Still the best CGI movie to date, not to mention one of the best cartoons of all time.

Rating: 10/10 (3 November 2001)

CGI movies are becoming more popular (I just saw Monsters Inc, and there were previews for 2 or 3 upcoming CGI films) and this year (2001)alone there have been 3 major CGI movies. But while everyone has fallen under the Shrek bug, I believe Toy Story 2 (which I saw for the first time after I saw Shrek) is still the best CGI film to date. While I did laugh at some of the barage of parodies in Shrek, and smiled a little even during the gross and even questionable scenes, Toy Story 2 is still leaps and bounds ahead in story, character development and just overall fun.
I love Toy Story, don't get me wrong, you have to give credit to the first full length CGI movie, but with Toy Story it was "Ok, let's make the first CGI film" with Toy Story 2 it's "Ok, let's make the greatest CGI film." One thing that I think Pixar is the best at when it comes to CGI is character emotions. You can see any still from a Pixar film and know immediatly what that character is feeling. Even toys with limited movement, such the dinosaur Rex or Mr. Potato head, have so much personality. Heck, I know what the Etch-e-Sketch is thinking. When Jessie tells her story, it the most emotional scenes I've seen in any CGI movie.
Toy Story 2 has it share of pop-culture references, most obvious is the paralellism between Woody's Round Up and the Howdy Doody Show, and the Star Wars spoof. But they blend into the story well. And some kids movies have a tendancy to have a gross factor to get laughs, but Toy Story 2 is funny without being gross.
I like other CGI films like Shrek, Final Fantasy, Dinosaur, but what really makes this films is how much personality every character has. They're toys, and not even that, just animated toys, but you will be surprised how much to feel for them.