Imaginative, moving and breath-takingly realised

Rating: Null/10 (28 May 2000)

Yes, it is intended for children. And yes, it is a sequel. But suspend your preconceptions for just over an hour and a half and you will witness one of the movies of the year, I kid you not. Woody, Buzz Lightyear and friends have returned and their exploits are even more imaginative and breathtakingly realised than in the first film.
Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks again) and Buzz (Tim Allen) are now good mates and so when the diminutive cowboy is toynapped by greedy collector Al McWhiggin (3rd Rock's Wayne Knight) Buzz and the rest of the toys  Mr Potato Head (now married), Rex, Hamm and Slinky Dog  are duty bound to rescue him.
Woody, meanwhile, has discovered that he was once the hero of an old children's TV show. He joins his old show-mates Jessie (Joan Cusack), an over-enthusiastic cowgirl, and Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer, better known as Frasier), a grouchy old prospector. If he leaves them their collection won't be complete and they'll be put back in storage instead of being put on display in Japan.
Far from being simplistic or patronising, Toy Story 2 is intelligently plotted, fast-moving and full of movie in-jokes to keep the older members of the audience entertained. The animation has been improved and the humans now look far more realistic. A whole host of beautiful effects for things like leaves, bubbles and dust add to the impression of painstaking care taken over the entire project. Far more impressive, though, is the level of characterisation in each and every toy. From the melancholy penguin with the broken squeaker to Woody's faithful steed, Bullseye, they are consistently funny and often quite moving.
Toy Story 2 is a triumph over standard ideas of sequels and children's films being less successful or engaging than more conventional blockbuster material. It is witty, emotional and brilliantly made with the highest attention to detail possible  witness the 'out-takes' during the credits. How many films will you be able to say that about this year?