John Lasseter’s sequel is one we would recommend without checking anyone’s age. Its rescue adventure is funny, clearly told and unexpectedly painful about the limited time a toy has with a child.
Toy Story 2 is a family comedy we would recommend to almost anyone, including adults who think talking toys have nothing to tell them. John Lasseter gives the rescue adventure a clear purpose and keeps its worries close to things children already understand: being left out, being damaged, being forgotten. The jokes come often enough that none of this feels like a lesson smuggled into the playroom. At 92 minutes, it has room to be sad without making sadness the whole evening.
The screenplay, by Doug Chamberlin, Rita Hsiao, Andrew Stanton and Chris Webb, takes a toy’s usefulness seriously. Being loved by a child is wonderful, but it carries an expiry date the child does not have to think about. That gives the rescue plot more urgency than simply getting everybody back where they belong. Hanks gives Woody enough fretfulness to keep him from becoming merely the sensible one. Allen’s Buzz supplies a firmer, more self-assured voice, and the contrast remains funny without needing to be laboured.
Sharon Calahan’s cinematography makes the animated toys look solid enough to pick up, with light that gives their different surfaces a convincing feel. William Cone and Jim Pearson’s production design keeps them recognisable as playthings even while they are doing the work of human actors. The detail earns its place because it makes their vulnerability easier to believe. We worry about an object being damaged more readily when it seems to occupy actual space.
Randy Newman’s song for Jessie is where the film lets the jokes fall away and asks us to stay with a toy’s hurt. We were moved more than we expected, because her fear of being forgotten is treated without embarrassment. Joan Cusack’s lively voice performance helps us care about Jessie before the music does its work. The song fits into her story without making the surrounding comedy feel callous.
Edie Ichioka, Lee Unkrich and David Ian Salter edit the bustle into something we can follow without effort. The rescue has momentum, but the film gives its emotional passages time to settle before hurrying on. That control matters in a family adventure with so many voices competing for attention. The comedy and movement keep younger viewers involved, while the pauses allow the prospect of outliving a child’s affection to register without an explanatory speech.
It is less fresh than the first film, and a few of the busier gags feel like obligations of the rescue plot. We occasionally wanted less commotion and more time with the characters. That is a modest complaint about a 92-minute comedy, but the quieter writing has set a high standard for everything around it. The action remains readable and inventive even when it is no longer the thing we most want to watch.
Against family comedies that divide their time between children’s action and adults’ knowing jokes, this feels unusually considerate. Both ages are asked to care about the same characters, and neither needs to wait patiently for its turn. Watch it with children, but do not assume they will be the ones who need comforting.
