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Film Title: Toy Story 2

 Best for ages: 4 and up.

Movie Website:  Click Here

Year Released: 1999

Rated: G (US)

The Review

    In most cases, a sequel is never as good as the original. Many can argue that a sequel can also be just as good as the original, which I believe is the case with Toy Story 2 when compared to the first film. When I first saw Toy Story 2 in theaters more than ten years ago, I didn’t think it was as good, I can remember walking out of the theater thinking it was OK, yet I was surrounded by yelling children and the parents yelling at those children to sit down so my experience was not a great one. Watching Toy Story 2 on Blu-ray has changed my perspective. I really enjoyed it this time around.

   Toy Story 2 puts the toys out into the world in an attempt to rescue Woody when he stolen from Andy’s house during a garage sale.  Woody was attempting to rescue a fellow toy penguin when toy storeowner Big Al appeared at the garage sale looking for things to buy. He spotted Woody and knew that he was a huge collector’s item.  After Big Al tried to bargain with Andy’s mother, and after she refuses to sell, Big Al creates a diversion and steals Woody. The toys having seen this happen take it upon themselves to track down Big Al and find Woody. They make their way to his toy store and learn that Woody is being kept in Al’s apartment. Meanwhile Woody meets the toys from his collection, Jessie the cowgirl, Stinky Pete the prospector and Bullseye the horse and he finds out that he once had his own television show and has been marketed all over the world.  Big Al is going to sell the collection of toys to a Japanese museum, and although Woody misses his friends back at Andy’s house, he thinks it’s not a bad idea to go to Japan with his new friends. However, Buzz and the rest of the crew will come to Woody and his new friends rescue, and find their way to Big Al’s place. The question is will they make it in time.

     The cast in the first film returns to their respected roles;. Tom Hanks as the voice of Woody and Tim Allen as the voice of Buzz Lightyear. Don Rickles (Mr Potato Head), Jim Varney (Slinky Dog), Wallace Shawn (Rex), R. Lee Ermey (Sarge) and John Ratenbeger as Hamm the Pig all make their return. New voices include Wayne Knight as Big Al, Joan Cusack as Jessie and Kelsey Grammer as Stinky Pete.

   The Blu-ray combo pack comes with a DVD copy of the film as well as a digital copy for your computer and mobile devices. Just like the Toy Story Blu-ray, the disc is also packed with a ton of special features that make it well worth the time to add to your collection. The features on the disc include commentary with director John Lasseter, an exclusive sneak peak at Toy Story 3, Buzz Lightyears Mission Logs: Episode Two: International Space Station, a adventure where Buzz reports to the International Space Station about his fun adventures. Paths to Pixa: Technical Artists is a featurette about the artists behind the films where they talk about their careers and share advice about filmmaking and animation. Studio Stories is a series of shorts about life at Pixar Animation Studios. Toy Story 2 Sleep Deprivation Lab; a feature where we get look at how the people working on the film are under an intense deadline to get the film finished.  Studio Stories: Pinocchio a small featurette that shows an impromptu competition between the animators to decorate their workspace by throwing toys into the ceiling. The Movie Vanishes is another featurette that tells how a mischievous technical error almost erased all of Toy Story 2 from the computer system. This was a feature I could relate to as it almost happened to a film I worked on. It’s a funny, yet scary situation that I think all film editors go though.  There is also the Pixar’s Zoetrope feature - A look at the creation of the live-action zoetrope that Pixar created to capture the principles of animation in a live sculpture, and a tribute to Joe Ranft who worked on and created many of the films that Pixar has produced over the years.

   Toy Story 2 stands as its own along with the original film, although some will disagree with me I see both films as equals. Toy Story 2 does have a few things that as a parent concern me, especially the opening scene in which during a video game played by Rex Buzz is killed by the villain in the game, yet we see it as if it were really happening. This scene might cause some younger children who look up to the character of Buzz as traumatic. But no worries as it is just a game. The first film also had some scary moments as well, but for the most part children seem to enjoy both films. As parents, Toy Story is simply a Disney/Pixar film that is part of movie history, and we need to be the judge on when it is appropriate to show our children these films. After all a study in Great Britain involving the question “Who was the first person on the Moon” was asked to children ages four to fourteen. Their number one answer: Buzz Lightyear. Just goes to show how much Toy Story is loved throughout the world by children of all ages.  

BUY THIS MOVIE.