My Movie Review on Toy Story 2
Yo, what's up, peoples?
This is your nonstop film, TV show, and episode reporter here with his 65th film review.
And today, as promised from my review of "Toy Story", I'll be reviewing its sequel, "Toy Story 2".
Here's the rundown of it:
While Andy is away at a summer camp, Woody is stolen by a greedy toy collector named Al McWiggin, who is intending to sell him to a museum in Japan. Along the way, though, Woody discovers that he's the star of his own TV show called "Woody's Roundup", and meets the rest of the show's characters, Jessie, Bullsye, and Stinky Pete, who each wants to go the museum and convince Woody to come with them.
Meanwhile, Buzz Lightyear, Slinky, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm, and Rex set out on a rescue mission to save Woody before Andy comes back from camp.
Will Buzz and the others rescue Woody before it's too late? Or will their mission end with failure?
And what about Woody? Does he even want to go back to Andy? Or not?
I really must say, when it comes to this film being the very first sequel made by Pixar, they seriously didn't mess around. Pixar's efforts to have this film be a perfect successor to the original did more than make it perfect. They made it awesome!
Just like the first film, the story by John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, and Ash Brannon, as well as the screenplay by Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin, and Chriss Webb, was absolutely astounding! And so was the direction by Lasseter, Brannon, and Lee Unkrich.
What astounded me the most about this film was that, among other things, the film not only had the spirit of what made the first film so special, it was also able to succeed as a compelling film all on its own. In a time where sequels to a film were rarely able to succeed their predecessors, and when they were often only made so that studios could earn some quick bucks, how Pixar made this film excellent enough to succeed the original was something that I found to be amazing.
The emotional aspect of it all, as well as the humor, were pretty spot-on and fun. The themes that it had, which are about friendship, true value, and what really makes someone worth something, were likewise among what makes the film so compelling.
The animation that Pixar made for the film was likewise groundbreaking. It had a feeling like it was at the level of the first film, but at the same time...extending itself to be bigger than before. The moments with the airplanes were the parts that caught my eye the most, because with them came the feeling that you were actually inside the plane or encountering them.
Once again, Randy Newman was able to prove that his creativity collaborating with Pixar knew no bounds. His scoring for the company proved to be as emotionally compelling as ever, showing a continual sense of heart. In my opinion, the most emotionally tugging of musical moments came from the song "When She Loved Me". It was so emotional, and its showing of Jessie's backstory was powerful enough for audiences to immediately sympathize with the character.
Finally, it all comes down to the voice acting, casting, characters, and character development.
Every performer and every character from the previous movie was as awesome as ever. Undoubtedly, I think Buzz and Woody once again had the best roles out of everyone. Woody's character development and times of self-conflict throughout were an amazing thing to witness; and the amount of loyalty and leadership Buzz displayed, how far he had come as a character, and the performance of Tim Allen, were astounding too.
The film's newest cast members and characters were likewise instantly fun and memorable, especially Jessie, Stinky Pete, and Bullsye, and the performances of Joan Cusack and Kelsey Grammar. The character development and further exploration of Jessie made the character herself extremely alive and all-the-more lovable.
In conclusion, "Toy Story 2" proves itself to be another instant treasure from the minds of Pixar, and it's even ones of the best sequels to a franchise ever made.
So, I rate "Toy Story 2" a complete five out of five stars.
