Toy Story 2 (1999) is widely considered Pixar's masterpiece sequel, featuring a compressed nine-month production schedule that resulted in a film with deeper emotional resonance, exploring themes of abandonment, mortality, and purpose through Woody's backstory and the character of Jesse, while maintaining the studio's signature blend of humor, heart, and technical excellence that launched their golden age of animated films.
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Toy Story 2 (1999) EPIC MOVIE REVIEW-The EVEN BETTER SequelAdded:
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>> [ __ ] [ __ ] [ __ ] me in a [ __ ] you. You [ __ ] stupid [ __ ] Hey everyone, it's Don Gene Corleone here and I am here with a brand new movie review. And our movie review is going to be for the second entry of this trilogy, and that's going to be for the first sequel from Pixar, the third feature they did, and that is 1999's Toy Story 2.
Yes, I also have this on DVD. And I also have it right there on VHS. And no, I'm never giving it away because it's too valuable to give away.
Yeah. All right. And once again, back on you go. And you know what? You can go right there. You'll be easier to see then there. So yeah, this is pretty much to me the even better sequel to the film.
This was pretty much the movie that actually really started to make Pixar's Golden Age continue on with their successes right there. So, the plot of Toy Story 2 is Andy is going away to cowboy camp and Woody was going to go, but his arm gets ripped off, so he has to stay. And so, then eventually, while doing a rescue mission for one toy from a yard sale, he gets kidnapped by Al Mcwigan, this greedy collector and propertier of a place called Al's Toy Barn, which is kind of like the toy barn version of Toys R Us. And it's all out rescue mission. Buzz and his friends, Mr. from Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex, and Ham have to go into town and rescue Woody from winding up as a museum piece.
They must find a way to save before he gets sold Japan forever, and they'll never see him again. And of course, meanwhile, on the other hand, Woody also meets some other characters named Jesse, Bullseye, and Stinky Pete, who are pretty much part of a show he was part of called Woody's Roundup Game. and Woody starts to learn a bit more of his past and is wondering if he should go to Japan or go home. So, as my reaction, Toy Story 1 is phenomenal enough, but man is Toy Story 2 even more phenomenal.
This is the example of the perfect animated sequel and everything a sequel shall always do after the success of the first film. With this movie, you explore Woody's past. You actually know where he came from and stuff. You make the comedy even funnier. You develop the characters better. You even further improve the animation. You give us new terrific characters and even give one of them such a sader jerker moment. I'll explain later. Toy Story 2 to me is easily my second favorite film of 1999. And it's the second best animated film of the '9s and one of Pixar's greatest films yet.
And weirdly enough, this was a sequel that actually had a bit of a hell production.
So, and I'll explain that in the production. So, how Toy Story 2 was made was this originally guys was not going to be a sequel that would go to theaters or a 90minute movie. No, originally at first Toy Story 2 was going to be another one of the Disney's direct to video sequels at that time. But then of course then what changed John Lasser's mind on that was after he saw one kid play with a Woody doll. He had a change of heart and decided you know what [ __ ] direct a video. We're going to make Toy Story 2 a theatrical movie and we're going to make it a 90minute movie and it's going to go to theaters and it's going to be a normal sequel. So they decided it would become a normal sequel and there was a bit of a problem. Around three years after Toy Story, they had to jump on doing their next film, a Bug's Life. And so, Toy Story 2 began production and building separate from Pixar on a more smaller scale because most of the main staff were doing A Bug's Life at the same time they were doing this. And story rules proved promising and they were making a theatrical release, but Pixar wasn't really happy with the film's quality. So, Lasser and the story team redeveloped the entire plot in one weekend. And though most Pixar features would take years to development, the originally release date could not be moved and production schedule for Toy Story was compressed into nine months.
So yeah, Toy Story 2 had a bit of a nightmare production.
It was going to be direct to video, but then they changed their minds. They decided to make it theatrical instead.
And then another problem, they were working on Bugs Life around the same time. And so a lot of the main staff couldn't really come back to do this one. So they had to make a separate staff for this one. Well, they were busy working on Bug's Life because clearly like Bug's Life was a film that kind of was clearly demanded straight away because Toy Story was already proving to be such a huge hit. So, they didn't really get a chance to really just enjoy Toy Story success first, like clearly.
And honestly, it kind of feels like despite this one having the shorter production, this one felt like it had the more heart put into it. I think this one had the more effort put into it and the more thought kind of compared to Bug's Life really.
So, so yeah, like like what I'm trying to say is despite all the production struggles, it would get completed in time and it would premiere at the El Capitan Theater on November 13th, 1999.
Then the next week or so, it got released in theaters to November 24th.
panned. You're not going to believe this. Did it get critically panned? And did the production, the bad production ruin the sequel? No.
