a great sequel to a great movie

Rating: Null/10 (27 May 2001)

Creating a sequel to one of the most original and enduring family favourites of the nineties was always going to be a risky business  just ask the producers of 'Babe: Pig In The City'. And, what with established characters, million-dollar merchandising and the likes of Tom Hanks on board, it would not have been entirely surprising if this latest Disney sequel had suffered from complacency. So how refreshing it is to find that 'Toy Story 2' is just as vibrant, innovative, and relentlessly entertaining as its predecessor.
Reuniting the original cast  Woody, Buzz, Mr. Potato Head et al, plus a few new additions  with co-director Lasseter and his creative cohorts at Pixar, the ingenious plot involves the kidnapping of Woody by a ghoulish toy collector determined to sell him to a museum, and the other toys' hilarious attempts at a rescue mission. Discovering the secrets of his past along the way (it turns out he was once the star of a 50s TV show, Woody's Roundup', lovingly recreated for our pleasure), the cowboy has to face a brace of poignant moral dilemmas  most specifically, whether he should sacrifice an extended shelf-life to be with his friends and his owner Andy. Whilst the animation is never allowed to detract from the characters and the story, some of the new graphics are breathtaking; the human and canine characters are now nearly as authentic at the toys themselves, and, as before, every frame has been carefully attended to - no texture, shadow or background detail is left unchecked and parts of the movie (not least the dazzling finale) are strikingly, invigoratingly visual.
Fans of the original will no doubt be left wanting to see more of the three-eyed green creatures, who continually steal every scene they're in, and the contributions of Randy Newman - whose original songs so helped to define the whole feel of the first film - are sadly limited to one gooey flashback sequence and a couple of reprises of You've Got A Friend In Me'. But 'Toy Story 2' has rounded, loveable characters, staggeringly well-crafted set-pieces, and, perhaps most impressively, moments of genuine pathos - whilst the rapid and cross-generational humour is of a calibre hardly ever achieved by live-action movies. If you're not smiling by the time you leave the cinema or turn off that video, there is something clinically wrong with you.