Toy Story 2

Toy Story 2 had to preserve what made Toy Story an instant classic, which wasn’t easy considering the first movie already shook up the entire animation industry. Yet this sequel became an excellent showcase of how much the CGI technology had improved in only four years. The scope is much greater this time around, with the toy characters now going through an apartment complex’s air vents, into a toy store, and on airplane tires! Also noteworthy is the video game-based opening scene where Buzz Lightyear goes on a mission to another planet—a sequence containing multiple lighting and rendering effects the first movie couldn’t achieve.

​Then of course there’s the animation of the toys; every new toy character moves in a way that’s true to the material they’re made from while also matching their personality, the Barbie dolls perhaps being the most hilarious example of the animators’ talent! Though even that wasn’t as tricky as animating the humans, especially since there were more that had to be created in the backgrounds, and with more detail. As a bonus, the adventurous music adds some unexpected emotion backed up by the heart-wrenching song, “When She Loved Me” by Sarah McLachlan. All these components ultimately helped this sequel surpass the quality of the original in virtually every way, proving that animated films could be just as mature as a live-action movie made for adults.

G
Comedy/Fantasy
1 hr. 32 min.

Watch it for FUN.
Watch it to feel HAPPY and SAD.