Instead, it got the same amount of praise as the first one, if not even better praise, and it actually made even more money. It made over like 400 million worldwide initially. I think now it's up to 511 million worldwide. And pretty much it once again got considered one of the greatest animated films ever made and it's often considered one of the best sequels of all time.
So the bad production paid off in the end like in a way like so the bad production did not ruin the movie. In fact, it ended up making an even better movie.
And you know what? I'm glad they decided to change their minds and make this theatrical because this was a sequel that definitely should be followup to a critically praised film like Toy Story instead of being followed up with a cheap direct video clone at all. So, I'm glad they decided to make it a theatrical film because this film deserves to be better theatrical.
So, Toy Story 2 would go on to be the third highest grossing film of 1999 and won best motion picture musical comedy at the Golden Globe Awards and eventually would get a third film after 11 years called Toy Story 3, which also suffered a bit of a hectic production as well. More on that in Toy Story 3's review. All right, so here are the epic good guys in the story. So, usually a lot of times sequels don't really live up to their predecessors. There's exceptions like Aliens or The Last Crusade or Empire Strikes Back or Terminator 2.
Pixar achieved that ranking back then to close out the '9s even and approve the original groundbreaking film that started them. And this came after the mixed results of Bug's Life, too. Not only is this movie hysterically funny, but like every time they knew where the plot was going and something new and original got thrown into the mix. Like there's one bit where you're laughing hysterically and then there's also one bit where you're immediately brought to tears with one character's backstory right there. So it makes it makes you feel a range of emotions. It's still got the funny stuff. It makes emotional stuff actually much more emotional than the first one. And it's definitely one of the cleanest and most well-designed animated movies to come from any studio.
And it still is. The plot is very trim and concise. And once again, like the first film, it's not just a film for kids. It's also got plenty of grown themes to satisfy even adults as well, like the first film did as well. In fact, even more so than the first film.
The animation is very tremendous, especially if you pay attention to the details. And hell, you know something great. You remember the short Jerry's Game? The first short that they would make before a movie. And if it was pretty much a short that would play for 90s kids if they went to go see A Bug's Life in theaters back in 1988 when they were kids. They're not kids anymore obviously, but back when they were kids, if they ever went to see Bug's Life in theaters, they would watch a short before called Jerry's Game. And heck, even when they got it on VHS, they would watch the short before the movie as well. Hell, in fact, like the short film Jerry's Game, I I think I remember that more than I do really the film Bug's Life. I think I remember that short way more. Like that short that short film it to me is honestly better and honestly really iconic than that film. Like that's the one where this old man is playing chessel in the park and pretty much he doesn't just play chess alone.
He pretty much moves seats and pretty much pretends to be a different version of himself by taking off his glasses and making a rival turn. And it's well and it's a wellshot short because it actually does feel like eventually he's actually playing it with someone else despite the fact he's actually swapping seeds as the short progresses. But they make it look like he's playing with a different person that looks identical to him and they reward and the one with the glasses wins and the reward he gets is his dentures.
So So yeah, that was a good way to kick off their shorts that would play before their movies back then. And Jerry here actually makes a cameo as the cleaner.
Well, originally they were going to use someone else, but they couldn't come up with a different character in time, so they just reused Jerry. But that was a great genius idea. Like, and it's an even nice detail that you see a piece of the chess board, one of his chest things in the drawer when he's getting ready to fix Woody's arm and repolish him for that sale.
And once again, you get some more iconic Star Wars spoof as well in around near the climax of the film. And like yeah, like usually few sequels can be equal or surpass the original. And for an animated feature, Toy Story 2 was the first se animated sequel that didn't go direct to video. Well, okay. No, it wasn't really the first to go direct to video. There were some other ones like Five of Goals West and Allos Daven 2, but but the public didn't really remember them that much and they didn't really do well, but this was the first one to actually first animated sequel to get critical praise and be a huge hit in the theaters right there and pretty much there. And this ca this like came out when I was one years old and pretty much yeah I watched this around the same time I got introduced to the first one like easily like it definitely is one of it was a film that after this film's critical praise Pixar would go on to have a golden age streak a golden age streak where they had Monsters Inc. and Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, all independently. Like, this was the film that really started to really further improve their success after Toy Story, despite the fact this had the least amount of staff working on it. But it actually does have actually was the one of the two they did after Toy Story that felt like it had the most effort put into it. Like Toy Story 2 like remains like it was for a while the only sequel Pixar put out, but eventually though we all know that was not the case. They would do more sequels again once Toy Story 3 came out, but for a while before that film, this was their only sequel at the time. They were going to do some other sequels with a different studio, but then that studio shut down and then those originally planned sequels were scrapped and so they just moved to Pixar and they did them eventually even it took them years.
