This Toy Story is truly excellent and continues the legacy of the original

Rating: 10/10 (6 April 2006)

Toy Story, when it came out in 1995, was something of a revolution. It was a definite groundbreaker, on the level of stuff like Star Wars, for nothing like it had been seen before and since then, it has had a slew of followers, none of which have quite lived up to it's greatness (even from Pixar themselves). To date, I have seen story around as often as I have seen Terminator 2 (six or seven times) and, fittingly it ranks up there with my favourite films. So you could imagine my surprise back in 2000 when the sequel to Toy Story, Toy Story 2, continued the legacy of the original. Sure, it isn't quite as groundbreaking, but hell, whatd'ya expect, it's a sequel! To think that Disney was going to make this one straight-to-video. That would've been disgraceful for a film of this magnitude. I have 'only' seen Toy Story 2 around three or four times. As fate would have it, I saw it again last night. As a teenager, I am almost ashamed to be enjoying this film, but hey, that's Pixar for you...not only do they appeal to little kids, they appeal to adults and teens as well. They've always had that mystic quality about them (with the exception of the disappointing A Bug's Life).
The plot is decidedly interesting. Woody winds up with a few old collectables from his old show, The Roundup Gang. Turns out that he is of a lot of value. There's Stinky Pete (look for a hilarious outtake at the end credits which shows why he is called 'Stinky Pete') and Jessie the cowgirl. It is here that, us, as the audience, witnesses a somewhat overly sentimental yet interesting deconstruction of Jessie. How she was abandoned by the girl who loved her. Woody, it would seem, will have to face up to a similar problem when Andy grows up. Buzz Lightyear and his crew get caught up at a toy store. On the way, some funny pratfalls do ensue, such as the regimented wackiness of the 'replacement' Buzz and those three aliens ("Look! It's the mystic portal!"). The outtakes at the end also give us a good reason to stick around.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen show their funny sides. It is clear here that Tim Allen can be a funny guy sometimes (shame we rarely see this) and he appears to have found his calling with the character of Buzz Lightyear. Tom Hanks plays Woody like he did in Toy Story; as philosophical yet somehow optimistic cowboy who does not know where to go. They are well supported by Joan Cusack and Kelsey Grammar, who play their characters, Jessie and Stinky Pete, appropriately.
There is of course, the animation to discuss. As usual, I will not discuss Pixar's animation in any great depth, since you, the reader, will know what I will say: about how dazzling, clean-cut and colourful it is, etc, etc.
In short, Toy Story 2 is a wonderful film which should not be missed for the world, by kids, adults or even teens. It is right up there with the best of Pixar, second behind only Toy Story. That is only due to the fact that the first Toy Story is more groundbreaking. Try as they might, Dreamworks' best, both of the Shreks, cannot realistically match up to either of the Toy Story movies. Time will fly by as you watch this. Trust me on that!
5/5 stars