Toy Story 2: Movie Review, DVD Review (1999)

Directed by John Lasseter, written by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsaio, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb, 92 minutes, rated G.

(Originally published 1999)

Pixar-Disney’s “Toy Story 2” not only holds up to the original, it sometimes surpasses it in ingenuity and wit, setting a new precedent for the medium while lifting a bar already raised to dizzying heights in the studios’ 1998 film “A Bug’s Life.”

Besting themselves, the Pixar-Disney team has created in “Toy Story 2” a film so seamless in design and so rich in detail, even the most jaded of audiences will be struck by its high level of invention.

This is no shameless sequel, but a fully realized film that stands on its own. Once again, Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) is the story’s focus. A bit older now, a bit tattered, his shoulder torn and his stuffing coming loose, Woody is left at home when his owner, Andy, goes away to summer camp.

Hurt and depressed and feeling as if he’s thisclose to the trash bin, he sulks along with Andy’s other toys, a hodgepodge of characters who seem to exist with the sad knowledge that Andy will one day tire of them and move on to bigger and better toys.

If this gives the film emotional depth, it also gives it its spectacular spark since these toys won’t leave Andy’s bedroom -- or his heart -- without a fight.

When Woody is kidnapped by an evil toy collector (Wayne Knight), Woody’s pals -- Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), Rex the dinosaur (Wallace Shawn) and Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger)-- all conspire to get him home safe before Andy returns.

No one has to say what these toys are thinking: Without Woody in the bedroom as an anchor, who’s to say what would become of them?

Filled with action, superb new characters, a terrific parody of “Star Wars” and a clear understanding of human nature, “Toy Story 2” proves, without a doubt, that toys are not only for kids, but that toys are us.

Grade: A