Rating: 

The Info

Directed by: John Lasseter (co-directed by Ash Brannon & Lee Unkrich)
Written by: Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlain, Chris Webb
Starring the voice of: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammar, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Wayne Knight, Laurie Metcalf
Produced by: Karen Robert Jackson, Helene Plotkin

The Nutshell

Woody and Buzz Lightyear are involved in another fun family adventure.

The Review

    Toy Story is a cinematic success story; cutting edge animation, well-cast celebrity voices and an engaging, family-friendly storyline make it one of the most popular films of the decade. The film centres around a group of toys, led by Woody (Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Allen), who have a life of their own whenever no human is looking. Toy Story contains in its fun, simply story a quiet message about the purpose of toys; to make children happy. This message is front and centre in Toy Story 2, the equally enjoyable sequel.

    Apart from amusing our children, toys are often bought as collectibles. A complete set of Barbie dolls and accessories is worth thousands of dollars, while mint condition, unopened boxes of such things as original G.I. Joe figures are similarly valuable. The writers of Toy Story 2, of which there are several, clearly see this as a poor hobby, creating as their film's antagonist a rare toy collector named Al McWhiggin, voiced by Wayne Knight (Newman from Seinfeld). Turns out, Woody is a collectible; appearing on a children's show called Woody & His Round-up Gang, he fascinated children right up until Sputnik, at which point his show was replaced by a space show (nicely showing the beginnings of the conflict between cowboy & spaceman from the first Toy Story). Al discovers Woody while at a garage sale (Woody is there rescuing a fellow toy from the $0.25 bin) and steals him. Al has been looking for a Woody doll for years, to complete a collection which includes Woody's faithful horse Bullseye, his companion Jessie (Cusack), and an old man named The Prospector (Grammar). Upon meeting Woody, the others are ecstatic, since they will now be shipped to Tokyo for a museum exhibit, something they have waited in storage for for years.

    The film centres on the quest to save Woody by his friends, including Mr. Potatohead (Rickles), Hamm the Piggy Bank (Ratzenberger), Slinky Dog (Varney) and Rex the T-Rex (Shawn), led of course by Buzz. While both films are, on the surface, about saving Woody from danger, the inner struggle and character development that places the Toy Story films above most children's films are different in each. The first film dealt with Buzz's coming to terms with his existence as a toy while this sequel deals with a major dilemma for Woody; does he try to get back to his owner Andy, who will soon out grow him and leave him behind, or does he go with Jessie and Prospector to become a museum exhibit, a fate that is possibly not as bad as it sounds. Prospector makes a point about being an exhibit; they would live forever, and make the children who saw them briefly happy. The decision is a hard one for Woody, and one that children will likely be able to appreciate, unlike, say, the environmental angst of Pocahontas.

    Pixar's animation department actually out-does the first film, a feat I would not have believed had I not witnessed it myself. In Toy Story, viewers were astounded by how real everything was. While the toys and humans were obviously animated, certain things, such as gas stations and cars were harder to be sure of. In this sequel, cars, aeroplanes, cityscapes, toy stores and open fields (and others) all look completely real. The quality of animation put out by Pixar is currently unrivalled, even by Star Wars: The Phantom Menace's all-digitally rendered worlds. About the only animation that has me as adrenalized is that for next summer's Dinosaur, a special preview of which I saw at Toy Story 2. Randy Newman, who penned Toy Story's Oscar-nominated theme song You've Got A Friend in Me, has written yet another award-worthy song for this sequel. When You Loved Me, sung by Sarah McLachlan, plays while Jessie remembers what is was like to be once loved by a human, and it will bring tears to your eyes. Sure to be nominated at the Oscars once again, this time Newman definitely deserves to win. After countless nominations, please, give this man his Oscar.

    Parents, if you have been racking your brain to find a way to get out of taking your little ones to Pokemon, this is your answer. They will love Toy Story 2 and, almost as importantly, so will you. This is an animated film that, should your kids ask to see it again, you will have no problem (other than financial) agreeing to. Toy Story 2 is what children's films are meant to be; fun, thoughtful and full of good values like friendship, trust and respect. This is one of the best films of the year, and if there were any justice in the world, it would win Oscars for more than just animation and music. A classic.

Copyright - Tim Chandler

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