{"id":14605,"date":"2026-06-18T00:42:46","date_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:42:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/?p=14605"},"modified":"2026-06-18T00:42:46","modified_gmt":"2026-06-18T04:42:46","slug":"toy-story-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/2026\/06\/18\/toy-story-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Toy Story 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Toy Story 2<\/strong> (1999)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Disney\/Comedy-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 92 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated G (mild violence and rude humor)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: John Lasseter\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Randy Newman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Sharon Calahan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 24, 1999 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, Estelle Harris, John Morris, Wayne Knight, Laurie Metcalf, R. Lee Ermey, Joe Ranft, Jodi Benson, Jonathan Harris, Jeff Pidgeon, Andrew Stanton.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Box Office: $245.9M (US)\/$511.3M (World)<\/p>\n

Rating<\/strong>: ****<\/p>\n

\u00a0Despite the massive success of the first film, Disney almost sent Toy Story 2<\/strong> straight to video. It seemed like a smart move given the success of other straight-to-video animated sequels like The Return of Jafar (1994) and The Lion King II (1998). That changed when studio execs got a sneak peek at some early reels. They liked what they saw so much, they upgraded it to a theatrical release and set a date for Thanksgiving weekend. That didn\u2019t give John Lasseter a lot of time to redevelop the plot and fine tune the animation. Somehow, he and his team pulled it off and made a sequel that actually surpasses the original.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The toys are back in town! Cowboy Woody (Hanks, Forrest Gump) and spaceman Buzz Lightyear (Allen, The Santa Clause) return along with the rest of the gang in Toy Story 2<\/strong>. The second movie finds Woody in trouble this time. \u00a0He\u2019s stolen from a yard sale by a greedy collector (Knight, Seinfeld) while trying to save another toy, a squeaky penguin named Wheezy (animator Ranft). He\u2019s already feeling insecure about his place in his owner Andy\u2019s life after damage to his arm causes him to be put on a shelf by the mom. Is he about to be thrown away?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Woody is taken to the apartment of the toy rustler, a nasty toy store owner named Al, where he makes an amazing self-discovery. He learns that he was designed after the hero of a popular 50s children\u2019s show called Woody\u2019s Roundup. He\u2019s part of a collection that includes cowgirl Jessie (Cusack, Grosse Point Blank), faithful horse Bullseye and an old prospector named Stinky Pete (Grammer, Frasier). They inform Woody that with his arrival, the collection is complete and they\u2019re to be sold to a toy museum in Tokyo. Woody wants to go home, but if he does, his old gang will be put back in storage.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Buzz, now the co-leader of the toys, sets out to rescue his best friend with Mr. Potato Head (insult comedian Rickles), Slinky Dog (Varney, Ernest Goes to Camp), Rex the T-Rex (Shawn, The Princess Bride) and Hamm (Pixar mainstay Ratzenberger). Their journey takes them to Al\u2019s Toy Barn, a place with a sign on the door reading \u201cNo Children Allowed\u201d. There, they run into trouble with a rival Buzz (with a utility belt!) and the spaceman\u2019s arch-nemesis Emperor Zorg (co-writer Stanton). Well, it wouldn\u2019t be much of a movie if they didn\u2019t hit a snag or two, would it?<\/p>\n

\u00a0Once again, Lasseter and company tap into something universal in Toy Story 2<\/strong>, the power of imagination. The first one introduced the idea of toys coming to life when unobserved. The sequel expands on it by taking our favorite characters to new places where they meet new toys with lives of their own. Woody\u2019s backstory is a stroke of genius. I wasn\u2019t alive in the 50s, but I\u2019m familiar with the shows that were popular with kids at that time. It would easy to believe a show like Woody\u2019s Roundup actually existed. The look of wonder and astonishment on Woody\u2019s face as he watches old episodes is priceless. I love that the writers saw fit to also show the merchandise from the show (e.g. lunchboxes, records, etc.). It speaks to a much larger theme. We, as humans, have questions about where we come from, who made us and what we were made for. Apparently, toys have the same deep philosophical questions. That\u2019s the genius of the Toy Story movies. They address heavy issues while remaining accessible to small children.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Now let\u2019s talk about Toy Story 2<\/strong> as entertainment. It\u2019s pure magic. We love the old characters and the new ones which also include Mrs. Potato Head (Harris, Seinfeld), the perfect match for grumpy Mr. Potato Head. Jessie is a welcome dose of estrogen to the previously male-dominated world of Andy\u2019s toys. She\u2019s a strong, feisty cowgirl with a heartbreaking backstory. It only follows she has trust issues, becoming irate when Woody says he\u2019s going back to his kid. Cusack, using just her voice, nails the role perfectly. She\u2019s always been a singular actress, one with talent and unconventional looks. It extends to the vocals she lends to Jessie.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The rest of the cast is aces, but that shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise. Hanks and Allen make a great team as do Woody and Buzz. They exemplify friendship and what it truly entails. Even better, there\u2019s no sign of exhaustion in their voices. They appear to love what they\u2019re doing here. That\u2019s always a plus. The same goes for the supporting cast. Rickles is always funny and Varney (in one of his final roles) is just so darn likable. Shawn is neurosis personified. Knight excels at playing nasty characters and he proves it here. Honestly, there are no wrong choices here. Everybody does a wonderful job.<\/p>\n

\u00a0The computer animation is beautiful and lively. Like the first movie, it truly brings the characters to life in a way 2D animation cannot. It makes them tangible which is exactly what toys should be, right? I mean, what good is a toy you can\u2019t touch or play with? Here, it\u2019s like you could just reach through the screen and grab them. I absolutely LOVE that aspect of the Toy Story films.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Toy Story 2<\/strong> is the one that proved to the suits at Disney what a valuable commodity the franchise is. The fact that Pixar made a sequel that isn\u2019t just a total rehash is an anomaly. It\u2019s one of the few that disprove the saying that sequels aren\u2019t equals. In fact, sometimes they can be better. What is the series\u2019 secret? Please tell the other filmmakers in Hollywood.\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Toy Story 2 (1999)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Disney\/Comedy-Adventure\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 RT: 92 minutes\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Rated G (mild violence and rude humor)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Director: John Lasseter\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Screenplay: Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Music: Randy Newman\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cinematography: Sharon Calahan\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Release date: November 24, 1999 (US)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":14607,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[26,15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14605","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animation","category-sequels-remakes"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Toy-Story-2-PIC.jpg?fit=620%2C348&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14605","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14605"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14605\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14609,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14605\/revisions\/14609"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14605"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14605"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/movieguy247.com\/MovieGuy\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14605"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}