Toy Story 2 (1999) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Wayne Knight, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, Estelle Harris, R. Lee Ermey, Jodi Benson, Jonathan Harris, Joe Ranft, Andrew Stanton, Jeff Pidgeon. Music by Randy Newman. Cinematography by Sharon Calahan. Screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin & Chris Webb, original story by John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Ash Brannon and Stanton. Co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Brannon. Directed by John Lasseter. 92 minutes Rated G, 4.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/ReviewsBy?Edward+Johnson-Ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to ejohnsonott@prodigy.net or e-mail ejohnsonott-subscribe@onelist.com with the word "subscribe" in the subject line.
1999 has been a stellar year for animation, bringing viewers the exhilarating and heart warming adventure, "The Iron Giant," Disney's kinetic version of "Tarzan," the outrageous "South Park: Bigger, Longer and Uncut" and the American release of the Japanese epic, "Princess Mononoke." To cap off this surfeit of riches, we now have "Toy Story 2," a terrific sequel to the smash 1995 story about the private lives of toys.
The original "Toy Story" initially drew a great deal of attention for being the first totally computer animated film, then became an instant classic because it was a marvel of warm, clever storytelling. "Toy Story 2" does its parent proud, delivering 92 minutes of smart, zippy entertainment. The characters are even better defined than in the original, the action is fast and furious and there are loads of laughs in this remarkably inventive movie.
Director John Lasseter and his associates at Pixar clearly understand what makes for a winning sequel. They touch on treasured moments from the original without repeating them, and allow the characters to grow, while retaining the qualities that made us love them in the first place. "Toy Story 2" is that rarest of birds; a sequel as good as (and some will argue, better than) the original.
As with the first film, the story is deceptively simple. While young Andy is away at camp, his cherished cowboy doll Woody (Tom Hanks) gets stolen by a toy collector (Wayne Knight, nicely portraying the greedy mindset of those who hoard toys for their investment potential). A rescue team is quickly organized and action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Rex the dinosaur (Wallace Shawn), Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), and Slinky Dog (Jim Varney) hit the city streets to save their friend.
While stashed away, Woody learns of his illustrious history and has a crisis of conscience. Seems he was a TV celebrity in the '50s, starring in a "Howdy Doody" style puppet show, and has an extended family from the glory days: spunky cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack), Bullseye the horse, and Stinky Pete the Prospector (Kelsey Grammar). Jesse pleads with Woody to stay; explaining that if he escapes, she will be put back into storage, the purgatory for neglected toys.
The story contains an amazing number of riotous set pieces, none of which I will reveal here. Suffice to say that everything satisfying from the original returns with clever twists, and the new additions to the family of toys are most welcome.
In this cavalcade of delights, I have only two minor criticisms. First, both films would have been better served by keeping the human characters offscreen (as the adults were handled in the various "Peanuts" TV shows). While great strides have been made in computer animation, they still can't create convincing humans and the presence of partially realized people is distracting. Second, as with Pixar's "A Bug's Life," the latter portion of "Toy Story 2" gets a little busy. In their quest to satisfy the audience, the filmmakers try a bit too hard and the pace becomes needlessly frenetic. The folks at Pixar need to realize that they are working with magic here and with magic, simplicity is the key.
I want to stress that these are minor quibbles. "Toy Story 2" is a triumph, blending bright, eye-popping animation, exceptional work from its voice talent and wildly imaginative writing (peppered with hilarious pop culture references) to create one of the best films of the year. Those who dismiss the movie as "kid's stuff" are doing themselves a disservice. Like the original, "Toy Story 2" is a treasure for everyone.
© 1999 Ed Johnson-Ott
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