Toy Story 2
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| Toy Story 2 | |
|---|---|
 Toy Story 2 movie poster |
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| Directed by | John Lasseter Ash Brannon Lee Unkrich |
| Produced by | Karen Robert Jackson John Lasseter Helene Plotkin |
| Written by | Story: John Lasseter Pete Docter Ash Brannon Andrew Stanton Screenplay: Andrew Stanton Rita Hsiao Doug Chamberlain Chris Webb |
| Starring | Tom Hanks Tim Allen Joan Cusack Kelsey Grammer Don Rickles Wallace Shawn John Ratzenberger Wayne Knight |
| Music by | Randy Newman |
| Distributed by | Buena Vista Pictures Distribution |
| Release date(s) | November 26, 1999 |
| Running time | 92 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million |
| Gross revenue | Domestic: $245,852,179 Worldwide: $485,015,179 |
| Preceded by | Toy Story |
| Followed by | Toy Story 3 |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
Toy Story 2 is a 1999 Academy-Award-nominated CGI animation film, the sequel to Toy Story; the third Disney / Pixar feature film, which featured the adventures of a group of toys that come to life when humans are not around to see them. Like the first film, Toy Story 2 was produced by Pixar Animation Studios, directed by John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon, and released by Walt Disney Pictures and Buena Vista Distribution in the United States on November 26, 1999, in some parts of Australia on December 2, 1999 and the United Kingdom on 11 February 2000. The film is set for re-release in 3-D on February 10, 2010, leading up to the highly-anticipated release of Toy Story 3 on June 18, 2010.[1]
The movie keeps most of the original characters and voices from the first movie, including Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, and John Ratzenberger. They are joined by new characters voiced by Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Wayne Knight, and Estelle Harris.
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[edit] Plot
Some time after the events in Toy Story, Andy is getting ready to go to Cowboy Camp with Woody, but accidentally tears his arm while playing with him. Unable to take him to camp, his mom stores Woody on "The Shelf". The next day Woody finds the toy penguin Wheezy, who has been left long abandoned on the shelf after his squeaker failed. Woody fears the same fate will befall him, particularly as Andy's mom takes items, including Wheezy, from the room for a yard sale. Woody sets off to rescue his fellow toy with the assistance of Andy's dog Buster, but ends up stuck on a table after saving Wheezy. Al McWiggin, an obsessive toy collector, spots Woody and first attempts to bargain with Andy's mom for him, but resorts to stealing him. Buzz Lightyear tries to save Woody but is unable to keep up with Al's car; however, he uses the car's license plate and a feather pulled from the car to identify Al as the owner of "Al's Toy Barn". Buzz, Mr. Potato Head, Rex, Slinky Dog, and Hamm, set out on a rescue mission to recover Woody before Andy returns home.
Al brings Woody back to his apartment, where Woody meets other toys: a yodeling cowgirl named Jessie, an affectionate steed named Bullseye, and Stinky Pete the Prospector (an unsold toy still in its original box). They reveal to Woody that he is a vintage "Sheriff Woody" collectible doll and the star of a forgotten children's TV show, Woody's Roundup. Furthermore, he is the last piece needed before Al can sell the toys and assorted memorabilia to a Japanese toy museum. Woody, though initially astounded at the display, refuses to go to Japan and abandon Andy, but is persuaded towards staying after Jessie describes her sad past of being a toy once loved by a young girl, but then was left forgotten as the girl grew up and eventually left at a charity drop, and that the same could happen with Andy. Al brings in a toy restorer to repair Woody's arm and to clean him up before shipping him off.
Buzz and the other toys make their way to Al's Toy Barn, located across the street from Al's apartment. During the search, Buzz tries to take a utility belt from another Buzz toy which is an upgrade to all new Buzz Lightyear toys. The new Buzz toy easily puts Andy's Buzz into a display box. The new Buzz meets up with the group while being mistaken for Andy's Buzz. The group discover Al in his office and stow away in a duffel bag as he goes back to his apartment. Andy's Buzz manages to escape the display box and gives chase across the street, but unknowingly releases an Evil Emperor Zurg action figure, who follows Buzz. The other toys, left in Al's car, find a route to the elevator shaft to get to Al's apartment, and finally meet up with Woody, with Andy's Buzz following them. Woody tells them he doesn't want to be rescued and intends to go with his new friends to Japan, since he is now a "collector's item". Andy's Buzz, in a role reversal from the first movie, tells Woody that he is a toy, meant to be played with instead of being on display in a museum. With Buzz's advice, Woody abandons his plans to go to Japan, and invites the rest of the Roundup gang to be Andy's toys. Jessie and Bullseye agree, but Stinky Pete - having an extreme hatred of the "space toys" like Buzz who drove cowboy toys like them out of fashion - actually leaves his box and locks Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye in the room, saying that the museum trip is his first chance (since he was never sold) and won't have Woody messing it up for him. Al shortly returns and packs up the toys before Buzz's group can rescue them, then heads to the airport.
