from Disney / Pixar
Directed by
John Lasseter
Co-Directors
Lee Unkrich
Ash Brannon
Starring
Tom
Hanks (Woody (voice))
Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear (voice))
Don Rickles (Mr. Potato Head (voice))
Jim Varney (Slinky Dog (voice))
Wallace Shawn (Rex (voice))
John Ratzenberger (Hamm (voice))
Annie Potts (Bo Peep (voice))
Joan Cusack (Jessie the Cowgirl (voice))
R. Lee Ermey (Sergeant (voice))
Kelsey Grammer (The Prospector (voice))
Estelle Harris (Mrs. Potato Head (voice))
Wayne Knight (Al the Toy Collector (voice))
Laurie Metcalf (Mrs. Davis (voice))
John Morris (Andy (voice))
David Ogden Stiers (Bullseye (voice))
Original Music by
Randy
Newman
Written by
Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb
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Toy Story 2
Rated G
85 minutes
 Rarely do you find a movie
sequel that is better than the original. Hence my trepidation
at going to see Toy Story 2. Lately Disney animation sequels
have been going direct-to-video so one doesn't hold out much
hope for quality. But Toy Story 2 is equal to the first Toy Story,
and in many respects much better. The story, written by Andrew
Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb, once more
revolves around the character of Woody, the cowboy character
voiced by Tom Hanks.
In an act of heroics, Woody chances an outdoor garage sale
to rescue a worn out friend, Wheezy the Penguin. But the rescue
goes bad and Woody is taken by the evil Al (Wayne Knight of "Seinfeld"
and "Third Rock From the Sun" fame) who is looking
for the pivotal piece to a toy collection he wants to sell to
a Japanese toy museum. Buzz, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm, and
Slinky Dog (Tim Allen, Don Rickles, John Ratzenberger, and Jim
Varney) witness the kidnapping and set out to rescue Woody.
At the home of Al, Woody finds out he is a star-of-the-show
toy based on a popular '50s black and white TV show, "The
Roundup Gang" and that there are other toys from the series
that Al has been keeping in storage in boxes. The other characters--
Jessie the cowgirl, Bullseye the horse, and Stinky Pete the prospector,
want Woody to come with them to the Japanese toy museum where
they can be loved by millions of visiting children for generations.
Woody wants to return to his boy owner Andy, but the rest of
The Roundup Gang convince him that Andy will soon grow up and
discard him so Woody decides to go with them to Japan.
Meanwhile, Buzz and his gang of rescuers travel the treacherous
downtown streets in their trek to find Woody and in doing so
cause a hilarious traffic problem trying to cross the street.
They are desperate to return their friend Woody to Andy's room
before Andy returns from cowboy camp.
The 3-D animation in this movie is superb. Andy's pet dog
is animated with lifelike hair that seems so real that he should
be shedding. The human character Al rides the line well between
looking too cartoony or too distractingly realistic. The toys
look and move exactly like one would expect them to look and
move. This is definitely one movie where you can buy a toy off
the shelves that looks exactly like the character in the movie.
But underneath all the slick animation and funny antics, this
movie is more about the love a toy has for its child. Toys live
for the time that their child owners play with them and are sad
when they are not. Toys that are not played with, like the bitter
Stinky Pete who is still MIB (Mint in Box), feel unloved and
unwanted. This movie is sure to make adults feel reminiscent
about the toys they left behind and make kids feel like they
have felt all along, that toys are more than inanimate plastic
and fluff... they are living and breathing friends that are always
there for them when they need them.
Trina Ernst
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