TV watcher

Toy Story 2

review by Orlando C. Fernando

January 9, 2000

Storyline: 9
Originality: 9
Acting: 10
Special Effects: PERFECT 10
Overall: A

Walt Disney will have a good year - another animation genius.
Toy Story 2 continues the adventures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear as part of a vast toy collection in a little boy Andy's room. In the course of playing with Woody, Andy accidentally tears up his right arm and thus decides not to take him to camp. While he's away, his mom opens up a yard sale and puts up a defective squeaky penguin toy for a mere 25 cents. Woody goes out to the garage to save him, but get mixed up in the sale in the process. He is suddenly eyed by a fat greedy toy store owner that wants to repair and sell Woody as a museum item in Japan for a large sum of money. He steels him away in his toy store, where he meets up with toy cowgirl and a Dirty Prospector still in the box. Woody learns from them that Woody was big in early television on a marionette "Howdy Doody"like kid's show making millions of kids happy. Woody's capture completes the cowboy set, so that all five of them can go to Japan together and avoid being abandoned.

I didn't expect Woody to get into such good moral dilemmas for a child's story.
He must decide whether saving the fate of his new friends is worth leaving Andy. And it is handled very well. It may even make you feel guilty that you ever threw away that old teddy bear or forgot about that old ragged doll.

There was lots of hype to promote the computer animation for the first movie and they were fully warranted. All the original toys are back in this one, but the new ones are all hilarious too. This sequel additionally goes a step further and animates all the humans and outside scenery, including a busy city street, toy store, and airport. Seeing Woody redone on a black & white 60's kids show was pretty slick editing. Buzz Lightyear also gets quite a share of air time, getting stuck in many situations of his own. Wait 'til you see who he confronts at the toy store!

T his sequel beat the first one hands down!
As much as I loved the first movie, this one topped it in all aspects. With the initial thrill of the animation gone, promoting a good story, comical lines, and situations become much more important and they deliver. There's even a little bit of innocent adult innuendoes throughout the movie. They even finish it off in the ending credits with false bloopers, which the whole audience was roaring at! This movie, at full admission price, is a MUST SEE for any Disney or computer/cartoon animation fan of all ages. I may even buy on video. I wonder if they can make more "Toy Stories" like this "to infinity and beyond"!

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