The toys are back in town!
Toy story 2 picks up as Andy (John Morris) heads off to cowboy camp, leaving his toys to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector named Al McWhiggin (owner of Al's Toy Barn) kidnaps Woody (Tom Hanks). At Al's apartment, Woody discovers that he is a highly valued collectible from a 1950s show called Woody's round-up and he meets the other prized toys from that show - Jessie the cowgirl (Joan Cusack), Bullseye the horse and Stinky Pete the prospector (Kelsey Grammer).
Back at the scene of the crime, Buzz Light-year (Tim Allen) and the other toys from Andy's room - Mister Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky dog (Jim Varney), Rex (Wallace Shawn) and Hamm (John Ratzenberger) - spring into action to rescue their pal from winding up as a museum piece. The toys get into one predicament after another in their daring race to get Woody home before Andy returns.
Special Agent Matti
Bam! The sequel!
What's more surprising (or is it less surprising?) is that it's almost as good as the first one.
Toy story 2 picks up soon after the first one left off: one big happy family. The division of this paradisaical existence comes via a short, fat man (it's good to see that short, fat people are still evil in Hollywood) who steals Woody for commercial gain (it's good to see that short, fat people are still greedy in Hollywood). The story is located more in the real world than its progenitor (skyscrapers, low budget marketing, merchandising...) so it's a bit more gritty but there are still plenty of laffs for all, especially with the many movie references (including Star wars and Jurassic park).
The animation is just as good as the first, the gags are probably funnier (it's been a while and my poor brain isn't what it used to be) and there are several sing along songs to keep things moving: action, adventure, laffs and fun. This is a light hearted, up film about love and toys which comes to you just in time for pre-Christmas entertainment and merchandising. Enjoy.
G
103 minutes (1:43 hours)
VHS rental: 17 October 2000
DVD retail: 24 July 2002
VHS retail: 24 July 2002
DVD retail: 19 March 2003 - Pixar box set
DVD retail: 30 November 2005
Film: 21 January 2010 - 3D double feature with Toy story
