Toy Story 2 [G]

Woody is very excited to get to spend some one-on-one time with Andy at cowboy camp, but his leaving day is ruined when Andy accidentally rips his arm and then leaves for camp without him. Put up on the shelf of broken toys, Woody discovers and old friend and when Mom puts him out in a yard sale, Woody’s quick to the rescue. But disaster strikes when Al from Al’s Toy Barn steals Woody with the intention of selling him to a toy museum in Japan for a lot of money. Now it’s up to Buzz, Rex, Hamm, Slink, and Mr. Potato Head to band together and go to infinity and beyond to rescue Woody before Andy gets home. 

Oh you just can’t go wrong with a Toy Story movie. I was five when the first one came and it was really special because I think it was the first full-length feature that Pixar released establishing them as studio, like Snow White did for Disney. The sequel is every bit as heart-warming and rollicking as its predecessor; kept fresh with new lovable characters as well as nostalgic with a few references from the first movie that we all know and love. The drama, the adventures, the world is much bigger in this one than just rescue-Woody-and-Buzz–from-the-house-next-door, but despite this the film retains its simplicity and smallness that made the first one so irresistible and a childhood classic. 

Woody is very excited to get to spend some one-on-one time with Andy at cowboy camp, but his leaving day is ruined when Andy accidentally rips his arm and then leaves for camp without him. Put up on the shelf of broken toys, Woody discovers and old friend and when Mom puts him out in a yard sale, Woody’s quick to the rescue. But disaster strikes when Al from Al’s Toy Barn steals Woody with the intention of selling him to a toy museum in Japan for a lot of money. Now it’s up to Buzz, Rex, Hamm, Slink, and Mr. Potato Head to band together and go to infinity and beyond to rescue Woody before Andy gets home. The story of friendship is still the dominant one at work here, but another beautiful message comes through about what will happen to the toys when Andy grows up. 

The major conflict that we see in this film is of the rational mind thinking about the future and the irrational mind focusing only on the here and now: both present persuasive cases, but only one can win. In the list of new loveable characters we’ve got Jesse the yodelling cowgirl, Bullseye the horse, Stinky Pete the Prospector, Tour Guide Barbie, and the evil Emperor Zurg, which makes for a particularly enjoyable sequence where we get to revisit the delusions of the toy Buzz Lightyear that made us all laugh in the first film blended with a little bit of Star Wars (but of course!). 

Featuring the voice talents of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusak, Kelsey Grammer, Shawn Wallace, Annie Potts, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger, Jodi Benson, and Wayne Knight, Toy Story 2 is a hugely enjoyable childhood classic that comes pretty damned close to scaling the heights of the first movie. Filled with friendship, drama, adventure, suspense, romance, and comedy, I absolutely adore it and I really cannot believe it’s taken me this long to review it! I mean what is that all about?! The loveable characters and the chemistry and camaraderie that comes through with the voice talents makes these movies so irresistible and my collection wouldn’t be complete without them.