Written by: Kevin Berge
Jessie is here to add to the family and make sure Toy Story has someone to ship Buzz with. (Image Courtesy of: fanart.tv)
Quick Take: Toy Story 2 takes a more energetic approach to the series with faster action and clearer themes of accepting the limits of a toy's life. A less tightly constructed film than its predecessor, it is just as entertaining with more twists and turns. Few animated films can match up to this wild ride.
Toy Story Reviews: Toy Story | Toy Story 3 | Toy Story 4
***This is a review of the classic Pixar sequel Toy Story 2 with analysis of its place alongside the original. There will be heavy spoilers in this review, so the reader is expected to have seen the movie before.***
The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II, Aliens, Terminator 2, The Dark Knight. Throughout the years, there have been many great sequels, often considered better than their fantastic first installments. Another sequel that has often been placed among the best in film history, Toy Story 2 stands face-to-face with the original Toy Story.
I have debated numerous times which Toy Story is the best of the trilogy with this one my personal favorite. Perhaps it is due to the science fiction focus on the subplot involving Buzz Lightyear. Perhaps it is because Jessie's story stands as the most emotional ride of the series. Perhaps it is thanks to a plot that drives forward with action left and right.
Regardless, every Toy Story film is among the best animated films in history with each taking a new aspect of the toy theme. This time, the focus is on the inevitability of time as Woody is ripped and accidentally captured by a man looking to add him to a collectible exhibit where he can live forever.
Along the way, he must decide whether he wants to go to Japan and become an eternal set piece with new toys Jessie (Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer), and Bullseye or find his way back home to Andy with limited time left. Buzz meanwhile heads a rescue team with Mr. Potato Head, Rex, and Slinky Dog.
This movie has its themes, but it is less driven by those themes as the focus is a steady flow of action with everyone in motion for the most part. From Woody's failed ride through the garage sale to the ride through the toy story where Buzz fought Buzz to the climactic battle in the baggage handling system, everyone gets in on the fun. At 95 minutes, it breezes by even faster than the first film.
The use of Buzz's dynamic with Evil Emperor Zurg is the surprising exhilirating high of the movie with the battle atop the elevator almost as cool as the opening video game sequence. It is clear that Pixar put significant time and effort into crafting the action here.
***This is a review of the classic Pixar sequel Toy Story 2 with analysis of its place alongside the original. There will be heavy spoilers in this review, so the reader is expected to have seen the movie before.***
The Empire Strikes Back, The Godfather Part II, Aliens, Terminator 2, The Dark Knight. Throughout the years, there have been many great sequels, often considered better than their fantastic first installments. Another sequel that has often been placed among the best in film history, Toy Story 2 stands face-to-face with the original Toy Story.
I have debated numerous times which Toy Story is the best of the trilogy with this one my personal favorite. Perhaps it is due to the science fiction focus on the subplot involving Buzz Lightyear. Perhaps it is because Jessie's story stands as the most emotional ride of the series. Perhaps it is thanks to a plot that drives forward with action left and right.
Regardless, every Toy Story film is among the best animated films in history with each taking a new aspect of the toy theme. This time, the focus is on the inevitability of time as Woody is ripped and accidentally captured by a man looking to add him to a collectible exhibit where he can live forever.
Along the way, he must decide whether he wants to go to Japan and become an eternal set piece with new toys Jessie (Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer), and Bullseye or find his way back home to Andy with limited time left. Buzz meanwhile heads a rescue team with Mr. Potato Head, Rex, and Slinky Dog.
This movie has its themes, but it is less driven by those themes as the focus is a steady flow of action with everyone in motion for the most part. From Woody's failed ride through the garage sale to the ride through the toy story where Buzz fought Buzz to the climactic battle in the baggage handling system, everyone gets in on the fun. At 95 minutes, it breezes by even faster than the first film.
The use of Buzz's dynamic with Evil Emperor Zurg is the surprising exhilirating high of the movie with the battle atop the elevator almost as cool as the opening video game sequence. It is clear that Pixar put significant time and effort into crafting the action here.
Best Star Wars movie... ever. (Image Courtesy of: rotoscopers.com)
Toy Story has always been a combination of drama and comedy, but this might be the funniest script of the trilogy with popular culture references of the time littered in every shot. The Star Wars references were the basic jokes with more subtle allusions to Jurassic Park, Goldfinger, Airplane!, and more. There are even multiple sexual jokes that are almost shocking to find in a kid's movie.
The dynamic between Woody and Buzz could have easily felt lost, but each main characters gets to form new relationships more clearly with the other toys. Buzz and Rex have great banter with Woody and Jessie quickly becoming a brother-sister pairing with their arguments.
Often voice acting can go unnoticed, but this is a true showcase for Tom Hanks who plays so many emotions as Woody. His switch to voicing the character in Woody's Roundup also is clearly a distinct change. Tim Allen also gets to play both toy Buzz and oblivious Space Ranger with hilarious results.
In the first movie, many of the toys felt underutilized, but here Slinky and Rex take much clearer roles alongside Mr. Potato Head. The female toys still fade into the background beyond Jessie who is a top five character of the series with her story of being abandoned only to find this new home a true triumph of the film.
This action-packed sequel is one of Pixar's most exhilirating and hilarious rides. It still pulls at the heart strings as well even if it cannot quite match up on that front to the original. Once more, this series has showcased all that animation can offer and done so with flair.
The dynamic between Woody and Buzz could have easily felt lost, but each main characters gets to form new relationships more clearly with the other toys. Buzz and Rex have great banter with Woody and Jessie quickly becoming a brother-sister pairing with their arguments.
Often voice acting can go unnoticed, but this is a true showcase for Tom Hanks who plays so many emotions as Woody. His switch to voicing the character in Woody's Roundup also is clearly a distinct change. Tim Allen also gets to play both toy Buzz and oblivious Space Ranger with hilarious results.
In the first movie, many of the toys felt underutilized, but here Slinky and Rex take much clearer roles alongside Mr. Potato Head. The female toys still fade into the background beyond Jessie who is a top five character of the series with her story of being abandoned only to find this new home a true triumph of the film.
This action-packed sequel is one of Pixar's most exhilirating and hilarious rides. It still pulls at the heart strings as well even if it cannot quite match up on that front to the original. Once more, this series has showcased all that animation can offer and done so with flair.
Final verdict:
Three Defining Success
Three Defining Success
- Hilarious script that packs in popular culture references.
- High octane action that makes the most of the animated medium.
- New characters particularly Jessie that fit right into the series.
- Storytelling inconsistent in its fast-acting momentum.
- The Buzz Lightyear subplot was so good it led to the creation of Buzz Lightyear of Star Command, a cartoon that was vaguely entertaining at its best. The latest example of Disney's overuse of trademarks, the main issue was simply that it stands as the one animated Toy Story series that is not phenomenal.