And this movie also brings back the whole cast like Tomics and Tim Allen and favorite characters that really dirt themselves to us. Like there's so much more story that can be told from the toys and room in this movie. So how do we start off? So, we ironically kind of start off with this pretty also kind of funny first act where the opening video game scene is. It's pretty much where it opens up with Buzz Lightyear and it's kind of video game style mission based off his franchise where he goes through a set of booby traps. He finds this barrier and then his nemesis Zerg confronts him and it plays up as an epic battle. And then of course, just as he flips over Zerg and prepares his laser, the evil emperor Zerg rolls around and just blasts half of him off with one shot and leg just collapse and then it just cuts the game over and it just shows it was actually a video game the whole time and Rex was playing it and Buzz Lightyear was guiding him through it like, "Oh, you almost had I'm never going to defeat Zerg. Sure you won't, Rex. Like, you're a better Buzz than I am. But I look at my little arms. I just can't hold the fire button and jump at the same time. It like it does well and make him kind of trolling you. At first it kind of feels like what the [ __ ] was that? That's the end of the movie. And then it turns out to be a video game at first, but it's a nice little prank. It kind of pulls on the viewer because that's the thing. The buzz in the video game actually looks a lot like his toy self.
So, at first you think you're actually watching a sequel and it just almost ends right away with him being shot in half and then it turns out it's actually not really the real Buzz that's in that mission. It turns out he was guiding Rex in a video game that Andy just got right there.
But yeah, we pretty much see our first act with Woody and Buzz are now co-leaders of Andy's toys. Ever since they had to work together in the first one, they're really friends now. And Andy's gonna take Woody to cowboy camp.
But and for after a little while, Andy has a few minutes left. So he decides to take a last minute plan to play with his toys again. And this time use another nemesis, Dr. Pork Chop, aka him, and his army of Buckadados soldiers. And what he's pretty much and once again, Woody in this in this round has to save Bo Peep. And with the death option, instead he picks Buzz Lightyear pretty much.
Then and pretty much Andy has Buzz on RC and wheels out to knock off Dr. Pork Chop and pretty much it shows here where for a while Andy became no Buzz became Annie's new favorite toy. Then it's kind of swapped around, you know, for a while where he stopped playing with Woody for a while and then eventually though he did start to actually miss Woody after he went missing.
And so basically now he actually now plays with both of them and pretty much has both of them teaming up in the little scenarios he reenacts with them.
So pretty yeah in pretty much a way like they're now both his two favorite toys in the world right there. And so you also get some more other funny stuff in this whole entire first act where they're trying to find Woody's hats and it's like missing for a while and like Buzz is giving this reassuring. Don't worry, Woody. Just a few hours, you'll be sitting around a campfire with Annie making delicious hot schmos. And Buzz's face just makes it all even funnier. And Woody just replies, "They're called s'mores, Buzz." Oh, right. Right.
Easily then. But then after the whole little play around, last minute bit of play time and he has the toys before he goes to camp when he's trying while he's trying to have Woody high-five Buzz. He accidentally rips his arm. And so when like his mom says they can fix him but and he's like no just leave him. So he puts him on the shelf.
And so then of course Woody then has a night has a pretty dark nightmare scene where he begins to fear Annie's going to throw him away. And it's a kind of a dark scene where it goes at first he comes back from cowboy camp a little early and sees arm. Oh, you're broken. I don't want to play with you anymore. and just falls and just kind of throws the floor to the trash. He gets pulled down by trash by Woody and then it turns out to be a nightmare and it's kind of a nice little dark moment right there. And so after he wakes up, he finds a squeaky penguin toy voiced by the late Joe Ram may he rest in peace as well named Whezy. He's this penguin toy with a broken squeaker also got shelved and he's about to be sold at a yard sale. Although, and what we also see here is that you remember that puppy that got opened up at Christmas at the end of the first one? Well, that puppy named Buster actually ended up becoming friends with the toys.
So, yeah. So, it wasn't another little conflict with the first one. No, Buster became a quick friend with the toys. And heck, like even does a little stick them up thing with Woody. And so like and when Andy tries it like Buster's kind of already had it though like but Andy doesn't realize that it's like oh we'll work on that when we get back and not knowing that Buster already had that round with Woody but yeah he became but Buster is pretty much now a big friend with the toys and even likes to kind of mess around with them and even helps him on a few missions like he pretty like he pretty much helps Woody rescue wheezy and pretty much then when he has him go outside not casual it's like Woody tells him no not that casual right there And so he saves Wizzy Whezzy, but he actually falls on the ground. At first he gets found by his little girl, but the mom sees the rip arm and refuses to sell him. And then of course though, Al then finds him at that time. And so he tries to have Andy's mom buy, but when Andy's mom sees him there, it's like, "That's not for sale. How' that get out?" And so Al is disappointed by this. But then Al doesn't give up. He instead decides he's going to patch this plan to steal Woody. So he breaks a few things and he's able to steal and kidnap Woody and drive off.
