Toy Story 2

Now that "Woody" and "Buzz" have well and truly buried the hatchet - and not in each other, they both hope owner "Andy" will take them to his summer camp with him. Sadly, though, "Woody" has hurt his arm - so is left behind, only to narrowly escape being sold in a car boot sale. Worryingly, though, he is spotted there by toy museum owner "McWiggin" and is promptly kidnapped! It now falls to "Buzz", "Mr Potato Head" and the rest of the gang to track him down and spring him, with his new friend "Jessie" before they are sold to a collector in Japan. Not all of the toys are on board though - and poor old "Woody" has to be wary of the double-dealing "Prespector" whilst "Buzz" finds that, unlike his abducted friend, he is not exactly unique! There are now plenty of fun escapades for all concerned to keep this high quality animation entertaining. That said, I don't really do sentimentality, and I found this to be a little more so than the first one. The introduction of "Jessie" accompanied by the rather sad story of her abandonment (set to an equally sad song) did drag the pace down a bit for me, but when the action kicks in again, then we revert to a first-rate, team-driven and wittily written tale of camaraderie, loyalty and ingenuity. Messrs. Hanks, Allen and Rickles keep up their established good work, this time joined by Joan Cusack and an on form Kelsey Grammer as "Prospector". It could be argued that the first "Toy Story" film was a marketing man's wet dream; this second feature is very nearly as good and demonstrates the enduring and engaging nature of the characters who value each other above all. Rare for a sequel to rival the original, but this gives it a good try!