Walt Disney Pictures, Rated G
Directed by Ash Brannon & John Lasseter & Lee Unkrich
Story by John Lasseter and Peter Docter and Ash Brannon and Andrew Stanton
Screenplay by Andrew Stanton and Rita Hsiao and Doug Chamberlain and Chris Webb

Buzz (voice of Tim Allen), Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) and the gang are back and this is one of the most surprisingly wonderful sequels ever made. Just a tad weaker than the original, a historical piece of animation if there ever was one, the story concerns Woody being stolen by a toy collector (voice of Wayne Knight). There, Woody finds his destiny having been part of a '50s TV show. He meets the others in the collector's collection and soon can't decide between his family at home or his new one. The plot sounds rather pedestrian but the visuals and script combined make it a strong rival against The Iron Giant for best animated feature of 1999. I will go with The Iron Giant by a nose but Toy Story 2 is a joy from beginning to end, cliche'd ending notwithstanding. *** 1/2 or B+

---

Back to the main page