Buzz fails to foil the theft, but he finds clues identifying the collector is named Al Mcwigan, who they saw brief glimpses of on TV. He's the owner of a place called Al's Toy Barn, which is kind of like a store that looks almost similar to Toys R Us in a way, except it's more barn-like design. It's got barn-like decorations.
Think of it like that. So, Buzz Rise up, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex, and Ham, and go out to rescue Woody.
Everybody else stays behind. So, this is like a pretty great little first act where you kind of set up how things have been going ever since Buzz and Woody had their adventure and they're friends now. You also get to see like B the Buster the dog they now that Andy now has is now officially friends with the toys even and easily pretty if Yakor and like pretty much now Andy pretty much now whenever he plays with his toys now he pretty much has Woody Buzz teaming up and being both the heroes and it's got the adaption adaptation to change loyalty abandon friendship and a lot of great themes for this children's movie and that's The appeal toy story can be viewed at different levels. For a child who enjoys the animation, the story one level for Elmer didn't enjoy it on another by definitely handling the different themes and appealing to different segments and audiences with the same movie. Pixar exhibited exactly why they be the top dogs with the field back then. And the blending of wonderful animation, artistry, their terrific writing, the great voiceovers that are thanks to Pixar and lots of films that and lots of films that would come out after this would be appropriate for all ages and kind of rarely were like this is a film that was perfect to perfect for both adults and children at the same time like the first one. Toy Story really is that clever. And heck, like you know, Toy Story All 2 also has a great time kind of making fun of itself in other movies. Like it has Jurassic Park, it has Star has Star Wars near the end. The humor is constant and it's simply right on. Like Toy Story 1 is a buddy picture where here Toy Story 2 kind of is the one that pokes fun at Commando Rescue Films, computer games, and Barbies.
And with like as with Toy Story, it's also filmed with a heart lighting not only the friendship of the original group of toys, but some interesting new ones, too. So, more on the new ones. At Al's apartment, Woody discovers like when he gets there, by the time he gets there, like Al gets to his apartment building and there's a sign that says no children are allowed on the building and it kind of wanders something. Al may own a toy store, but he probably really does not actually like kids in real life.
Or I that or maybe or I think really it's probably like the building's rules or something. Unfortunately, I think that might be his apartment building's rules where families can't move in there. But either way, once he gets to his apartment, he gets called to do a commercial and demands they only make it one take because he's busy with stuff.
And so once he like gets out to his car, you get this other funny bit where he's in his chicken sue. He gets in his car and he's all complaining. I can't believe I have to drive all the way to work on a Saturday. All the way to work.
And when he drives there, you want to know something funny? You know the toy store he works at?
It is literally right across the street from his apartment.
So basically, he lives right across the street from work, but he's too [ __ ] lazy to walk to work.
So he just put gets in his car, waste gas, and drives across the street almost causes an accident to go work to basically get to work.
Then be he just complains about driving all the way to work despite the fact he could literally just walk there. And you want to know something? I wish I lived I kind of wish I lived across the street from my work. Yeah, I really do. I wish I lived across the street from the store I work at because like especially in today's economy too because that way I wouldn't have to worry about either transit times or I wouldn't have to worry about bus fair or I wouldn't have to worry about something happening to my house while I'm at work because I'm right across the street from it or if I was ever called to do extensious I wouldn't have to really give a damn. am because I would live across the street from my house so nothing bad would really be happening to it either way. So, you know, I wouldn't I wish I could live across the street from my work. Yet, life would actually be kind of easy. And no, if even if I had a car, I would not drive all the way to work across the street like this idiot Al does. So once Al's gone, once Al has his lazy commute to work, Woody then once he's at the apartment and tries to escape, he then pretty much discovers some merchandise of him. And he meets these other dolls that are there, too.
He meets this eccentric, excited one named Jesse the cowgirl, her horse named Bullseye, who doesn't talk, and a prospector named Stinky Pete, who voiced who is voiced by the talented Kelsey Grammar, aka Slideshow B from The Simpsons, who actually who actually also is a terrific little twist character. I'm about to mention why he's a twist character, but these new characters are also great. Jesse is very enjoyable and very entertaining. Joan Kusak gives a terrific voice performance as a character. Bullseye is also a pretty great comic relief who he doesn't talk.
Yeah. But he actually still has a lot of funny entertaining moments as well. And he's delighted. He's very delighted to meet them. And he finds out he's pretty much he was actually designed after the protagonist of a show called Woody's Roundup. It was this N which was this 1950s children western Thunderbirds styled series where it's shot with Marionets like Thunderbirds is in a way and he finds so much merchandise himself and once he sees where he comes from he's so delighted by all the merch he has and is very very delighted to watch the whole entire show and when it finds out the show ended on a cliffhanger episode he's like what come on we got to see the last one and just like there was no last one the show was cancelled Why? Well, because once the astronauts flew off, Sher wanted to play with space toys like Stinky Pete says, which kind of foreshadows the character he's about to be revealed as.
