Good fun, characters return with an interesting twist, perhaps even better than the original.

Rating: 8/10 (4 January 2006)

I couldn't actually believe that I hadn't seen Toy Story 2 when it popped up on Television at Xmas, it seemed so long ago and since I enjoyed Toy Story so much there was no reason not to have seen the follow up. Yet I hadn't, for some strange reason it had dropped off my list of what to watch, so I sat down with a glass of something nice and red and returned to the world of toys.
There's nothing too different about this movie from the first apart from the storyline itself, the characters and their voices are all the same, and they've recaptured them perfectly for this movie. Probably the only negative point of the similarity is the animation, CGI has moved on since Toy Story and it shows a little here, however what is good is that the animation of Toy Story has a unique quality to it and even if you were to see a few seconds without any recognisable characters you would know it was a Toy Story movie. So although the animation appears slightly dated (especially seeing it years after release) it does help to pull you into that world again.
Cleverly though the writers have looked at the world of toys and looked for other challenges that they would face if they really were alive, and they've come up with some superb ideas. They've created situations and scenes that are extremely imaginative and yet so obvious (if you were a toy), and what they've pulled out of these are some great performances for the characters and actors, and some genuinely funny moments. Often with a sequel you are treated to an inferior story and less laughs (with a comedy anyway, with other genres you often get more laughs!) but what they've done here is to raise the bar over the original Toy Story, and frankly it was something I just couldn't believe they could do.
The characters are genuinely lovable and understandable, it's all too easy to get attached to them and be pulled into their world. Before long you find yourself caring for them and you'll be feeling their highs and lows, and even a small lump in the throat at times.
There were a few nods to other movies in here, again I won't spoil it by listing them, but they added to the adult factor of the film, something which Pixar has really managed to comprehend. They manage time and time again to make a movie which appeals to both children and adults together without any clash of the two. It will certainly be interesting to see where the Disney only sequel will go.
Overall it's a very satisfying movie giving you everything you want from a good family movie, whether you be a kid or an adult, or even somewhere in between, it's a great fun movie with some good laughs, and definitely on a par if not better than the original.