funny and entertaining, with deeper meanings

Rating: Null/10 (18 October 2000)

In Toy Story 2, Woody is "toynapped" by Al, the sleazy owner of Al's Toy Barn, and Buzz Lightyear and the other toys try to rescue him. In Al's apartment, Woody discovers that he's actually the star of a kid's show called "Woody's Roundup" and meets his Roundup gang, Jessie the cowgirl, Bullseye the horse, and Stinky Pete. Woody is now faced with a dillema: Should he stay with the Roundup gang and end up in a museum to be immortalized forever, or go back to his beloved Andy, who will probably discard him as he grows to adulthood?
Toy Story 2 is just as entertaining and visually astounding as its predecessor, but its exploration into serious topics such as facing one's own mortality and the loss of innocence in the process of growing up makes it a superior film. Jessie's heartbreaking tale of abandonment is made clear in the song "When She Loved Me", beautifully sung by Sarah McLachlan. It's a shame that it did not win the Oscar for best song.
Although, the movie ends with the typical Disney happy ending, there is a twinge of sadness, as the toys must face the fact that their days with Andy are numbered. Woody puts it best when he says that "it will be fun while it lasts." The ultimate message of this movie is that life is short, and we must never lose the spark, that sense of awe and wonder that we had as children.