Toy Story 2

Lee Unkrich (co-director)
 Produced by
Karen Robert Jackson
 Written by
Pete Docter (story)
Ash Brannon (story)
Andrew Stanton (story & screenplay)
Rita Hsiao (screenplay)
Doug Camberlin (screenplay)
Chris Webb (screenplay)
 Starring
Tim Allen
Joan Cusack
Kelsey Grammer
Wayne Knight
John Raztenburger
Don Rickles
Estelle Harris
Wallace Shawn
 Music by
 Editors
David Ian Salter
Lee Unkrich
 Cinematography
 Studios
Pixar Animation Studios
 Distributors
 Release date (s)
December 2, 1999 (AUS)
February 11, 2000 (UK)
 Language
 Preceded by
*A Bug's Life* (1998)
 Followed by
*Toy Story 3* (2010)

***Toy Story 2*** is a 1999 American computer-animated comedy film, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by John Lasseter. Co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon. The film is the first sequel to *Toy Story* and the third movie made by Pixar. In the film, Woody is stolen by a toy collector named Al McWhiggin, prompting Buzz Lightyear and his friends to rescue him. However, Woody finds the idea of immortality in a museum tempting. The film returns many of the original characters from *Toy Story*, with their respective actors reprising their roles, and introduces several new characters, including Jessie, Barbie, and Mrs. Potato Head. It is the last Toy Story film in which Jim Varney, who provides Slinky Dog's voice, died in 2000.*'*

Disney initially envisioned the film as a direct-to-video sequel and *Toy Story 2* began production in a building separated from Pixar and was much smaller scale, with most of the main Pixar staff working on *A Bug's Life* (1998). When story reels proved promising, Disney upgraded the film to theatrical release, but Pixar was unhappy with the film's quality. Lasseter and the story team re-developed the entire plot in one weekend. Although most Pixar features take years to develop, the established release date could not be moved and the production schedule for *Toy Story 2* was compressed into nine months.

Despite production struggles, *Toy Story 2* opened in theatres November 24th 1999 to wildly successful box office numbers, eventually grossing over $485 million, and highly positive critical reviews. *Toy Story 2* has been considered by critics and audiences alike to be one of few sequels that outshine the original, and it continues to be featured frequently on lists of the greatest animated films ever. In honur of it's 10th anniversary, The film saw and a 3-D re-release in 2009, along with the the original movie. The film's success led to the production of *Toy Story 3* which was released in theatres and 3D June 18th 2010, which was also highly successful. *Toy Story 4* is currently in production and is set to be released in theatres June 16, 2017.

## Plot

The film begins with scenes of Buzz Lightyear on an adventure, which ends with him being destroyed by the Evil Emperor Zurg. It turns out to be a video game that Rex is playing. He is unhappy about losing the game. Some time after the events of the first *Toy Story*, Andy is preparing to leave for Cowboy Camp with Woody.

While playing with Woody and Buzz, Andy accidentally rips Woody's arm, leaving him unable to take his doll to the camp. Woody is placed on the shelf. The next morning, after having a nightmare of being thrown into the trash can because of his torn arm, Woody finds another broken toy, Wheezy the Penguin, and begins to fear he'll soon be thrown away. When Wheezy is set out for a yard sale, Woody manages to rescue him, but ends up in the yard sale himself. He is seen by Al, an obsessive toy collector and proprietor of *Al's Toy Barn*. He tries to buy Woody from Andy's mother, but she refuses to sell him. After failing to negotiate a sale, Al creates a distraction and steals Woody, causing Buzz to take action. He slides down the gutter into the yard sale, and sees Al getting into his car after packing Woody in the trunk. Buzz manages to get to the car as Al is driving away, but by the time he opens the trunk, Buzz loses his grip from the car and Al escapes.

However, a clue is presented to Buzz as the car speeds away: a feather from Al's trunk lands in front of him. When Buzz informs the bad news to the toys, the toys try to investigate the culprit. However, Buzz is trying to type the license plate number that he briefly saw on Al's car to track it and whoever he was, and the rest of the toys, including Etch, were having problems doing an identity portrait of Al. When Mr. Potato Head gets fed up with Buzz trying to investigate the number with Mr. Spell and irritably tells the others to "leave Buzz with his toy", the word "toy" causes Buzz to decipher what the license plate said: "Al's Toy Barn" and consequently order Etch to draw the man in the chicken suit. They then had to try and locate an Al's Toy Barn commercial to trace a map to the shop. Buzz then heads out to Al's Toy Barn with Rex, Potato Head, Hamm and Slinky Dog to rescue Woody.

Meanwhile Woody is taken to Al's apartment, where he is greeted by a yodeling cowgirl named Jessie, an affectionate steed named Bullseye, and Stinky Pete the Prospector, an unsold toy still in its original box. They reveal to Woody that he is a vintage *Sheriff Woody* collectible doll and the star of a forgotten children's TV show, *Woody's Roundup*. Now that Al has a Woody doll, he has a complete collection and intends to sell the toys to a museum in Japan. Woody refuses to go to Japan and abandon Andy. Later, Al arrives and rips off Woody's torn arm by accident, making Woody attempt to recover his arm and then return to Andy which he fails. Al then gets a repairman who fixes Woody's arm. After that, a suddenly depressed Jessie tearfully tells Woody of how she once had an owner that loved her, but eventually outgrew and abandoned Jessie at a charity toy drive. The Prospector warns Woody that he faces the same fate as Andy ages. Woody agrees to go with the "Roundup Gang" to the museum.

