# Toy Story 2 (1999)

### reviewed by
Michael Dequina

    _Toy_Story_2_ (G) **** (out of ****)

When Disney announced the production of a direct-to-video sequel to Pixar's smash 1995 computer-animated feature _Toy_Story_, my expectations weren't exactly set soaring. The subsequent announcement that the project was going so well that the Mouse decided to give it a big-screen release didn't instill any new faith. After all, this was Disney, who never passed up an opportunity to soil the memory of a beloved animated feature with a truly atrocious, completely unnecessary sequel. Ever see _The_Lion_King_II:_Simba's_Pride_? Or the even more blasphemous _Beauty_and_the_Beast:_The_Enchanted_Christmas_? Consider yourself incredibly lucky if you haven't.

So it was that greater of a shock--and an extremely pleasurable one at that--to discover that _Toy_Story_2_ not only equals, but bests the classic original film. I had thought that the first _Toy_Story_ had completely exhausted all the ideas for its cast of toy characters. After all, by film's end, the film's clever conceit that astronaut action figure Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) believed he was an actual Space Ranger was resolved, and he and rival for owner Andy's affections, pull-string cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) had mended fences. Having done all that with an Oscar-nominated blend of all-ages humor and grown-up intelligence, where else could director John Lasseter go with the story?

As it turns out, many different--and more complex--places. On one level, _Toy_Story_2_ is a witty knock on the ever-growing toy collecting market, where adults buy toys and never open them, keeping them for an investment rather than their intended use as a child's plaything. Woody is stolen by a toy collector/toy store owner named Al (Wayne Knight) for a hefty profit. As it turns out, Woody is the main item in an old toy line tied to a western-themed puppet television series called _Woody's_Roundup_, and he reunites with the other members of his TV family--cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack), horse Bullseye, and old prospector Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer)--in Al's office.

Screenwriters Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin, and Chris Webb also have deeper interests in mind. Al, of course, intends to sell the now-complete _Woody's_Roundup_ collection, an idea that Woody balks at--he just wants to go home to Andy and his friends--but Jessie wholeheartedly embraces. Jessie, it is revealed, once had an owner, but the owner abandoned her once she grew up. Determined to not be heartbroken again, Jessie wants to be loved and paid attention to forever, even if it's from passing admirers looking through a glass case. This surprising crisis-of-existence theme--what's a toy to do once its owner inevitably abandons it?--sounds a bit heady for a film with largely kid appeal, but it's a tribute to the terrific writing that it's made easily understandable for the young 'uns as well as the adults. The stunning example is the beautiful scene where Jessie tells her story through the heartbreaking Randy Newman-penned, Sarah McLachlan-sung ballad "When She Loved Me" (a lock for a Best Original Song Oscar nod next year).

Despite all the richness of theme and emotion in _Toy_Story_2_, Lasseter and co-director Lee Unkrich never forget what the film mainly is: a comic adventure. And there is plenty of comedy and adventure as Woody's toy friends, led by Buzz, attempt a daring rescue of Woody from Al's toy store. That means a number of hilarious encounters with other toys, including a perky Barbie (Jodi Benson, best known as Ariel from _The_Little_Mermaid_) and, in a very clever touch, a fresh-from-the-box Buzz Lightyear--who indeed believes himself to be a Space Ranger.

Augmenting all the fun of _Toy_Story_2_ is the amazing computer animation. A lot of advances have been made in the field since the original film's release in 1995, and the visuals in the new film are absolutely stunning--not to mention increasingly realistic. Al's skintone and hairy arms are remarkably lifelike, and Andy's dog is just thisshy of looking exactly like the real thing. What impressed me the most, however, were the textures: the paint on metal surfaces, the imperfect consistency of the human's (namely Al's) skin, the gravelly road surface. The detail is even more jawdropping when the film is seen at one of the handful of theatres showing the film in crystalline DLP all-digital projection.

It goes without saying that things work out for the best by the end of _Toy_Story_2_, but this is one happy ending not without a tinge of the bittersweet; Andy will eventually grow up, and all of his toys will find themselves without a place to go. But if there is a central moral to _Toy_Story_2_, it's the old reliable "seize the day," and movie audiences would best take that to heart and seize the opportunity to see one of the brightest cinematic accomplishments to hit the silver screen this year.

Michael Dequina twotrey@juno.com | michael_jordan@geocities.com | jordan_host@sportsmail.com | mrbrown@iname.com Mr. Brown's Movie Site: http://welcome.to/mrbrown CinemaReview Magazine: http://www.CinemaReview.com on ICQ: #25289934 | on AOL Instant Messenger: MrBrown23

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