Toy Story 2 (1999)
Directed by John Lasseter
Andy heads off to Cowboy Camp, leaving his toys to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector named Al McWhiggen, owner of Al's Toy Barn kidnaps Woody. Andy's toys mount a daring rescue mission, Buzz Lightyear meets his match and Woody has to decide where he and his heart truly belong.
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12 films that influenced Toy Story 2
What critics say influenced Toy Story 2
There are visual references to Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark, sound effects lifted from Star Wars, and an extended parody of The Empire Strikes Back which acknowledges its own silliness and is funnier than Spaceballs and more good-humored than what Lucas is doing these days.
And yes, you could spend multiple viewings of Toy Story 2 looking for the inside jokes: Tour Guide Barbie (Jodi Benson) admonishing passengers bilingually a la Disneyland to "remain seated please" in a toy car; high-speed channel surfing including Pixar shorts like Tin Toy and Luxo Jr.; a toy repair expert (Jonathan Harris) whose face recycles the star of the Oscar-winning short Geri's Game; genial pokes at Tron, Jurassic Park and The Empire Strikes Back.
The script, which Lasseter supervised with half a dozen writers contributing, is sharp and quick, jam-packed with perceptive plaything humor ("I'm packing your angry eyes, just in case," says Mrs. Potato Head) and hilarious homages to old westerns, "Star Wars," early Pixar shorts and an especially side-splitting "Jurassic Park" spoof.
Parodies are kept to a minimum, although there's a funny takeoff on a key element of the Star Wars series in addition to a quick, throw-away moment lifted from Jurassic Park .
As a cadre of Andy’s toys — Hamm the piggy bank (the voice of John Ratzenberger), Slinky Dog (the voice of Jim Varney), Mr. Potato Head (the voice of Don Rickles), and Rex the dinosaur (the voice of Wallace Shawn: My Favorite Martian), all led by Buzz Lightyear (the voice of Tim Allen) — attempts Woody’s rescue, the audience is treated to numerous and hilarious salutes to all manner of GenX obsessions: Star Wars, video games, Jurassic Park.
The opening sequence is a funny and clever parody of both the Star Wars and Star Trek series, and the filmmakers work in great visual gags that play off scenes in Jurassic Park (1993) and Die Hard (1988).
There are visual references to Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark, sound effects lifted from Star Wars, and an extended parody of The Empire Strikes Back which acknowledges its own silliness and is funnier than Spaceballs and more good-humored than what Lucas is doing these days.
And yes, you could spend multiple viewings of Toy Story 2 looking for the inside jokes: Tour Guide Barbie (Jodi Benson) admonishing passengers bilingually a la Disneyland to "remain seated please" in a toy car; high-speed channel surfing including Pixar shorts like Tin Toy and Luxo Jr.; a toy repair expert (Jonathan Harris) whose face recycles the star of the Oscar-winning short Geri's Game; genial pokes at Tron, Jurassic Park and The Empire Strikes Back.
And yes, you could spend multiple viewings of Toy Story 2 looking for the inside jokes: Tour Guide Barbie (Jodi Benson) admonishing passengers bilingually a la Disneyland to "remain seated please" in a toy car; high-speed channel surfing including Pixar shorts like Tin Toy and Luxo Jr.; a toy repair expert (Jonathan Harris) whose face recycles the star of the Oscar-winning short Geri's Game; genial pokes at Tron, Jurassic Park and The Empire Strikes Back.
Lasseter even manages to work in a role for Geri, the wonderful old codger at the center of Pixar’s Oscar-winning short film Geri’s Game (1997).
There are moments of breathtaking technical skill, especially a sequence during which Woody is spiffed up by an elderly repairman (this kindly, wizened gentleman will be known to anyone familiar with "Geri's Game," another terrific animated film from Lasseter's Pixar Productions).
The elderly, chess-playing duffer (Jonathan Harris) of the Oscar-winning animated short, "Geri's Game," shows up as a toy repairman.
There are visual references to Jurassic Park and Raiders of the Lost Ark, sound effects lifted from Star Wars, and an extended parody of The Empire Strikes Back which acknowledges its own silliness and is funnier than Spaceballs and more good-humored than what Lucas is doing these days.
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They go on a hilarious, action-packed journey, encountering other toys like Barbie ( The Little Mermaid 's Jodi Benson), the evil Emperor Zurg (Andrew Stanton), and even another Buzz Lightyear (also Allen).
New additions include Joan Cusack as Jessie the Cowgirl; Kelsey Grammar (who has one of the most versatile voices in the business) as Stinky Pete the Prospector; Wayne Knight as the unscrupulous toy salesman Al; and The Little Mermaid herself, Jodi Benson, as Tour Guide Barbie.
Like The Incredible Shrinking Man and other films with minuscule protagonists, this one delightfully presents the world we think we know, from another perspective.
Joyous and lighthearted, "Toy Story 2" is ideal family entertainment, and the most satisfying Disney movie since 1991's "Beauty and the Beast."
The opening sequence is a funny and clever parody of both the Star Wars and Star Trek series, and the filmmakers work in great visual gags that play off scenes in Jurassic Park (1993) and Die Hard (1988).
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A Bug's Life is visually splendid, evocative of the romantic monumentalism of John Ford (and, of course, Akira Kurosawa's chief influence is Ford), particularly in an opening pastoral and a mist-shrouded reveal, with numerous images and references that presage the flat-brilliance of Pixar's The Searchers redux Toy Story 2; the cult of childhood of Monsters Inc. ; and the cathedral lighting, water effects, and parallel construction of Finding Nemo .
There are dozens of nods to favorite films — Star Wars, 2001, even Pixar’s own A Bug’s Life.)
Like its predecessor and the even better "A Bug's Life" - both directed by John Lasseter and made by Disney and Pixar - this sequel aspires to the boundlessness of a kid's imagination by forging a galaxy that confirms what, as a child, I always suspected about my toys: that they had feelings and personal narratives that came to life when I left my bedroom.
The many individuals who worked on the film have created the best computer-generated effects yet; the film looks much better than the first Toy Story, Antz, and A Bug's Life.
Whether it be the first "Toy Story" or last year's "A Bug's Life," to see a Pixar film is to know that the comedy will be as smart as the visuals are impressive.
And yes, you could spend multiple viewings of Toy Story 2 looking for the inside jokes: Tour Guide Barbie (Jodi Benson) admonishing passengers bilingually a la Disneyland to "remain seated please" in a toy car; high-speed channel surfing including Pixar shorts like Tin Toy and Luxo Jr.; a toy repair expert (Jonathan Harris) whose face recycles the star of the Oscar-winning short Geri's Game; genial pokes at Tron, Jurassic Park and The Empire Strikes Back.