At the same moment Buzz and his friends search for Al at Al's Toy Barn. After Buzz orders his friends to spilt and look for Al. He discovers an aisle full of newer Buzz Lightyear and gets in a scuffle with a new Buzz Lightyear, who, like Buzz in the first movie, does not realize he is a toy. The real Buzz then ends up being tied up and repackaged in a box and set on the shelf for sell by the Deluded Buzz who then sets off with the other toys for Al's apartment, genuinely believing that he is attempting to rescue a hostage from his arch-enemy, Emperor Zurg.

The original Buzz frees himself and follows them to the apartment, but while exiting the store, he accidentally frees an Emperor Zurg toy, who follows to destroy him. When the toys reach the apartment, Woody tells them he does not want to be rescued and intends to go with his new friends to Japan, since he is now a "collector's item". After the original Buzz arrives, in an ironic reversal of a scene from the first movie, he reminds Woody *"You're a child's plaything. You... are... a TOY!"*. Woody (figuratively and literally) turns his back on Buzz, and Buzz's group leaves without him.

However, Woody soon has a change of heart and, after calling Buzz and the group back, invites the "Roundup Gang" to come home to Andy with him. Jessie and Bullseye agree, but the Prospector locks them in the room, saying that the museum trip is his first chance (since he was never sold) and won't have Woody mess it up for him. Al returns and packs the Roundup Gang, and the rest of the toys give chase, but are interrupted by the sudden appearance of the Emperor Zurg toy. The second Buzz battles him, and in a showdown mimicking a similar scene from *The Empire Strikes Back*, Zurg reveals himself to be Buzz's father, shortly before his defeat at Rex's hands. The other toys resume the rescue mission and find an unattended vehicle (a Pizza Planet delivery truck) and drive it to the airport, along with three Aliens. The second Buzz remains behind with Zurg, playing father and son games.

After arriving at the airport, Buzz and his group manage to free Woody and Bullseye from the suitcase. The Prospector has other plans though and he re-tears Woody's arm, even though it still works. However, Buzz and his group come to Woody's rescue, and stick the Prospector in a little girl's backpack so he can "learn the true meaning of play-time". The Prospector is terrified to learn that the little girl likes to draw on all of her toys. Jessie, however, finds herself in trouble and remains trapped in the suitcase. Woody and Buzz ride Bullseye in order to rescue her from being taken to the museum on her own.

Woody manages to find Jessie inside the plane, but just when they're about to escape, the door closes and the plane heads for the runway. Woody finds another way out of the plane, through a small hatch which leads down to the landing gear wheel, and as they are doing so, he slips on tar, but Jessie catches him. When the plane is at the main runway, Woody knows that time is running out. In true "Woody's Roundup" style, he uses his pull string to swing him and Jessie down to safety on Bullseye's back - just seconds before the plane takes off. Their mission accomplished, the toys now make their way home.

At home, Jessie and Bullseye are adopted into Andy's toy family. Buzz becomes a bit smitten with Jessie. Woody's ripped arm is repaired by Andy himself. The events of the airplane's cargo hold have a terrible (and hilarious) consequence for Al. After Hamm fails at the Buzz Lightyear video game, he flips through the channels and sees Al in an Al's Toy Barn commercial, crying since he lost his precious luggage and the money he was going to get for it, which is why in the commercial he is selling everything for as Al says in the chicken suit, "For a Buck, Buck, Buck". While Al is crying, Hamm says a somewhat humorous remark about Al and his scheme (*"Well, I guess crying doesn't pay."*). Mrs. Potato Head adopts the aliens to Mr. Potato Head's dismay, a fixed Wheezy sings "You've Got a Friend in Me", and Buzz asks Woody if he was still worried about Andy giving him up. Woody replies that he isn't worried anymore, and that when it is all over, he will have Buzz to keep him company, for "infinity and beyond".

Foreshadowing Stinky Pete's words foreshadow various things that happen in the next film. His last words, "Children destroy toys. You'll be forgotten, spending eternity rotting in some landfill" happen to almost come true because the young children at Sunnyside Daycare do nearly destroy the toys and the toys are thrown into a landfill (from which they escape) at the end of *Toy Story 3*. However, it could be noted that Stinky Pete didn't think Andy would take Woody to college, but it is shown in *Toy Story 3* that he planned to.

## Cast

* Tom Hanks as Woody
* Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear (credited) and Utility Belt Buzz Lightyear (uncredited)
* Joan Cusack as Jessie
* Kelsey Grammer as Stinky Pete the Prospector
* Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head
* Wallace Shawn as Rex
* Jim Varney as Slinky Dog
* John Ratzenberger as Hamm
* Wayne Knight as Al McWhiggin
* Annie Potts as Bo Peep
* Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head
* Frank Welker as Bullseye/Buster (uncredited)
* John Morris as Andy Davis
* Joe Ranft as Wheezy (speaking voice) / Heimlich the Caterpillar (outtakes)
* Robert Goulet as Wheezy (singing voice)
* Hannah Unkrich as Molly
* Jodi Benson as Barbie
* Andrew Stanton as Emperor Zurg
* Laurie Metcalf as Andy's Mom
* Jonathan Harris as Geri
* Jeff Pidgeon as Squeeze Toy Aliens
* Dave Foley as Flik (outtakes/uncredited)
* Mary Kay Bergman as Jessie (yodeling)
* Andi Peters as Luggage Handler and Male Baggage handler 2

## Soundtrack

* *Main Article: Toy Story 2 (soundtrack)*