And Woody's having such a fun time with all the merchandise for him, like the whole boards or the lunchboxes or a record that plays a theme song. But then of course though once Woody realizes that Al's going to sell the entire round collection to this toy museum in Tokyo, Japan. Woody then announces he has to return home to Andy and it dismays the game the game because the museum will not accept the collection without him and they'll go back to storage.
Those then of course when Al is trying to get a picture his arm comes entirely off and he Woody then does try to retrieve it. But when Al is sleeping that night after he calls a calls a cleaner to come repair the arm and polish him off for the photos, he tries to take back his arm while Al's asleep with a bowl of cheeses in his hand. And the cheesies falls. He has to avoid stepping on the cheeses, especially Bullseye even ate him as well. And he fails to get the arm because the TV turns on and it wakes Al up. And from what we can tell, Al's having a bit of a disturbing dream where it's like, "No, officer, I swear you didn't touch her."
And I don't want to know what kind of dream Al was probably having. Yeah, I think it's better. I think we can tell what kind of dream it is, but then he pretty much just goes he pretty much just goes to sleep then realizes it's turned on. He just shuts the TV off and goes to sleep somewhere else right there. So pretty much then you also have the gain are trying to make it through and they're a little bit tired about to give up but Buzz pretty much motivates them to pretty much continue the journey and basically it pretty much goes like this.
Come on guys. Did Sid give Come on. No.
Come on. They wouldn't give up when Sid struck the back of a rocket. No. No. And did he give up when he threw him out of the back of that movie van? And you can see by their faces, they still remember that they still have the guilt for all that. Especially Potato Head the most.
And like you can tell Potato Head is easily just is pretty much still getting crap from everybody for all that cuz he's like, "Oh, you had to bring that up." Like like you could tell like I I think you could bet offscreen Buzz is still giving him crap for that one. Or like all the toys in general are probably all still giving him [ __ ] for that. and for the whole turn against Woody movement he started. So Potato Head is still regretting all that by this point. Like you could tell he still feels bad for all that stuff and he's just hanging his head down embarrassment as Buzz is making his speech and you see an American flag right behind him. and it's like we'll not rest until we find Woody and they pretty much continue on and and that's how it cuts to the whole TV scene and stuff like and so pretty much then after that the cleaner who's the Jerry from Jerry's game comes and repairs Woody and he says this great quote you can't rush arts when he's asked how long it's going to take and that's pretty much and definitely kind of summarizes when Pixar was making this movie He definitely can't rush art. Like like making Bolt this in Toy Story 3. He definitely can't rush art indeed. And pretty much after he fixes it, he's like he's only for display purposes only. And then Woody sees his arm is repaired. And that's when he finds out after Jesse's still mad that she's aband she was abandoned by her owner Emily when she grew up and is convinced Annie might do the same. So Woody decides that he's going to not go home and he's going to stay with the gang and go to the museum.
And this and right here guys, Jesse's backstory is easily the most emotional scene in the entire film. Like the song playing in the background from Sir McLaclin, when she loved me, combined with the emotional imagery of Jesse either being played with by Emily, then being forgotten, neglected because Emily starts to get other girier hobbies and grows up and then gets neglected before finally being put in a box and sold.
That's where Woody learns that Andy isn't going to be around forever. And that's why he decides he's going to go to Tokyo with Jesse and Stinky Pete. And it seems Pete is really destined to be a part of the collection because he almost like has almost brainwashed Jesse to want to do the same thing.
And right pretty much about that more about this. As emotional as Toy Story is, three is or a lot of other Pixar films are. To me, this is by far the most emotional scene of the trilogy.
That is such a massive tearjerker to watch. Like it's not some owner that just abandoned them and just turned evil. The owner here abandoned them because they got older. They matured more and they grew up. And pretty much when Jesse was about to be taken to storage, she thought she finally got Emily back and was reliving the old days again, but instead was actually being taken to be moved away when Emily was moving out.
And Sarah son just like German son actually just makes the scene even sadder. Interesting fact like this bit was actually so sad that Randy Newman at first thought it was going to be cut because he didn't think kids would be able to handle this sequence but actually at the test screens it actually made both Tom M and Tim Min actually cry when they first saw it and you can easily see why because it's this is a very sad realistic moment for a lot of people like we have such great hobbies and then we get older we get too old to play with our stuff and it gets given away like it's a realistic sequence right here. And it was definitely the first, it's probably the very first moment that really solified Pixar as a king of tearjerkers for animation. Ever since then, they've always struck with they've always ever since this movie has struck the moment with all those.
So eventually though, the comedy does come back when Buzz's group reach Al's toy barn and they have this little they have to go through cones and end up causing a massive accident on the road.
And they try searching for Woody. They think he's there. So they split up and Buzz encounters this utility belt Buzz.
And this Buzz assumes he's a real space ranger and imprisons the the real Buzz.
