The grand toy adventure

Rating: 8/10 (26 February 2011)

The original Toy Story played out mostly in Andy's room and his neighbor's house. It was a great story but one that felt a little confined, quick excursion to Pizza Planet notwithstanding. Toy Story 2 opens up the toy world, providing room for a great, grand adventure. This story can go anywhere and that creates opportunity for great visuals, great laughs and great, big action. Big action in an animated movie about toys? Yes indeed. What happens when a group of toys tries to cross the road? Mayhem. Beautiful, hilarious mayhem.
All our favorite toys from the first movie are back for Toy Story 2. This time the story focuses largely on Woody, who discovers that he is a prized collectible, the star of an old, popular TV puppet show. He finds that he is actually part of a set of toys. There's Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl, Stinky Pete the Prospector and Bullseye, Woody's horse. This is all very exciting for Woody. Or it would be if not for how it is he came to discover all this about himself. Woody was kidnapped by greedy toy collector Al who plans to sell Woody and the rest of his gang to a toy museum in Japan. How can Woody get back to Andy? Well, duh. Buzz Lightyear to the rescue! Buzz leads a daring, perilous crosstown rescue mission. There will be many obstacles along the way. And the biggest foe for Buzz Lightyear will be...Buzz Lightyear! What a twisted, funny toy world we live in.
If there is any complaint at all with Toy Story 2 it would be that Woody and Buzz are largely kept apart. The chemistry and interplay between these two characters gave the first movie much of its charm and there's a sense this movie misses that a little bit. But there are more than enough good things here to make the sequel a clear success. First off, the film looks spectacular. For as great an achievement in animation as the first Toy Story was the sequel takes it to another level. There are some truly breathtaking visuals here. The story is compelling, with plenty of room for both humor and drama. And some real poignancy too. All the voice actors do a great job bringing their toys to life. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are the big stars but every performer plays his or her part perfectly. All the old favorites from the first movie are back and there are some great new additions too. Joan Cusack is a wildly enthusiastic Jessie. Jodi Benson provides plenty of laughs in playing Barbie. Stinky Pete seems to have a lot of Sideshow Bob in him. And there is room for a human or two in this toy world, Wayne Knight as Al the Toy Collector making for a great villain. Kids will surely love the movie but adults will too. Plenty of sly references and lots of subtle humor that may have the parents chuckling while their children wonder what's so funny. All in all Toy Story 2 is the rare sequel which does not disappoint, a clearly worthy successor to the original movie which was so beloved.