Toy Story 2

After Toy Story was so successful, it wasn't really surprising that they decided to make a sequel.  What is surprising, however, is that the sequel is almost as good as the first movie!  Apparently it was originally supposed to be a straight to DVD sequel, but after they realized it was actually a good quality film, they released it in theatres.

We're back this time with our same old friends, Woody and Buzz, but we get to meet some new characters this time too.  It turns out that Woody is actually an old toy - a collector's item, and he had a television show and a whole series of merchandise.  There's also Jessie, the cowgirl, and Bullseye, his dog. And of course, good old Stinky Pete.

The adventures that our friends have in this one is just about as exciting as what they go through in the first movie.  Poor Woody is stolen from a garage sale by a collector, who wants to ship him off to Japan. The most interesting thing to me is Woody's eventual attitude toward this.  At first he is obviously resistant and wants to go home, but he actually is on the verge of accepting his new life.  I think Jessie's story, about how her owner grew up and didn't want her anymore, really hit him hard.  Still, his attitude is surprising in this one given his absolute loyalty to Andy in the third.

Some other fun bits from this movie include the introduction of Barbie, and Buzz #2.  I'm not sure why Buzz seems to be the only toy that doesn't realize he's actually a toy, but it's hilarious in every movie.  I also like Jessie as a character, and I love that they did the little romance between her and Buzz, rather than her and Woody.

The Music
The one song that really stands out here is the one that's playing while Jessie's story is on the screen.  It's "When She Loved Me," and it's so sad.  I have it on a CD and I actually cry most of the time when it comes on.  Not surprisingly, "You've Got a Friend in Me" makes a return, but other than that there weren't really any stand out songs.

The Villain
We kinda have two villains here - the human, and the toy.  Al, from Al's Toy Barn, is quite dislikable from the beginning because he actually steals Woody.  Who takes a toy away from a child like that?  He's the more visible villain, because we know he's bad from the start.  Stinky Pete is the surprise villain.  He seems nice and normal the whole time, until the very end, when he tries to sabotage their plan to escape.  We could just say that he's a toy that's never been loved and that's why he acts that way, but he certainly turns on them pretty horribly!

The WDW Connection
See Toy Story.

Becky's rating:  9 out of 10
Jason's rating:  9.5 out of 10