The other toys give chase but encounter the Emperor Zurg toy in the elevator. They are able to defeat it, but Zurg says "Buzz, I am your father!" to the new Buzz, an obvious reference to Star Wars. The new Buzz decides to stay behind with Zurg. Andy's Buzz and the other toys hijack a Pizza Planet delivery truck and drive to the airport. Entering the luggage area, they find the crates containing the Roundup Gang toys and rescue Woody and Bullseye and despite Stinky Pete's attempts to stop them, they escape and the toys send Stinky Pete off with a face painted Barbie doll, letting him experience being played with by a child. However, the group is unable to rescue Jessie before the crate is loaded onto a plane. Giving chase, Woody, Buzz, and Bullseye manage to rescue her as the plane is taking off, with Woody tearing his arm again during the effort.
Some time later, the toys have returned to Andy's room, just in time to be there for Andy's return from camp; the toys took one of the baggage carriers from the airport and dumped it on the neighbor's lawn. Andy is surprised by the appearance of Jessie and Bullseye, thinking they're presents from his mother, and carefully repairs Woody's arm himself; Jessie and Bullseye are happy to be accepted as toys once again. The toys also learn that Al's business went bankrupt over failing to deliver the toys to the museum. Woody admits to Buzz that he knows that Andy will someday outgrow him, but that Buzz will be there with him, "for infinity and beyond."
[edit] Voice cast
| Actor | Role |
|---|---|
| Tom Hanks | Woody |
| Tim Allen | Buzz Lightyear/Buzz Lightyear with a Bonus Belt |
| Joan Cusack | Jessie |
| Kelsey Grammer | Stinky Pete the Prospector |
| Don Rickles | Mr. Potato Head |
| Wallace Shawn | Rex |
| Jim Varney | Slinky Dog |
| John Ratzenberger | Hamm |
| Wayne Knight | Al McWhiggin |
| Annie Potts | Bo Peep |
| Estelle Harris | Mrs. Potato Head |
| John Morris | Andy |
| Joe Ranft (speaking) Robert Goulet (singing) |
Wheezy |
| Jodi Benson | Tour Guide Barbie |
| Andrew Stanton | Emperor Zurg |
| Laurie Metcalf | Mrs. Davis (Andy's Mom) |
| Jonathan Harris | Geri |
| Jeff Pidgeon | Little Green Men |
| Andi Peters | Luggage Handler |
| Dave Foley (uncredited) | Flik |
| Joe Ranft (Uncredited) | Heimlich |
[edit] Songs
Randy Newman wrote two new songs for Toy Story 2:
- "When She Loved Me" - performed by Sarah McLachlan: Used for the flashback montage in which Jessie experiences being loved, forgotten, and ultimately abandoned by her owner, Emily. The feel of the flashbacks is very similar to the scenes that take place for Woody in "Strange Things", during the first movie. This song was nominated at the Oscars in 2000 for Best Song, though the award went to Phil Collins for "You'll Be In My Heart" from Disney's Tarzan.
- "Woody's Roundup" - performed by Riders in the Sky: Theme song for the "Woody's Roundup" TV show. Also end-credit music.
The film also includes two new versions of "You've Got A Friend In Me", the theme from the first film. The first is performed by the puppet Woody (Hanks) "on guitar" as part of the "Woody's Roundup" show. The second is a Vegas-style finale production number sung by Wheezy (singing voice provided by Robert Goulet).
[edit] Soundtrack Listing
- Woody's Roundup - Riders In The Sky
- When She Loved Me - Sarah McLachlan
- You've Got A Friend In Me (Wheezy's Version) - Robert Goulet
- Zurg's Planet
- Wheezy And The Yard Sale
- Woody's Been Stolen
- Chicken Man
- Woody's Dream
- Jessie And The Roundup Gang
- Woody's A Star
- Let's Save Woody
- Off To The Museum
- Talk To Jessie
- The Cleaner
- Al's Toy Barn
- Emperor Zurg Vs
- Use Your Head
- Jessie's In Trouble
- Ride Like The Wind
- You've Got A Friend In Me (Instrumental Version)
[edit] Box office and business issues
Toy Story 2 made over $245,000,000 in its initial US theatrical run, far surpassing the original, and in fact, every other animated movie to that date except for The Lion King, though both were later eclipsed by another CGI movie, Shrek 2.
