Andy accidentally tears Woody’s arm just before going off to summer camp which sends Woody into a crisis of relevance. Later during a mission to rescue another toy from a yard sale, Woody is stolen by a collector Al McWhiggin. He soon learns that he’s a relic of a famous 50’s kids show called Woody’s Roundup, and meets the other collectible characters: Jessie the cowgirl, Bullseye the bronco, and Stinky Pete the prospector, all set to be taken to a toy museum in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Buzz Lightyear rallies Andy’s other toys on a quest to rescue Woody by tracking down his kidnapper.
Toy Story 2 is a difficult movie for me, as while there are areas that are definitely weak, the stuff it does well, it generally does A LOT better than the original. Case in point: the drama. This movie is a lot more dramatic than the first. While the idea of toys being replaced is a decent enough fear for our characters, the fear that their owner will one day grow out of them is much more potent. This movie addresses the idea that all good things must come to an end by forcing Woody to consider his life with Andy won’t last forever. The tear to his arm isn’t so much a reminder of his own mortality as it is realization that his bond with Andy is impermanent, extenuated when later in the film his whole arm comes off. They’re some heavy themes presented in a very identifiable context for all ages, and it makes the film feel smarter and more mature than the original. The story is also a very good one. Apparently the idea to feature a toy collector was John Lasseter’s, who’s a toy collector himself (he must have a very good sense of humour). The focus on such a different world is refreshing and it further does a good job establishing the need of these toys to be played with, to bring joy. Also, can I just say the idea of Woody’s Roundup being a marionette show is really clever -like a less scary Howdy Doody. And the fact the show was cancelled because of Sputnik and the dawn of science fiction culture is a nice touch that both connects back to Woody and Buzz’s initial rivalry, and reflects reality. The subplot is a lot of fun too as the supporting toys leave their comfort zone and interact with the larger world. There’s a couple scenes that take place in an elevator shaft, and a toy store, and a climax on a baggage conveyor -that’s creative stuff! And all that Woody memorabilia! However Toy Story 2 is very self-aware of the original’s popularity to its own detriment, as it often can’t help but give us similar visual motifs and repeated lines from the first film. There can be decent bits, like Buzz encountering the new Buzz Lightyear doll with the same specific shot Woody had previously. But when Woody quotes “to infinity and beyond”, or Buzz tells him “you are a toy”, it’s seriously distracting. And while the genuine sentiment was still there I don’t entirely like that Woody’s ultimate change of heart came about in part by hearing “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” which is apparently an in-universe song now in the Toy Story series.
While the first movie was definitely a buddy film, this one was centred mostly on Woody. Which does mean Buzz doesn’t always feel like he gets his due screen-time, but it works out. I also understand the reasoning, because Buzz had the major character arc in the first. Now it’s Woody’s turn. Tom Hanks is terrific of course, and especially in the clips of Woody’s Roundup, has the perfect voice for a ‘50s TV show. We get a more earnest personality from Woody in this film. When he makes his decision to stay with the Roundup gang, it’s believable. As much as he’s urged to this way of thinking by Stinky Pete, the logic is understandable; Andy will give him up eventually. His ultimate contradictory choice is all the more effective for being based on emotion over reason, and Woody knows it. He ends the film a wiser character than who he started out as. Buzz of course, is also very different, as we see more vividly when he encounters a newer Buzz Lightyear toy who’s just as delusional about his true nature as he was in Toy Story. Tim Allen enjoys himself here in both roles, and as usual has some pretty good comic delivery. It’s genuinely fun and funny to see the contrast between the Buzz Lightyears, in spite of the doppleganger being completely pointless otherwise. Yet we do see Buzz leading the charge for Woody in a really responsible role and it casts him in a completely new light, emphasized in the speech he gives Woody when he does find him. The returning supporting cast is great too, though I wish Annie Potts’ Bo Peep took part in the adventure as it could’ve developed her character. The rescue team without her consists of Mr. Potato Head, Rex, Hamm, and Slinky, all of whom have great moments, again due to the talent of their voice actors. Don Rickles and John Ratzenberger work off each other wonderfully as the wisecrackers of the gang, Wallace Shawn is still neurotic as Rex is given a minor arc of his own in trying to learn how to beat a Buzz Lightyear video game, and Jim Varney voicing Slinky for the last time adds a good degree of his trademark energy to the part.