And then utility belt Buzz meets up with Annie's other toys. And Buzz's like, "No, no, you got the wrong Buzz while he's still trapped in the box." And he thinks they're on a mission to defeat Zerg and Cubies of the Owl's department, but Andy's Buzz able to escape though it he accidentally released a toy Zerg to get out the doors and think and the toy Zerg thinks that's Buzz and falls to destroy him.
He's going back to the game. And one thing I really enjoy is also the creativity like revolving around Buzz in the palace trying to rescue Woody from Al and the creativity in this film like even better than the first cuz they explore this world even more without it ruining the film too much. Like yeah the the plot of Woody Jesse Sticky Pete trying to get to Japan or the other scenes like could be just whatever they wanted to be and that's why they work so well. They use the creativity around everyday objects to explain how the toys will be able to reach Woody like the traffic cones, the elevators and air vents and especially the the subplot.
You have Buzz and the and actually the gang getting more to do in this film trying to get to either going around the going around the whole town and pretty much like having despite the fact it's actually kind of a short distance. It kind of clearly takes a few days because that's the thing toys don't have cars and you got to walk there on foot.
So, and obviously have to hide from human beings. So, it does take a few days for them to just as Woody's about to be taken to Japan and like this is where you get the traffic cone sequence like where the toys have to get across the road underneath traffic cones and potato gets his foot stuck in gum and has to come back for it before he gets crushed to death. You have certain tropes from the original are repeated a different way and they actually work. Like we have to see another we do get an all right sequence of another Buzz who doesn't believe he's a toy which isn't a bad sequence but at the same time it's kind of just repeating the gag with the actual Buzz in the first film like and then the comedic line for real Buzz that really used to sound like that and I see on the elevator where Buzz believes he's flying but he's just standing on top of the elevator is very hilarious and you also then you do have the Empire Strikes Back gag with Zerg telling Buzz that his father, which I I'll explain more on that when I get to that part. And especially because like it it references another great sequel, The Empire Strikes Back, and pretty much Rex finally defeating Zerg by knocking him off the elevator and like right here.
This film is definitely stronger than the original because of the emotion, the character arcs, and especially Wooding the Roundup characters. Like though Toy Story 1 is about the ants of is also the ants of parenthood. Like it's no better is it captured than this movie with characters like Woody and Jesse with the fears associated shown growing up or forgetting about the ones who love them unconditionally. It's shown incredibly well in a very heartbreaking sucker punch of a mage sequence. And unlike the original, it's used even greater effect like the music and sound effects like the stuff like Woody's Roundup and When She Love Me are memorable and they're used fantastically well in this movie.
And it goes without saying like the animation and spectacle is the highest quality. Like this was 1999 when it was like when animation was still beginning and 3D animation is more than likely take it for granted these day like especially with these days because like the whole cleaner animation was like very well done and well shot and this was a film that took like that only had 9 months to be made like so. And the whole Al's Toy Barn sequence is nice, too. Like, you got them either talking to you got them either talking to the Rockham Stockm robots in Al's office and they're arguing over who they were talking to first. And then you also get some bit of the Barbies right here and Mr. Potato Head all wowed by them. I'm a married man. I'm a married man. I'm a married man. And then you get tour guide Barbie who guides them all through and that's where they find their utility belt buzz.
And he guides them through all the other toy aisles. And it's a story that does feel very reminiscent of Toys R Us.
So, this was definitely another interesting sequence to me. There's not really any dull sequences in the film.
All the sequences are great from either El's apartment or the journey to get to the toy store or they arrive at the toy store right there or when or at the airport at the end. So, both Buzzes and the rest of the search party arrive at the apartment. And when they try to get there, they try to figure out how to go in and utility Buzz is literally trying to do all these methods cuz he doesn't know he's a toy yet.
And pretty much now they get inside the apartment. Rex, use your head. But I don't want to use my head. Run. They bust through the air vent and they're able to pretty much find Woody, but at first they think like Jesse and Bullseye think they're enemies and they get a fight with each other, but like Woody calms down, announces they're actually not bad guys. They're actually his friends and he's part of a show and Woody refuses to go home with them. And so Buzz and the reason why Buzz was rescuing is because he returned was returning the favor to Woody after he open made him open his eyes and it was his turn to help him in a way because Woody helped him in the first one. So Buzz was about to do the same thing, but they all go but they go back home. But after the search party leaves, Woody reconsiders after he sees after he sees like the unaired episode apparently playing on the TV because in the background you can actually see the episode that didn't get to air where he saved them all actually playing on the TV. So I guess in a way it still did get shot but sadly they weren't able to release it because the show was order was probably ordered to be cancelled. So he didn't get to so he didn't get to release that final episode and so right there and so the last bit and he sees like his marionette self saying you got a friend of me as another kid holds him and that makes him reconsider and he decides and he decides he's actually going to invite the Woody's round toys to join him and become Annie's toys. Jesse is hesitant at first, but her and Bullseye accept Woody's offer. And though Pete on the other hand does not want to, and so he blocks the others from leaving because this is where you find out the twist with him. He was never played with.
