Continuing on with our Toy Story marathon, Toy Story 2 was Pixar's third feature film following 1998's A Bug's Life. Making a sequel for your third feature is risky, however, as one would assume from Pixar's upcoming sequel, the risk paid off. Many even consider Toy Story 2 on par, if not better, than the original movie. As good as the first movie was, because of the jealousy plot it was not on my High Recommendations list, though it just missed out by a slight hair. So, is the sequel better?
When Andy accidentally rips Woody's arm in an play accident, he get's left behind as Andy goes off to camp for a couple days. During this time, Andy's Mom starts a yard sale and puts one of Andy's old toys in a discount bin. Woody attempts to save the toy, only to get kidnapped by Al, a collector of merchandise of an old show Woody was a part of, which he discovers in Al's apartment along with other toys from the same show like Jessie, Bullseye the horse and the Prospector, Stinky Pete. Meanwhile, Buzz and the gang must try and return Woody home, but Woody is told he can be a part of something greater, adored by many people for eternity. What will Woody choose?
In the end, I definitely enjoy this plot more than in the first movie. Now that the jealousy plot has been swapped out with an "important decision plot", the movie becomes a lot more interesting. Seeing Woody have to choose between his two options is a fascinating watch. Made more interesting thanks to the other characters he meets. I'd be a fool to not mention Jessie's backstory, being both a wonderful scene that shows how she's come to the conclusions she has, and being a big deciding factor in Woody's decision. Interest in the plot aside, it flows very well, I'd argue better than the first one, since we also don't have to deal with the "confused identity plot" as much as the first one, leading to a lot more of a natural flow rather than "And now he goes here because he still thinks he's a space ranger!" The "Confused identity plot" does make a small return, but it's mostly for humour and does not effect that plot in any really massive way.
Character wise, it's nice to see old characters get fleshed out, and the new characters are a nice addition to the movie. Hamm is really funny, a lot of his dry remarks always managed to put a smile on my face. Jessie is lively and energetic, but has an emotional side to her that leads to resentment. Stinky Pete is an interesting villain, while he is not like a classic Disney villain, he is good at manipulating Woody into eventually, coming around in his way of thinking. Seeing him work adds a new layer of fascination with the movie. Al's also really amusing, the second Buzz Lightyear is actually really entertaining. So far, these movies have not struggled with characters, which is a good sign. Kind of optimistic about Toy Story 3.
When it comes to animation, this film is a step up in quality. A lot of the human textures no longer look plasticy, there are a lot more warmer colours, human character movement no longer looks weird, and the lighting is less of a problem now. While I can praise the first movie for looking good even by today's standards, I can praise Toy Story 2 for looking better than the first. The first movie has a lot of good looking models, but the more fleshy and hairy textures did not look right. While the textures are not up to a current standards, I think the textures in this movie still look great. Of course, a lot of this would be overshadowed by Monsters, Inc. a couple years later. Taking that out of the picture, I don't have many complaints with the models and textures, nothing looks uncannily artificial and the colour scheme is a lot more pleasing to the eyes. Toy Story 2 is actually a good showcase for how quickly CG animation is evolving, remember this movie came out nearly four years after the first, and in that short amount of time we got a much better looking movie. It's actually quite impressive.
While people say that Toy Story 2 is a better sequel, I think it's better by a few margins. I think most people can appreciate the first movie as a landmark in both animation and cinema history, but it also has it's merits as a story with characters. While I enjoy the plot a lot more, enjoy the characters more, since we are not spending most of our time with just Woody and Buzz, and think the animation has improved. I did enjoy those aspects of the first film too, and while the jealousy plot was not my thing, it was not a big deal for me. I think Toy Story 2 is as entertaining as the first film, with a couple of improvements in the areas where it mattered the most. If you liked the first film, you are gonna enjoy the second, and as such it is given another "Hair under high" Recommendation.
And to finish up these reviews, next week will be my review of Toy Story 3, see you next time at the odeon!
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