This troupe, and the movie as a whole has a lot of good jokes (“he’s selling himself for 25 cents” “aw Woody, you’re worth more than that”), and a few genuinely funny bloopers (I’m fairly sure they just animated the real Kelsey Grammer chatting up some ladies); but at the same time I don’t think the humour’s as consistent as Toy Story. While nearly every joke from that film worked, there are some here that fall a little into the Bug’s Life trap of bad puns and one-liners. For instance though Hamm is my favourite character, he makes a few too many pig jokes (“pork chop” being by far the worst). You can kind of see the surreal borders of where this was once going to be direct-to-video in the enjoyably trippy fake-out dream sequence of Woody’s, and the bizarre Buzz Lightyear adventure that opens the film -and turns out to be a video game with pretty good graphics for 1999 (a sequence which though fun, clearly exists to tease Buzz Lightyear of Star Command which would premiere the next year). The expansion of the Buzz Lightyear lore also allowed the people at Pixar to take advantage of the resurgence of Star Wars that was happening around the same time with The Phantom Menace being released. But references for reference-sake without clever integration is something I don’t like in movies. Emperor Zurg, the nemesis of the second Buzz Lightyear, has a Darth Vader design, and the sequence where they re-enact the famous scene from Empire Strikes Back is painful. At least the Jurassic Park reference earlier had context. This was merely repeating, just about line for line, the “I am your father” scene and there’s no funny twist to it. It’s just a re-enactment of Empire, followed by a re-enactment of Jedi when Zurg falls off of the elevator a la Emperor Palpatine. And it’s horribly obvious that these two characters, Zurg in particular, exist only for this moment, as they’re lazily jettisoned from the story a minute later.
But no factor elevates this movie more in spite of these problems than the introduction of Jessie. Jessie is a terrific character: excitable, charismatic, and thoroughly entertaining. Joan Cusack provides her voice, and she really doesn’t get enough credit as she gives this character her all. Jessie’s already a rich and bombastic personality before the film delves into her backstory, but when it does, and we’re privy to a sad tale of a toy who was loved by a little girl before being abandoned years later, it’s tragic. The song montage “When She Loved Me” is Randy Newman’s only original contribution to this film, and you could argue it’s his best because he doesn’t sing it. In seriousness though, it illustrates wonderfully the perspective she has, why she’s turned bitter to Woody because he still has Andy, and endears her so readily to the audience. This sequence is the first of Pixar’s Rip-Your-Heart-Out scenes, which has become one of their staples. A part of me wishes Stinky Pete got this level of attention too, because his story is also tragic in its way: he was the toy no one ever bought, which could have also inspired an emotional sequence. But then the audience would never have accepted him as the twist villain. Kelsey Grammer of course is great, employing both his warm Frasier Crane drawl and irate Sideshow Bob voice (I love the mini-Cheers reunion of this movie, featuring both Cliff and Frasier, and a character called Woody). He’s certainly more interesting than Sid, but one who I wish was explored just a little more. The other villain of course is the collector Al, the pathetic “chicken man” slob voiced by Wayne Knight (again, John Lasseter apparently has no problems likening himself to Al). As for the other new characters, Bullseye has a really good design and is likeable (but why can’t he talk like the other animal toys?); Estelle Harris is the perfect choice for Mrs. Potato Head; Barbie finally appears in this movie voiced by Ariel herself, Jodi Benson; and Wheezy is voiced rather well by Joe Ranft until his speaker is fixed and suddenly he’s Robert Goulet. Geri appears in this movie voiced by Jonathan Harris now, and I wouldn’t mind seeing more characters from the shorts cameo in the features.
So there’s more than a couple things I don’t like about Toy Story 2, with regards to some of its comedy, self-aware references, and just general writing (the climax too includes a scene of toys driving a car, which may stretch the silliness a little far for me). But for these faults I still love it. It’s got the same great characters supplanted in what’s overall a deeper story. The most heartbreaking part of the “When She Loved Me” montage is the realization that we’re all Emily. We’ve all grown up and left our favourite childhood toys behind. But even though Toy Story 2 makes us feel guilty for that, it’s also smart enough to reinforce that that’s okay; a part of growing up. Toy Story 2 retains some childish elements, but it emphatically shows that this film series is growing up remarkably fast.
Luxo Jr. is one of the early Pixar shorts. It was actually made in 1986 and it’s notable for being the only short to star the studio’s mascot: an anthropomorphic desk lamp that likes to crush the “I” in Pixar’s logo. This was a very short short but showed early on some of the studio’s trademarks. All it is is a lamp called Luxo Jr playing with the ball that would appear in Toy Story and annoying an older lamp in the process. Of course, Luxo gets carried away and squashes the ball, is scolded for it, and then shows up with a much bigger beach ball. Nowadays there’s not really anything interesting about this short; its conventions of whimsy and humanizing objects has gone on to be a staple not only of Pixar, but countless other animated shorts. However this was the first film animated with computer graphics, at least as we know them, and that carries weight. It was a breakthrough for modern animation arguably as much as Toy Story. It’s brief, simple, and doesn’t run on much plot or character, though it’s certainly more admirable than enjoyable. But it answers the question where the Pixar lamp came from, and set a precedent for Pixar which would influence its mantra and work to come.
Next Week: Monsters Inc. (2001)
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