The first Toy Story took off so well that hot on its heels came Toy Story 2, which is only Pixar’s third feature film. Toy Story 2 is very intense, both physically and emotionally, even more so than the original one was.

Woody is excited to go to summer camp with Andy, but in the course of play a seam on Woody’s arm comes loose, to Andy’s dismay. Andy’s mother puts Woody on a dusty shelf with other broken, forgotten things saying that toys don’t last forever, and Woody is worried that if he is broken then Andy won’t want to play with him anymore and might throw him away. Before Andy leaves for camp, Andy’s mother has a yard sale and Woody tries to rescue a fellow broken toy, putting himself at risk of being sold in the process. A toy collector, Al, is excited to find Woody, but Andy’s mother won’t sell him because Woody is an “old family toy”. Al knows Woody is valuable property and wants him so badly that he actually steals Woody, leaving Buzz Lightyear and a team of Andy’s brave toys going on a perilous rescue mission to find him before Andy returns from summer camp.

In Al’s possession, Woody discovers that he was the main character of a 1950s cultural phenomenon that spawned a TV series and an entire toyline of vintage novelties. He meets fellow toyline dolls Jessie, Bullseye and mint-in-box Stinky Pete. The other toys are glad to finally see that Woody has joined them because it means they can finally get out of storage and be sent to Japan to be part of a museum exhibit where they will be safe behind glass and admired by generations of children forever, but the tradeoff is that they will never be played with ever again. Al hires a toy cleaner that restores Woody to perfect condition, and when he is finished the cleaner remarks that Woody is now “for display only”, and that if he is handled too much he won’t last very long. Woody is amazed that he’s such a special toy and he appreciates that he’s been repaired, but he still loves his owner Andy and doesn’t want to leave him. However, Jessie is upset when Woody mentions his owner. She used to have an owner back in the 1950s who grew up, forgot her, and then gave her away. She’s never gotten over that sense of abandonment, and if Woody leaves then she’ll go back into dark storage. [Jessie’s song sequence is so sad that I actually cry when I watch it. I got through it by hugging my own favorite toy, not because I wanted it to feel better, but because it really helps me feel better. I love that little thing]. Stinky Pete also carries some resentment, too. He watched as all the other toys on the dime store shelf were bought but he never had an owner, so he feels being destined for permanent display is his reward. Woody’s loyalties are torn; one part of him wants to return to Andy but the other part knows that the other toys are counting on him to get to Japan, so he feels he must stay with them.

Meanwhile, the journey that the toys undertake from Andy’s House to Al’s Toy Barn is perilous, especially since they have to walk several blocks at toy size. Buzz refuses to give up because he still remembers how Woody sacrificed to rescue him from peril and he feels indebted to return the favor to his best friend. The toys have to navigate big dangers like traffic, toy store aisles, the ventilation ducts and elevator in the apartment, and even have to commandeer a Pizza Planet truck to drive to the airport to get Woody and the other toys out before they are shipped on an international flight to Japan. Even though the toys are tiny, the stakes feel high and I actually got nervous watching the cars avoid traffic cones with toys under them causing a major pile-up while the toys barely escape, and watching them climb the elevator shaft, and navigating the airport luggage conveyor belts, and watching Woody and Jessie jump out from the moving airplane’s landing gear not knowing if they’re going to make it out safely or not.

Animation-wise, Toy Story 2 is still very primitive. The opening action sequence is a bait-and-switch that turns out to be footage from a video game. The whole movie essentially looks about as advanced as something created for the Nintendo GameCube or other contemporary video game consoles [but the controller Rex uses I think resembles a Super NES]. The toys look and move fine because they’re made of plastic, but the movie tries to limit the screentime for humans who aren’t Al or his cleaner so they don’t stick out and look bad.

I’m very impressed with the storyline’s overall cleverness. Toy Story 2 sets up a lot of gags which pay off later. Rex struggles with the Buzz Lightyear video game, finds a strategy guide that gives him the secret to beating it, tells the swapped-out new Buzz how to beat the game, and the swapped-out Buzz uses that advice when infiltrating Al’s apartment. This new Buzz once again doesn’t realize he’s not real, but when he uses his “gadgets”, the action is perfectly timed with the movements of the apartment elevator. Andy’s Buzz is able to prove he’s the real deal by lifting his foot and revealing Andy’s name written on it. He uses Andy’s name on his foot to make a point that Woody still has an owner, and Woody had taught him in the first movie that being a toy means being loved by a child. Even though Woody knows Andy is going to grow up someday, he wants to be there to watch him grow up and be there for him. Andy proves that he loves Woody and wants to take good care of him by responsibly repairing Woody’s damaged arm by himself.

One personal thing I’d like to add is that back in 1999, when I was small, the toy stores I visited weren’t simply crowded aisles full of toys. Many of them were arranged in a way that looked really fun and encouraged kids to explore and play with toys before buying them. Today, as an adult, I can’t even walk into a Target, a Walmart or any large department store without getting overstimulated in a matter of minutes and leaving the store completely stressed out and gasping for air. I freak out when I’m surrounded by too much merchandise or too much of anything, especially lots of really junky merchandise that I have no intention of buying because it puts undue pressure on me to mentally say ‘no’ to it all. I can’t determine if this is because I’m crazy or if the culture of shopping has changed since I was little, or if I’ve just grown old and I’ve lost my taste for excessive consumption. When I watch Toy Story 2 and see the toys exploring Al’s Toy Barn, I don’t feel overstimulated at all. I actually think it looks like a fun place to explore, but perhaps that’s because it feels familiar to me. If any of you out there understand what I’m talking about and how I feel, please tell me I’m not crazy.

A few things about gender roles in 1999:

Bo Peep wishes Buzz Lightyear goodbye, kisses him and tells him to give her regards to Woody. Buzz responds that it won’t mean the same coming from him.

When Woody and Jessie get into a fight, Woody tells her that he’s not going to go easy on her because she’s a girl.

At the point where the toys reach Al’s Toy Barn, Tour Guide Barbie offers to drive them around. Mr. Potato Head tells himself “I’m a married spud!” [affectionately married to Mrs. Potato Head], leaving Ham to take his place next to Barbie as a “single toy”.

Buzz Lightyear finds Jessie attractive and stutters when he tries to compliment her. When he sees Jessie move into action, his wings pop up in astonishment.