That's and it's a nice twist where he turns out to be the bad guy. And it turns out he was the bad guy the whole time. He turned the TV on. He framed Jesse for it. He stayed in the box this whole time. He basically made Woody stay. So he was the bad guy the whole time. And it's pretty sympathetic and reasonable because he never got played with and plus space toys or shadowed western stuff where he's from. So he wants to go to the museum because he thinks that's the only way he's going to ever get noticed. Then Alan goes back to the apartment and takes the roundup collection to the airport. And once they get there though, Zerg appears and you get the Emperor Strikes Back reference.
You kill my father. I'm your father. No.
And then Rex actually knocks him off.
Hey, I defeated Zerg. father and of course but though they end up pretty much after that though Zerb survives the fall utility Buzz stays and catches up with him and plays like catch with like Zer's balls you're a great dad and and Annie's buzz and choice pursuit out to the airport as pizza planet truck while accompanied by three toy aliens strangers from the outside then there's this pursuit through the airport baggage storage system and pretty much when Buzz is about to find Woody oh stinky Pete punches him. Take that space toy. Hey, no one does that to my friend. And they pretty much fight. And Pete reopens and terror Woody's arm. Your choice, Woody.
You could come together Japan room pieces. If he fixed you once, he can fix it again. Now get in the box. Never.
Fine. And then of course though, they subdue Pete and play and take photos of him. You girls incompetent children destroy toys. They'll be forgotten to landfell. Well, Stinky Pete, I think it's about time you learn the true meaning of playtime. They put him in a little girl's backpack. Ew. Oh, look, Barbie. a big ugly man doll. Ew, he needs a makeover. And the Barbie doll's like, "You'll love her. She's an artist." And then Stinky Bee is horrified by this. And so after that, Woody's like, "Happy trails, Prospector." And so they realize Bullseye and Jesse are still in the bag.
And so they're able to they're able to save Bullseye, but Jesse though is still stuck in the bag and gets loaded onto the plane. And so Woody, Buzz, and Bullseye work together. And so Woody goes into the plane and pretty much then pretty much convinces her to still take the offer because she's still a little bit hesitant. And like what if you won't like me? Nonsense. Annie will always like you. And of course this finally convinces her to take Woody's offer. But then of course they're about to load some more bags and just they're about to leave though. The people like too late put him on the next flight. And this has me laughing so hard because why would the airport be so incompetent to ignore a bunch of lost [ __ ] bags? And I'm pretty sure this would not work in real life. In real life, I'm pretty sure the airport staff who allowed that would have probably been fired after and complained about after customers on the plane realized their stuff did not come back to Japan with them or went to Japan with them when they were going on vacation there. Like, wouldn't they be pissed?
And like, some people on the next flight are going to realize that they're literally that there's stuff that's not even theirs.
Like, seriously, that would never happen.
But then again, that has to happen because we need to have our finale be more intense. But at the same time, this would not work out in real life. The airport would have been sued for that.
But it's still kind of funny either way.
So they pretty much decide to reenact the episode that never aired by basically saving by basically in a way able to fly out of there. But Woody gets a little more rips in his arm. But they're able to live fly out the to swing themselves by he uses his voice box string to swing out of the plane and they land onto Bullseye who Buzz is riding on and they're able to get off just as the plane takes off. And so the toys go back home to Annie's house. And how do they go back? They basically use this baggage cart and this other airport cart connected to it to get back and they leave it parked in the middle of the street. And the next morning, the neighbors are just looking at it.
And around that night before that though, Andy's back from cowboy camp just in time as they get home. And at first, like he thought mom bombed those tuna toys. Wow, new toys. And he's playing with Jesse and Bullseye. So he immediately accepts Jesse and Bullseye as part of his collection of toys. And the toys hold a sign and says, "Welcome home, Andy there." And so he So yeah, Woody was right. Andy immediately accepted both Jesse and Bullseye as part of his collection. Right here, now Jesse finally has an owner again. Tomics, when it comes to the performances, Tomics and Tim Allen once again are terrific on screen together as Woody and Buzz. They were equally brilliant the first two.
They're even better in this movie together where it shows more of their friendship here where at first they were enemies in the first one and now they're friends here and it shows that perfectly well. Wayne Knights aka Newman and Newman from Seinfeld and ironically also Dennis from Jurassic Park as which a movie that the this film references. He also is very entertaining as hell. He kidnapp who kidnapped Woody and technically speaking some concern antagus but no definitely Stinky Pete is actually the main antagonist of the film especially with this great twist he has he also got support from the late Don Rickles Jody Benson Annie Pototts W Shawn even it's definitely nice to hear the late Estelle Harris who's also from Seinfeld as Mrs. potato head. And the first one deals with Buzz and his fall.
