Toy Story 2 (1999)
Toy Story 2
Written by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin, & Chris Web
Directed By John Lasseter
Accompanying Short: Luxo Jr.
Written & Directed by John Lasseter
Wow…three films in, and Pixar is already doing a sequel! What originality!!
I’m only half-serious, of course. Toy Story 2 IS Pixar’s first sequel (side note, of Pixar’s 22 films, eight of them are sequels (well…seven sequels and one prequel). Anyway, that’s 36.4% of the list. Just something to think about). Normally I’d bristle at a company who makes a sequel to their product so soon, but considering that this film was initially meant as a direct-to-video release instead of a theatrical one, I’m willing to give it a bit of a pass. Also, it’s really good, so there’s that, too.
Luxo Sr. (I assume?) & Luxo Jr.
The short that preceded this film in its initial release was Luxo Jr., the second short produced by Pixar (created in 1986). This short is significant for a couple of reasons. First, it’s the first Pixar short to anthropomorphize a physical object, and secondly, it’s the introduction of the mischievous lamp from Pixar’s logo. The short itself is very cute, and Luxo Jr. is able to convey a range of emotions…pretty impressive considering that it’s a lamp. It also features the introduction of the Ball, a recurring easter egg in nearly all Pixar’s films. On that note, there is something about the interconnectivity of the Pixar films through their easter eggs that I really enjoy (I’ve seen the theories that all of the Pixar films are connected in the same universe, as well, and I wish it was true!). Short and sweet, Luxo Jr. is a great little tease of what Pixar does best.
Something else Pixar apparently does best is make great movies under pressure. As I mentioned, Toy Story 2 was initially meant to be a direct-to-video release, but was eventually upgraded to a full feature (and set the stage for a very interesting and dramatic battle between Disney and Pixar a few years down the road), and with less than a year until the release date (which could not be moved (thanks, merchandising!!)), the creators decided to revamp the film, as it wasn’t meeting their standards from a story perspective. What remains is a great follow-up that, while reusing some elements, tells a story full of humor and emotion.
The bulk of the main (toy) cast of Toy Story 2
At its core, the film is a strange inverse of Buzz’s plot line from the first film, transposed onto Woody. Here, Woody discovers that not only is he a cowboy toy (which, obviously, he already knows), but was actually a star of his own TV show (or, at least, the character he is was). This revelation occurs thanks to a kidnapping (dollnapping?), and the meeting of toys of the rest of the Woody’s Roundup show: Jesse, Bullseye, and Stinky Pete. They convince him not to return to Andy, and to instead get sent with them to Japan to be placed in a museum, where they’ll be loved but not played with (I guess? Would Japanese schoolchildren be interested in old dolls from an American show they’ve probably never seen (or even be born to see)?). Where the first film featured Woody trying to convince Buzz that he’s a toy, this film features (at one point, even using the same dialogue) Buzz trying to convince Woody that HE’S a toy, and his rightful place is with Andy. It’s an interesting take on the same plot we’ve seen, and the filmmakers do a great job of keeping it fresh; it’d be easy to forget that we’ve already seen it before.
Dramatic Buzz is dramatic
The vocal cast is again great, with the inclusion of Joan Cusack a delightful addition. Wayne Knight as the film’s (human) villain is wonderful (he’s great at playing incompetent bad guys), and I had no idea that Kelsey Grammar (Frasier, for anyone needing a connection) voiced Stinky Pete, but once I saw it and heard him again, I totally got it. From a visual standpoint, the animation is steadily improving, with more dynamic shots (and entire sequences) that move the camera more fluidly than before. One fun animation note is the reappearance of Geri, from Geri’s Game, as the cleaner who restores Woody to his former (and cleaner) glory.
I joked in the last review about some devil bargain that Randy Newman must have made to keep being used for Pixar, but luckily he doesn’t sing any of the songs in this film. He did, however, compose the SADDEST SONG EVER WRITTEN, “When She Loved Me”, sung by Sarah McLachlan (taking a break from her sad-animals-in-cages routine). This song is right up there with “The Christmas Shoes” as a guaranteed heart-wrencher, and I defy ANYONE to watch this sequence and not feel at least the tiniest bit emotional, if not a full-blown blubbering mess (I will admit that this song reminds me of aspects of my childhood, so it hits me REALLY hard) (Also, if you’ve never heard of “The Christmas Shoes”, when you’re done reading this, go grab a box of tissues and take a listen. It’s ROUGH).
Jesse reminiscing about her tragic past (and making the rest of us bawl our eyes out)
Having already seen most of the films on this list, there is a certain “notes-from-the-future” aspect to watching them now. In this case, while Toy Story 2 is pretty great, very nearly as great as its predecessor, knowing what’s coming up when Toy Story 3 arrives tells me that the better sequel is still to come.
SHORT GRADE: B+
FILM GRADE: A-
