Aug 01, 2006 12:38 PM
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Oh, so you didn't see "Toy Story" (a mishap easily corrected). Relax, Go see "Toy Story 2", it is a sequel although it could still be enjoyed as a stand alone, knowledge of the pre-story can only make this excellent production that much more endearing. A doll or an action figure (or a Pokemon) is yours in the same way a pet is. It depends on you. It misses you. It can't do anything by itself. It needs you and is troubled when you're not there or treat them badly, their feelings are wounded.
The story begins with Andy, the little boy who owns the Toy Story toys, going off to camp. Woody, the cowboy, is in bad shape with a torn arm, and gets left behind. when he gets scooped up at a garage sale by Big Al the toy collector, repaired, mended and repainted--and scheduled for sale to a toy museum in Japan.
At first this adventure is kind of fun for Woody, who finds out for the first time that he is part of a set of toys, the Roundup Gang, that also includes a cowgirl named Jessie, a horse named Bullseye and a prospector named Stinky Pete. Woody is blown away to discover he even starred in a black-and-white TV puppet show in the '50s, and begins to think that since Andy might eventually abandon him, he might enjoy retiring as the star attraction in a toy museum.
Meanwhile, Buzz Lightyear and the other toys discover what has happened and lead a dangerous crosstown mission to rescue Woody. This involves, among many other dazzling sequences, a journey across a busy city street that turns into a massive vehicular pileup, a frantic search through a toy supermarket after hours, and a James Bondian climax in an airport terminal that has to be one of the most breathtaking animated sequences ever created by man or computer.
And we begin to get insights into the private lives of toys. Stinky Pete, for example, is bitter because no kid ever bought him, and he's still in his original box. The key newcomer is Joan Cusack as Jessie the Cowgirl, and she brings new life to the cast by confronting the others for the first time with a female character who's a little less domestic than Mrs. Potato Head. She is spunky and liberated, but this cowgirl does get the blues; she sings the winsome ``When She Loved Me'' about her former owner Emily, who tossed her under the bed and forgot her. ``You never forget kids, but they forget you,'' Buzz sighs, but he argues for the position that it is better to be loved for the length of a childhood than admired forever behind glass in a museum.
The stars of the voice track certainly seem to remember how they once identified with toys. Many of the actors from the first movie are back again, including Tom Hanks as WoodyHanks is responsible for what's probably the movie's high point & seems to speak for all toys everywhere. His Woody has, indeed, grown into quite a philosopher. His thoughts about life, love and belonging to someone are kind of profound, Tim Allen as Buzz, Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head and Jim Varney as Slinky Dog. The screenplay by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb isn't just a series of adventures (although there are plenty of those) but a kind of inside job, in which we discover that all toys think the way every kid knows his toys think
In fact, there's not a single moment of this film that's not wildly imaginative and utterly delightful.
The ongoing advances in computer-generated effects are quite noticeable. This new-generation of humanoid toys is even more uncannily lifelike and filled with personality and charm. And while the human characters still look slightly robotic, Andy's dog is so real it's unsettling (and perhaps ominous for the future of dog -- and human -- actors).
Best of all, "Toy Story 2" has a subtle wit that will appeal to adults, and several of its situations are poignant. Like "Bambi," "Pinocchio," "Lady and Tramp" and the other great animated classics of the Disney past, this one has a heart.