Toy Story 2 is about Woody and a realization that he's expendable to Andy in the long run. And it borrows the same premise from the first, but it's not a mere copy. This is a fantastic tale about mortality and the toys don't really die because even toys have to find a purpose in life. Without purpose, life is meaningless. It comes in the whole airport sequence. Stinky Pete being revealed to be the bad guy. And he's written to have a real believable motivation. While he's still technically a bad guy, at least his emotional backstory is actually reasonable.
Designs of the characters are great to the previous Toy Story film. Some improvements on characters in the backgrounds and good details and does part goals on a bookshelf as well. And it would be the turning point for Pixar.
They showed how they easily could make emotionally gripping moments in films meant for families. And we even know this was originally going to be a straight to video cash grab and it didn't end up being. Instead, it ended up being one of the best sequels ever created. So now we get on with the finale. So after Andy is back from cowboy camp, he fixes Woody's arm. And so Jesse's able to get Buster outside of the house to go to the bathroom and this pretty much wilds away Buzz and his Wayne's like up like hinting kind of hinting a boner clearly like the clear hint of that right there. And pretty much then Ham and Rex are watching Al mourn the loss of the deal with the toy museum. Welcome to Al's toy barn. We got the lowest prices in town. Everything for a buck buck book.
Well, I guess crime doesn't pay. And Ham is right about that. Crime definitely doesn't pay. Al stole Woody and Woody went missing. So, he gets his karma for being a thief. He loses a deal and he's going to lose his store right there. And so, and pretty much then Whezzy squeaker toy got fixed right there. And so, he's saying, "You got a friend of me." And Woody's telling Buzz he no longer fears Andy losing interest in him. And that's how Toy Story 2 ends. And it's an epic ending right there. Jesse and Bullseye finally have a new owner again. Al lost a store and his deal was punishment. Woody's arm got fixed. And Jesse even starts a relationship with Buzz that plays further into Toy Story 3. And then Woody and ends with Woody telling Buzz, "Even when it all ends, I'll have old Buzz Lightyear to keep me company for infinity and beyond."
And then you have pretty much wheezy singing an epic cover of You Got a Friend in Me. And the last part that closes the movie is the closing verse of it where Weezy sings it. You're going to see it's our destiny.
You got a friend in me. Yes, you do. You got a friend in me. Yes, you do. You got a friend in me.
Yeah. And oh man, that is such and honestly though like and while basically a musical ending feels way too random and way too out of place here it's actually kind of earned you know it actually is actually kind of an epic way to close the movie out and also kind of bit of a sad moment because this is the last shot you see of any of the characters together again sadly. All right. So, now I have any bad qualies with the film. Like I would say for Jesse's part, well, it just makes sense like for this, but I feel her one problem is that when Woody reveals he that he belongs to someone a little too quickly, her anger in this third act moment with her and Woody kind of just starts off a little bit too early and it doesn't really get resolved till Woody decides to stay. So, I feel like more scenes first of Woody learning of his past were a bit deserved before randomly revealing that. You know, maybe if that happened after he got his arm fixed and then he revealed that then maybe would maybe it would be a little less rushed and the stuff with belt buzz is fine.
Like the Empire Strikes Back reference is gold and the Rex user head bit is gold. But to be fair, it I feel like it just kind of rehashed the gig with actual Buzz from the first one. and the bloopers at the end. Now, some of them like Woody drawing things on Buzz or the Bugs Life cameo with Flick and Heimlitch are funny, but ones like Miss Potato Head packing things for Mr. Potato Head, it goes on repeat and then it just feels like you're kind of beating a dead horse at that rate in the bloopers. And yeah, I feel like this movie just didn't really need to have bloopers and neither did Bug's Life or Monsters Inc. So yeah, I think a bad quality older Pixar is the bloopers they would have at the end of films. like this movie really did not need to have bloopers.
It could have did without bloopers.
Other than those, I love Toy Story 2 a lot and it's just as much of a masterpiece. So, in the end, I would say yeah, definitely still rewatch and still buy Toy Story 2 regardless if you've seen it already. Even though I've already seen already seen at this rate, still watch regardless. Anyways, that's it for my epic movie review. Toy Story 2 Toy Story 2. Here's how I'm going to rank this movie. So overall, if you love Toy Story 1 and are ready to see their first sequel, then definitely still rewatch Toy Story 2 constantly, even if you already seen it or not. If we're going to Toy Story 2, I'm going to give Toy Story 2 a damn 10 out of 10.
All right, there we go, guys. That officially wraps up my review for Toy Story 2. Now, I want to know in the comments down below what you guys think about Toy Story 2. And now it's time to review Toy Story 3. Until then guys, that'll be it for this epic movie review. Thank you all for watching. You like this, want to see more, don't forget to subscribe to Doni Coron.
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