had ever done before. Val told Riley she'd be great and encouraged her to be herself.
Overwhelmed, Riley tossed and turned that night, unable to sleep. She fell asleep briefly before waking up and deciding to steal the notebook from Coach Roberts' office. She was stunned when the notebook said she wasn't ready yet. Determined to prove herself, Riley dyed part of her hair red in the locker room, like the FireHawks had done, and set out to score three goals in the game. When Val and her friends game in, Val asked if Riley had gotten any sleep. Riley admitted she hadn't because she was too nervous about the game.
Riley played very aggressively in the game, refusing to pass to her teammates and even stealing the puck from them to score two goals. As she tried for a third, she missed the goal several times, frustrating her. As she went for another try, she ran into Grace, knocking her over. For this, Riley was sent to the penalty box while they checked on Grace. In the penalty box, Riley was overwhelmed by anxious feelings and had a panic attack. Finally, Riley was able to calm down as Grace and Bree entered the box. She apologized for how she'd treated them and said she freaked out when they said they were going to a different school. She hoped they could forgive her someday. They stacked their fists with hers and then hugged her. Then they called her back into the game.
Later, after Riley had returned to school, she sat with the FireHawks at lunch as she waited for an email from Coach Roberts, which was supposed to come that day and tell her whether or not she'd made the team. When her phone chimed, she checked it and found a silly selfie from Grace and Bree, which made her feel better. Val reminded Riley there was always next year if she didn't make the team. Riley's phone chimed and she checked it and smiled.
==Personality ==
Riley's emotional landscape significantly influences her behavior throughout the film. Initially, she embodies happiness, honesty, and a playful spirit when she feels content. However, as she transitions into her preteen years, Riley becomes increasingly sentimental, somewhat shy, and uncertain of herself, as new emotions begin to surface. Following her family's relocation to San Francisco, she experiences heightened feelings of distress, annoyance, and loneliness. At this juncture, her emotions strive to assist her in adapting to her new environment. Although Riley occasionally doubts herself, she does not consistently regret her choices. She deeply longs for Minnesota and struggles to manage the upheaval in her life. Additionally, she is apprehensive about revealing her feelings of sadness to her parents, who wish for her to embrace their new home, as they have always perceived her as their "happy girl". 
As time progresses, Riley becomes increasingly emotionally vulnerable, slipping into a state of apathetic depression, which culminates in her attempt to run away, nearly losing her sense of self in the process. It is during this critical Mrs. Andersenent that she recognizes she is on the verge of abandoning the things that are most important to her and realizes the associated risks just in time. Upon returning home and confiding in her parents about her profound sadness, she begins to accept San Francisco, aided by her parents' comfort regarding her personal loss. Ultimately, with the guidance of her emotions, Riley learns to adapt to her new surroundings. 
As she transitions into adolescence, she increasingly distances herself from her parents, even in significant situations like her panic attack at Hockey Camp and her difficulties in sustaining friendships at her new school. Furthermore, she adopts a sarcastic attitude, which sometimes results in disciplinary measures from her parents. Similar to many adolescents, she endures severe and erratic mood swings when faced with stress. Despite this, Riley continues to be a compassionate and kind young woman who values her Mrs. Andersenents with friends and frequently finds herself in tears, consumed by remorse for her missteps.
==Physical appearance==
In the first movie, Riley is portrayed as an 11-year-old girl on the cusp of turning 12, with a slender build. She has shoulder-length, dirty-blonde hair and striking cornflower-blue eyes. Both of her parents have brown hair and brown eyes, suggesting that her hair and eye color are likely inherited recessive traits. She has light freckles on her nose and a prominent gap between her front teeth. 
By the time of the second film, Riley is 13 years old. Her hair has transformed into a brighter shade of blonde and has grown longer, often styled in a ponytail like her mother's. Additionally, she now wears braces and has developed a small acne mark on her chin, marking her journey through puberty.
Riley is seen in a variety of outfits throughout the film. In the teaser trailer, she wears a long-sleeved shirt with thin horizontal red, yellow, and light green zigzag lines, brown pants, and red Converse sneakers. On her first day of school, she adds a yellow jacket to this outfit. When Riley experiences a brain freeze, she changes into a solid pink short-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and green Converse sneakers. Upon arriving in San Francisco, she dons a long-sleeved rainbow shirt, blue jeans, and pink socks. During her period of depression when her Personality Islands break down, Riley's outfit becomes a black hoodie, black shirt, black jeans, and dark shoes. For pajamas, Riley wears a green short-sleeved shirt with blue trim featuring a koala bear on the front and dark blue sweatpants. In the second film, Riley's pajamas changed to her father's old 'Brang' t-shirt and black sweatpants.
In the book, Don't Get Angry!, Riley is seen wearing a large-sleeved pink shirt.
In the sequel, Riley's attire features an azure blue zip-up hoodie layered over a mint green t-shirt, complemented by leggings in pastel shades of blue, purple, and light yellow (or alternatively, a blue plaid jacket adorned with purple and green stripes over a white shirt), along with black leggings, white socks embellished with yellow and purple stripes, and black Chuck Converse-style sneakers with white soles. Additionally, a flashback reveals Riley at the age of 12, dressed in a blue jacket emblazoned with the Foghorns logo and blue jeans. Currently, she accessorizes with a seafoam green hair clip for her bangs.
==Trivia==
==Relationships==
==References==
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