Toy Story 2
a review by Jeffrey Overstreet
“I don’t like stories to have a moral: certainly not because I think children dislike a moral. Let the pictures tell you their own moral. For the moral inherent in them will rise from whatever spiritual roots you have succeeded in striking during the whole course of your life. But if they don’t show you any moral, don’t put one in. For the moral you put in is likely to be a platitude, or even a falsehood, skimmed from the surface of your consciousness. It is impertinent to offer the children that. For we have been told on high authority that in the moral sphere they are probably at least as wise as well…. The only moral that is of any value is that which arises inevitably from the whole cast of the author’s mind.”
- C.S. Lewis on “Three Ways of Writing for Children”
In a year when this moviegoer has been bewildered to find Warner Brothers’ animated film The Iron Giant as the most memorable and enjoyable movie so far, now there’s ANOTHER animated flick that’s every bit as strong, while also far more complicated and daring. Toy Story 2 joins the short lists of sequels (Empire Strikes Back, Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan, Terminator 2) that are superior to their predecessors. And we have John Lasseter and the Pixar team to thank for it. Go see for yourself, whether you have kids or not. This is one of those rare movies that didn’t spoil its best moments in the preview.
How did they do it?
How did John Lasseter and his Pixar animation team top their own 1995 masterpiece? Not only that, but how will moviemakers worldwide react when they see that an animated feature has surpassed almost every movie of the 1990’s in storytelling, characterization, action, and comic genius?
To reveal too many of the plot’s twists would be a mistake. Suffice to say that all is not well in the toyland of Andy’s bedroom. In an attempt to save an broken colleague from the awful fate of a “Yard Sale”, our cowboy-toy hero Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) is unfortunately snatched up by a wicked toy collector (who bears a surprising likeness to his voice actor, Seinfeld’s Wayne Knight.) So it’s up to the rest of the gang to head out and rescue him.
Toy Story 2 follows several disparate plot threads at an exhilarating pace without once losing the audience, and that’s only one of its storytelling accomplishments. It also weaves in songs that aren’t frivolous, without stumbling, and then ties all those plots nicely together without once getting up on a soapbox to declare its own meaningfulness. It leaves us begging for more.
Kids will be thrilled to recognize their favorite heroes from the first film. Leading the rescue effort is the valiant spaceman Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), accompanied by Rex the hysterically insecure plastic dinosaur (Wallace Shawn), Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) who has packed his angry eyes “just in case”, and Slinky Dog (Jim Varney).
Their perilous adventures include the risky crossing of a busy thoroughfare, the brave infiltration of a formidable toystore fortress where Woody is held captive, and a wild rollercoaster ride through an airport baggage-loading system.
Woody’s kidnapping lead him to the discovery of his own heritage. When he is planted among the other members of the collector’s “complete set”, he comes to understand that he was once a beloved television hero to countless children on a show called “Woody’s Roundup”. Realizing that he is actually a valuable piece of nostalgia, Woody must choose between an escape to rejoin Andy, the boy that loves him, and a future in toy museum displays, being adored by hundreds of nostalgic TV fans. The other characters in the “set” include a rambunctious cowgirl named Jessie (Joan Cusack) and a pick-wielding prospector named Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer), who are determined to find fame and fortune on the museum circuit, and they strive to persuade Woody to join them in their quest for immortality.
There are a lot of big questions here, challenging to adults and kids alike. Who doesn’t want to be remembered for all time? But who doesn’t want to be loved? Toy Story 2 is sure to make those who purchased original Toy Story merchandise start checking the Internet to watch the value of those purchases increase. Ironic. This is a story about the importance of appreciating our belongings for their meaningfulness to us rather than for their monetary value. While eBay is the new Granter of Wishes in a world of consumers, here is a story told with computers that exhorts us to return to the day when price tags were irrelevant, when toys were spark plugs for our imaginations, and when relationships were more important than success. One could also pursue these questions to a higher level. Do the choices we make reflect a drive to be known, to be immortal, to be successful? Or do they reflect our desire to be responsible, to be loving, to be people of integrity?
While this seems like an ambitious exploration for an animated film, Toy Story 2 never gets preachy, and neither did the original. This is key to its success, and shows up the failures of other children’s’ storytellers who manipulate their tales in order to instruct (or worse, evangelize.) Woody and the gang are so funny, real, and engaging, that we feel for them. Most viewers will get teary-eyed when the cowgirl Jessie remembers Emily, the child that once loved her. Whether it was a doll, a pet, a blanket, or a friend… everyone has known something special in their childhood that has been lost along the way in the confusing process of growing up. We don’t need the movie to tell us the moral. In this, we all should have eyes to see and ears to hear.
You would think that a team so committed to technological innovation would stumble when it comes to storytelling. Why then are they the best storytellers around?
My guess is that the nature of their work is a sort of play. From their early animated films (their original and timeless classic Luxo, Jr. is attached to this film in theatres) to their recent Oscar-winner Geri’s Game (whose star character makes a wonderful cameo here), they show their love of playing with toys, both inside and outside the realm of computers. (They also show their own love of the movies. There are dozens of nods to favorite films — Star Wars, 2001, even Pixar’s own A Bug’s Life.) I’ll bet the writers and animators have offices and bedrooms still heavily populated with their favorite toys. They don’t seem preoccupied with impressing anybody; they’re just doing what they love. Imagination is not just the method…it’s the message. (Now if only the folks who produce Disney’s traditionally animated features would learn from this, and quit turning out visually impressive films that lack storytelling finesse.)
If there’s any question left about whether cartoons can be as good for grownups as they are for kids, the 1999 triple-whammy of Toy Story 2, The Iron Giant, and Princess Mononoke should resolve the issue for good. Toy Story 2 has as much or more to say to the hearts and heads of adults as it does to children. Pixar has thrown down the gauntlet, not just for animation, but for moviemakers of all kinds, saying “You just try making as entertaining and memorable a movie as this one.” Here, on grand display, are the rewards of being childlike rather than childish.
