Generally speaking, I don’t like sequels. Most sequels seem to be made to squeeze another ten bucks out of the movie goer, and that annoys me. So when Toy Story 2 came out in 1999 I stayed clear. I’d liked Toy Story quite a bit and I didn’t want to taint the memory of a good film with a sub-par sequel.
Imagine my surprise when I found out that Toy Story 2 is one of the extremely rare sequels that is actually better than the original.
This time around, Woody finds out that he was the star of a 1950s kids show after Al from Al’s Toy Barn kidnaps him (it’s a little complicated) to complete his collection. Buzz and the gang set off on a daring rescue across town, through a busy street, and on an adventure through a toy store (Al’s Toy Barn) before narrowly escaping the clutches of the Evil Emperor Zurg.
Meanwhile, Woody meets the rest of Woody’s Roundup Gang (Stinky Pete the Prospector, Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl, and his faithful horse Bullseye) and contemplates his fate as Al prepares to sell the whole set to a museum in Japan. Woody was already feeling rejected after Andy couldn’t take him to Cowboy Camp because of a rotator cuff injury. Now he faces the prospect of living rest of his life under glass.
There are lots of good laughs in Toy Story 2, but like most (all?) Pixar films, there’s a solid story woven between the jokes that elevates the entire film. From the beginning, Woody is unsure of his role in Andy’s life. After being “shelved” by Andy’s mom, he fears that it’s all over, that his best friend has left him behind.
It’s a brilliant story for the toys to play out; brilliant because it doesn’t take any mental gymnastics for the toys to worry about the issue, and because it’s something that the kids and the adults in the audience have all gone through. I’m sure parents identify strongly with this, but I think it has a broader range than that. Rejection, real or imagined, worries all of us. We experience it on the day we’re born and we experience it (in some form or another) until the day we die.
It’s weird when someone you know starts to get successful. You’re so happy for them and even proud that other people are finding out what you already knew. But then…well, the relationship (even if it’s just chatting every once in a while) starts changing. Their circle of friends grows and you stay the same; not better or worse necessarily, but the same as you were before they started getting successful.
So they’re talking to their new and possibly more successful friends, or maybe just people they have more in common with, which is completely reasonable. That’s the kicker in all of this; nobody’s doing anything wrong, but even still you can get kind of left behind sometimes. Heck, if you don’t react to their work or their family (or whatever they’re successful in) with as much enthusiasm as the new crew does, but the same amount as you did before, sometimes they can perceive that you have a problem with them.
I’m getting melancholy just writing this, but it’s a real issue that people have to face. Through Woody and Jessie, especially Jessie, the issue is explored in a kid-friendly way. I say ‘especially Jessie’ because one of the best, most powerful moments in the movie was hers. The song in which we find out about Jessie’s Real Special Kid punched a hole right through all the walls that I’ve built up around the issue and made me cry.
There, I said it. I cried like a BABY. A TINY LITTLE CRYING BABY. And unless you have a cold, cruel heart of stone, you’ll cry too.
All right, enough of that sentimental junk. Let’s move on to something else. Toy Story 2 is a riot. While the A story plays out with the Roundup Gang, Buzz Lightyear leads his own gang on a mission to rescue their friend. And what a gang it is. Just the thought of getting Tim Allen, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, and Don Rickles (DON! FREAKING! RICKLES!) to voice these characters just had to make the folks at Pixar giggle with delight. The five of them were a great comedic team every time they were on the screen.
Buzz’s B story takes an almost-dramatic turn when he meets not only a whole wall of Buzz Lightyear toys, but his arch-nemesis the Evil Emperor Zurg to boot. There’s some pretty funny stuff along the way, including a guided tour of the toy store by none other than Tour Guide Barbie. The placement of the funny certainly wasn’t accidental. With Woody’s story getting downright heartbreaking, the audience needed something to give them a breather from time to time.
Anyway, I’ve prattled on long enough. Everything turned out all right in the end (mostly) and they all (mostly) lived happily ever after. Mostly.
Toy Story 2 continues to be another huge success for Pixar and Disney, both financially and creatively.There’s talk of another sequel, and while it’s still at least a couple years away, I have some of the same apprehensions as I did with this one. Hopefully Pixar won’t let me down. They do have a pretty good track record after all.
Until next time, insert your own witty tag line here! Hit it Wheezy!
