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In the four years between the first Toy Story and its sequel, the animation wizards at Pixar learned a few new tricks, taking Andy’s toys on a bigger, flashier (though not necessarily better) adventure.
As Toy Story 2 opens, Woody (Tom Hanks) is preparing for his annual trip to Cowboy Camp with Andy (John Morris). But when one of his seams rips, Woody’s shelved for the weekend.
Down but not out, Woody goes on a mission to save another wounded toy from being sold at the family’s yard sale. But after he’s accidentally left behind, he’s stolen by an eager toy collector (Wayne Knight).
As Buzz (Tim Allen) and the gang head out to save him, though, Woody is reunited with his old gang: his faithful horse, Bullseye, Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl (Joan Cusack), and old Stinky Pete the Prospector (Kelsey Grammer). After years of waiting in storage, Woody’s gang is excited to be a complete set again—because it means they’ll finally be sold to a museum in Tokyo. But Woody isn’t sure that he’s ready to leave Andy and his friends behind.
From the opening scene of Toy Story 2, it’s clear that the sequel is bigger, bolder, and even better-looking than the original. The sets are more extravagant, the details are crisper, and the human characters look much more realistic (especially Al, the toy collector, who sometimes looks shockingly real). It’s certainly a gorgeous animated film—but that’s not the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Toy Story 2.
Instead, when I think of Toy Story 2, I think of its underlying note of melancholy. The film opens with Woody’s feeling of impending doom—his belief that, now that he’s slightly damaged, he’s on the way out. Before long, he’ll be just another toy in the bottom of the toy box—or, worse, he’ll be sold for a quarter at the next yard sale. While the original Toy Story has that same ominous feeling in the beginning (after Buzz replaces Woody as Andy’s favorite), the story eventually moves on to something more upbeat and action-packed. This time, though, that ominous feeling remains—gradually building through Woody’s gang’s warnings and bitterness, until Jessie tells her own sad story about Emily, the girl who once loved her, only to end up dumping her in a box and leaving her on the side of the road. The accompanying song, performed by Sarah McLachlan, is beautiful but overwhelmingly heartbreaking. But, then again, maybe it just makes me feel guilty about the pair of Cabbage Patch Dolls that are packed away in my parents’ basement.
Fortunately, Buzz and the other guys manage to lighten things up a bit with their madcap adventure to rescue Woody from Al’s Toy Barn. At times, in fact, their adventures are laugh-out-loud hilarious. I only wish there had been more of them. Then I wouldn’t be left with that melancholy feeling that it’s only a matter of time before the other shoe drops—and the gang’s packed away to collect dust in a box in the attic.
Of course, that’s not to say that Toy Story 2 is a bad movie. Not at all. It’s a gorgeous animated adventure, with a lovable cast of characters and a story that’s both funny and touching. It’s just a bit too heavy on the dramatic parts. And, while it’s still worth seeing (especially now, with Toy Story 3 on the way), it isn’t quite as much fun as the original.
Blu-ray 3D Review:
Over the last few years, we’ve seen some pretty bad 2D-to-3D conversions. Time and time again, studios have decided to take movies that were already completed and turn them into 3D movies—often with disastrous results (case in point: 2010’s Clash of the Titans). But that’s not the case with Pixar’s Toy Story movies. The studio known for its stunning animation wouldn’t be satisfied with anything substandard—and, like the original Toy Story, Toy Story 2 is gorgeous in 3D.
Again, from the opening sequence, with its cool, outer-space action, it seems as if the movie were made with 3D in mind. Of course, the animation isn’t quite as remarkable as it is in recent Pixar films, but it’s still pretty stunning—and the 3D conversion only adds to it.
The only downside to these new 3D editions: they don’t come with any new extras, aside from a couple of 3D trailers. Fortunately, though, they do come complete with the Blu-ray and DVD versions of the film (along with a digital copy). So the release still includes all of the extras that I’ve highlighted below.
Blu-ray Review:
Like its predecessor, Toy Story 2 is now available in a two-disc special edition Blu-ray combo pack, which features both Blu-ray and DVD copies of the film, along with a toy box full of extras.
In addition to the original DVD features—including galleries, deleted scenes, production notes, a making-of feature, a short profile on co-director John Lasseter, and a whole lot more—there’s also a menu full of new extras. Here, you’ll meet a few more members of the Pixar team, who discuss their background, their experiences at Pixar, and more. There’s also another Buzz Lightyear Mission Log, a new commentary, and another Toy Story 3 sneak peek. My favorite features, though, are the Studio Stories—three animated shorts that take Pixar fans behind the scenes at Pixar’s studios, where the team members play almost as hard as they work.
As with Toy Story, after you finish watching Toy Story 2, there’s plenty more to explore—so be sure to take some time to browse the extras, too.
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