Amy Poehler can’t hold back her emotions when it comes to Beyoncé.

Like most of us, the Emmy winner is obsessed with the superstar’s music and also her comedic pièce de résistance in the 2002 Austin Powers film “Goldmember.” So naturally, Poehler is stunned to learn that Beyoncé recently called “Inside Out 2” the best movie she’s seen this year in a rare interview with GQ.

“Well, she’s a virgin, so she knows what she’s talking about,” jokes Poehler, who voices Joy in Disney/Pixar’s animated hit. “Wow! I’m kind of blown away that Beyoncé liked it – I’m going to take a minute. (Laughs.) That means a lot to me. She’s just such a GOAT; she’s incredible at absolutely everything she does.”

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Inside Out 2 is now available to stream on Disney+ and can be purchased on digital platforms such as Apple TV and Prime Video. The sequel grossed around $1.7 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing animated film of all time and the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time (not adjusted for inflation).

Poehler attributes the sequel’s success in large part to timing. Like the first film, Inside Out 2 is set inside the mind of a girl named Riley (Kensington Tallman), only this time she’s struggling with new teenage emotions like anxiety (Maya Hawke). In the nearly decade since the last film, pop culture has helped normalize discussions about mental health, especially among Generation Z.

“People were really willing to talk about fear and how it conflicts with joy and what toxic positivity is,” Poehler says. “People have spent the last ten years really digging deep and talking about their feelings, so it just felt like everyone was ready to meet them where they are.”

And for viewers like Beyoncé, a mother of three, “there are a lot of issues around parenting,” Poehler says. “How do you try to let the people you love experience these things without trying to feel it for them?”

In the three months since Inside Out 2 hit theaters, Poehler has enjoyed watching audiences grow fond of Pouchy (James Austin Johnson), a talking fanny pack that Joy encounters in Riley’s mind. (She admits there’s something sinister about the character: “He doesn’t mind opening his bag, let’s put it that way.”) The film also hints at Riley’s deep, dark secret (Steve Purcell), although to the disappointment of some fans, the post-credits scene reveals it to be fairly harmless. (The filmmakers “didn’t want to stress the kids out” by leaving the secret unmentioned, Poehler explains.)

The film was a highlight of the “best summer ever” for Poehler, who turned 53 last week. The beloved “Saturday Night Live” veteran rang in her birthday on the red carpet at the premiere of the Marvel series “Agatha All Along,” where she celebrated with her former “Parks and Recreation” co-stars Aubrey Plaza, Kathryn Hahn and Adam Scott.

“I’ve loved being in my 50s,” Poehler says. “I’ve had a really wonderful year full of love and I’m grateful for that. I try to look at the things I have and not focus too much on what I don’t have.”

Looking ahead to awards season, “I honestly hope that people consider ‘Inside Out 2’ for an Oscar for Best Picture,” she says. The last time an animated film was nominated for an Oscar was in 2011, when Disney/Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” came out.

She stresses that there have been no talks about an “Inside Out 3” yet, but “I’m always ready for more. I play Joy, so I always say, ‘Let’s go! Let’s go! Let’s go!'”

And who knows? Maybe Beyoncé will express a new emotion in the third film.

“From your lips to God’s ears,” Poehler says with a grin. “God, aka Beyoncé.”

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amy Poehler reacts to ‘Inside Out 2’ being Beyoncé’s best movie of 2024