A strong follow-up to the tremendous 1995 hit, Toy Story, but the sequel is not quite up to the same standards as the original.

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2002)

First of all, it should be noted that when I say that Toy Story 2 is not up to the standards of its predecessor, I do not mean the computer animation, which is just as spectacular as it was in 1995, if not better. One of the things that the 1995 version really tried to do (to some extent) was to avoid actually showing human faces. We never see the faces of adults particularly, and the faces of the children that we saw (such as Andy, the vicious Sid, and his pathetic little sister) are obviously animated and do not fit in with the level of reality achieved by the rest of the film. In Toy Story 2, we see a lot more faces, and while they're still never done quite right, it's good to see that they have made a significant improvement in this area.
In the original Toy Story, we were so fascinated to see a presentation of the real life that we all imagined that our toys had when we were away that that was enough to make a great story for a great film, while in the sequel we are taken a lot deeper into the lives of our toys, which possess a lot more than even the extensive amount of emotion seen in the first film. The toys seem to possess a much deeper sense of neglect than was made clear by their competition over who is the favorite toy in the first movie, and we are even treated to an overly emotional and altogether unnecessary song called `When She Loved Me,' which really only serves to sadden the entire film and slow it down.
There is an entirely new antagonist presented in the character of Big Al, the toy baron who desperately seeks Woody as the last toy to complete a classic collector set which he is planning on selling for some huge amount of money. We learn about Woody's past in this way, and he is faced with the conflict of staying with his friends (Andy's toys, as well as Andy himself), or returning to what I guess would be called his family, with the unfortunate addition that if he decides to do that, he will remain in a box and be looked at the rest of his existence, never to be played with or loved by a child again. The characters, thankfully, have all returned for the second movie, and we are again treated to a great show of hilarious adventure with them all, including a wonderful scene in which Buzz Lightyear finally encounters the evil Emperor Zurg, which results in a great toy battle scene that plays respectfully (note that, Kevin Smith, RESPECTFULLY) off of the battle between Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back.
The movie is yet another marvel of animation from the people at Pixar, and it does not fail in the least to generate laughs (see, for example, the ultimate result of the battle between Zurg and Buzz). Where the movie goes wrong (and, it should be noted, it goes VERY slightly wrong) is where it tries to insert too much emotion and sadness where it really doesn't belong. It was enough in the first film to see that Woody was so heartbroken as he watched Andy's interest in him begin to fade, but the sequel erroneously thinks that the audience should have tears brought to their eyes, which is just not true.
But despite being overly emotional, Toy Story 2 captures the wonderful level of adventure and entertainment that made the original film so memorable, and it solidly earns itself a place as one of the great animated films. Fans of the original film are sure to love it, just beware of an excessive amount of emotion presented in the film. It's a comedy with a little too much heart, which makes it a little lop-sided, but the adventure is undeniably strong.