Fine sequel if not as strong as the first

Rating: 8/10 (3 January 2009)

Toy shop owner Al kidnaps Woody and plans to display him in a museum in Japan, but Buzz and the gang plan to stop him.
Pixar's 1995 triumph Toy Story was arguably the finest animation of all time and its success brought on this sequel which is faster and more daring, if not quite as sharp.
This 1999 picture has one of the finest openings you will ever see and will beat any other animation opening; even Wall-E trundling along is no match for this. In space we see Buzz Lightyear zooming towards an alien infested planet and what follows is a jaw dropping action soaked sequence of good versus evil with a fine comic twist.
Again we are invited into the toys lives as they face another human tradition that will determine their lives, a yard sale, which sets the story going in a frantic and funny way.
Evidently a viewing of the first is a necessity to understand the characters and their environment as this film makes plenty of references to the first.
There are plenty of similarities to its Oscar nominated predecessor. For example, the idea of facing demons, adjusting to a different life and importantly friendship. Toy Story was brilliant for having an originality and a great collection of personal messages to its viewers.
This sequel feels frequently like the first with the same jokes with the occasional twist. A lot of scenes can be predictable and unfunny.
However this film differs by being more relaxed in its storytelling approach. There is more comedy which will delight the family for popcorn viewing. There is a delightful collection of intertextuality from 2001: a space odyssey, Jurassic Park and a hilarious parody of Star Wars: the empire strikes back, which will have the adults in stitches.
This is not to say the franchise has lost its sentimental side. This in a lot of ways is more upsetting than the first as it explores the inevitable of when a child no longer plays with toys. This is not a cheesy coming of age representation, but a hard dramatic rite of passage, which will cast your mind back to the time when you no longer played around.
As I write a third instalment is being filmed and hopefully we can see another film with great humour and a hard hitting message.
The DVD also has a fine collection of outtakes during the credits which are the funniest thing about it.
More adventurous and relaxed, Toy Story 2 is quite different from the first with more comedy and another hard message.