Add to that the fact that Toy Story 2 has 122,699 frames of up to 4 gigabytes per frame and you'll get an idea of the complexity of the finished product. Pixar's Renderfarm used 1400 Sun processors to chomp all the data. Another impressive effect are excerpts of Woody's campy 1950s cowboy TV show. Woody is watching. When viewers aren't rubbing their eyes in disbelief at the visual effects they'll be giggling over the script.
Numerous references are a sly poke in the ribs for techie types.
Most egregiously geek-pandering are the Star Wars references. At one point, Buzz confronts his nemesis Zurg in an elevator shaft that looks suspiciously like the setting for Luke and Darth's climactic scene in The Empire Strikes Back. Ten minutes later they're throwing a softball around outside and getting in touch with their father-son relationship. Inveterate moviegoers will also recognize a reference to Jurassic Park when plastic dinosaur Rex comes lumbering after Buzz's getaway car, and an airport chase scene with luggage moving on geometrically-complex conveyor belts bears a decided resemblance to Metropolis. For the most part, the movie mostly steers clear of gimmicks and facile satire to create a truly enjoyable, as well as visually lovely, experience.