Schadenfreude is a rejected character in an early version of Disney/Pixar's 2015 animated feature film Inside Out and its 2024 sequel. He was going to be one of the emotions in Riley's mind, but ended up getting scrapped in the final version of the film.
Background[]
Development[]
In early versions of Inside Out, Schadenfreude was one of the several implied emotions offscreen within Riley's mind with him being one of them, alongside Hope, Pride, and Ennui (the latter who would later appear in the 2024 sequel, but modified as a female character). According to Pete Docter, the reason why Schadenfreude and the aforementioned emotions were cut from the final version of the film was due to the fact that there were too many emotions crowding the film's story.
In the deleted scene "Riley" originally included through the Target edition Blu-ray release of Inside Out (and in later digital releases of Inside Out) when Joy gave Freddie (an early version of Fear) two minutes to stand without worrying before Riley woke up, amongst one of the emotions encountered by Freddie was Schadenfreude amused by Freddie's cries of pain. Joy then approached Schadenfreude, telling him to knock it off but not before he asked Joy of having any work for him, which Joy replied that the emotions would call him and Ennui if anything came up but not before Hope felt excited of what Joy had in mind. For the final cut, the film's storyline was completely reworked, resulting in Schadenfreude and several emotions being cut from the final version of the film, reducing to just five emotions.[1]
Schadenfreude was set to appear as a secondary villain in Inside Out 2 because he was " very teenager-y" and teenagers didn't "have a frontal lobe", explaining why pratfalls are funny. He was ultimately removed with writer Meg LeFauve stating that he "came in and out pretty quick".[2]
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- "Schadenfreude" is a German word that originates from the names "Schaden" (damage) and "Freude" (joy); thus, the name "Schadenfreude" also refers to the experience of pleasure, joy, or self-satisfaction coming from the misfortune of others. Fittingly, his appearance of him wearing the German clothing lederhosen reflects his German-originated name as well as his personality as well as the German accent he was inserted.
References[]
- ↑ Deleted Scene "Riley" (Inside Out Digital Formats).
- ↑ Milheim, Russ (October 14, 2024). "Inside Out 2 Almost Had Two Very Different Villains (Exclusive)". The Direct.