Toy Story 2 was not originally intended for release in theaters. Disney asked Pixar to make a direct-to-video sequel for the original Toy Story with a 60 minute running time. When Disney executives saw how impressive the in-work imagery for the sequel was, they decided to create a theatrical movie, and the plot was reworked to be much more epic and cinematic in scope and duration of the movie was extended to just over 90 minutes.
Pixar and Disney had a five-film co-production deal and Pixar felt that with its change in status, Toy Story 2 should count as one of the pictures in the deal. Disney, however, felt that since the production of Toy Story 2 was negotiated outside of the five-picture deal, it should not count. This issue became a particularly sore spot for Pixar, leading to a falling out between Pixar CEO Steve Jobs and Disney CEO Michael Eisner, concluding in Pixar's 2004 announcement that it would not extend its deal with Disney and would instead seek other distribution partners. With Eisner's departure and Pixar's ultimate purchase by Disney, however, these problems have been overcome.
The movie was first broadcast on pay-TV in the UK on The Disney Channel on December 8, 2001 but like Toy Story, the transition of the movie from pay-TV to terrestrial TV was extremely slow and eventually first appeared on terrestrial TV on BBC One on December 25, 2005.
[edit] Reception
Prior to its preceding installment, Toy Story 2 received overwhelmingly positive reviews, earning a rare 100% rating at Rotten Tomatoes with an average reviewer score of 8.5/10, also being the only film to have over 100 positive and no negative reviews, making it their highest rated film of all time. (122 as of March 4, 2008).[2]
It received an 87/100 Universal Acclaim on Metacritic.
[edit] Trailers
One Pixar tradition is to create trailers for their films that do not contain footage from the released film. In one trailer, released theatrically with Doug's 1st Movie, the green alien toys come up to a center with the claw coming down. First the claw was carrying down Toy Story with the aliens doing their trademark "Oooh." Second the claw brings down a "2" and with the aliens turning around and looking at the audience and saying "Twoooo." Then Woody appears and is swiftly disappointed when Buzz shows up as well. He expresses his annoyance that Buzz is in the sequel. Buzz replies, "Excuse me, pull-String boy, What would Toy Story 2 be without Buzz Lightyear?". "A good movie." counters Woody.
[edit] Attached short film
Theatrical and video releases of this film include Luxo Jr, Pixar's first short film released in 1986, starring Pixar's mascot, Luxo.
[edit] Video game
A briefly popular video game for the PC, Playstation, N64 and Dreamcast was released shortly after the film's release in the UK. The game featured original cast voices and clips from the movie as introductions to levels. According to Disney interactive tradition, once earned, these clips could be viewed at the player's discretion. Toy Story 2: Action Game was the final Disney game to include this feature.
[edit] Trivia
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Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones. |
- Martin Short was originally going to voice Bullseye but he couldn't do it because, according to John Lasseter the film makers made Bullseye like a big, floppy dog. Comedian Don Knotts was also considered.
- The toy restorer who fixes Woody is Geri from Geri's Game.
- Visible A Bug's Life toys are shown before Buzz walks into the Buzz aisle.
- When the toys walk into Al's Toy Barn Buzz's helmet is off.
- When Hamm is flipping through the TV channels he passes channels with images from Tin Toy, Knick Knack, Red's Dream, Geri's Game, and Luxo Jr.
- Around Buzz's backside in the airport scene is a tag that reads, "Butte".
- The merchandise based on Woody and the rest of the Woody`s Roundup gang include a yo-yo with Woody's face on it, Cowboy Crunchies cereal, a record player, a ball-toss game where you throw plastic balls at Woody's teeth, a bubble machine with Woody`s face and a boot that shoots a plastic snake ( a reference to Woody's line, "There's a snake in my boot!")
[edit] References
[edit] External links
- Disney's official Toy Story 2 site
- Toy Story 2 at the Internet Movie Database
- Toy Story 2 at the Big Cartoon DataBase
- Toy Story 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
- Toy Story 2 at Metacritic
- Toy Story 2 at Box Office Mojo
- Pixar Fan Forum
| Preceded by A Bug's Life |
Pixar Animation Studios animated films 1999 |
Succeeded by For the Birds |
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| Preceded by Shakespeare in Love |
Golden Globe: Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy 1999 |
Succeeded by Almost Famous |
