Casting
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The film's voice cast of emotions, Amy Poehler, Lewis Black,
Mindy Kaling, Bill Hader, and Phyllis Smith,
were first announced in August 2013.
With the release of the film's trailer in December 2014,
it was revealed that Diane Lane and Kyle MacLachlan
were cast in the film as Riley's parents.
Hader, who had previously cameoed in Monsters University,
was cast to voice Fear, a role that he felt he "weaseled"
his way into by being a "huge fan" of Pixar's filmography.
Hader toured the studio over a week, and also "helped out" in the story room.
He was invited to play Fear by the end of his stay there,
but was also asked to contact fellow Saturday Night Live (SNL) veteran Amy Poehler,
which the team viewed as perfect for the character of Joy.
"They said: 'Would you mind calling Amy?
We don't want to call her and have her think we're some weirdo,
'" he recalled. He phoned Poehler and explained the story to her,
noting that her role would be the driving force in the film.
When the story was pitched to Kaling, she broke down in tears,
explaining "I just think it's really beautiful that
you guys are making a story that tells kids that it's difficult to grow up
and it's OK to be sad about it."[23]
Smith was chosen by Rivera while he was watching
Bad Teacher and saw her in a lunch scene.
He called Docter and said "I think we found our Sadness.
"As the film contains several veterans of SNL,
the film's team spent a week at that program for research on a live television sequence.
Richard Kind, who had previously starred in A Bug's Life,
Toy Story 3, Cars, and Cars 2, portrayed Bing Bong.