They made this movie within 9 months. 9! Don't give up on your dreams.

Rating: 9/10 (9 July 2019)

This movie, without question, fails to live up to the purity of the original. Right down to the callbacks and the often slack narrative, TOY STORY 2 only further highlights the truly unique experience of the first one. One of the few crazy ideas that alchemized into something thoughtful, character-driven, and thrilling, there's no way it could be replicated. I mean, just look how A BUGS LIFE turned out.
But with all the baggage held against the sequel, it's also without question it's the most ambitious. Thoroughly expanding its story to deeper, more existential questions, it's the rare sequel that earns its EMPIRE STRIKES BACK level praise. It's finally a movie that questions what truly makes for a great life for a toy: standing behind glass walls and loved by everybody forever, or live with a finite relationship with a child destined to grow out of you soon.
Buzz gets the backseat this time around, centering the story on Woodys turmoil while his space friend endure some hijinks to rescue him. People might say his side story is the sole weak point but I'd argue it's necessary for the story; it's a lot of heavy themes at play, so the gang deliver just the right amount of humor to level the tone.
By now, everybody knows the Prospector turns out to be a last minute bad guy at the end. My take on this is how seamless of an antagonist he is; the idea that all toys are destined to be thrown out looms heavy on these characters. So much so that any of these characters can snap to immoral tendencies at any minute. This is why Kelsey Grammer delivers a phenomenal performance here. He's comforting as the Prospector but you can clearly hear the history behind it all. You can hear the desperation of his character, let alone Jesse and Bullseye too, and the film slowly builds that desperation into villainy that seems tangible.
As for Jesse, let's just say there's a particular moment with her that personally spoke to me. Not gonna say which though, seems like an easy answer.
Again what can I say; TOY STORY 2 is a grand achievement that could've done much less.