Ìý User Rating 
A rare sequel that's as good as its predecessor, developing a self-contained story into a potential saga, it's difficult to imagine that "Toy Story 2" was ever conceived as a straight-to-video release.
This time around, Andy heads off to summer camp and the toys are left to entertain themselves. Woody is kidnapped from a yard sale by a ruthless toy collector and discovers that he's a collector's item when he meets fellow toys from the "Woody's Roundup" TV series, Jessie (Cusack) and Stinky Pete (Grammer). His kidnapper will stop at nothing to sell Woody to a Japanese museum, but Buzz and the boys have other ideas. The race is on to find Woody and return home before Andy does.
Watched back-to-back you can see how it surpasses "Toy Story" in technical excellence (leaves, dogs, and humans are all more lifelike) but what has been improved upon hardly seemed to matter in the original. In fact, the former film's awkward rendering of human features contrasted nicely with the expressiveness of the toys.
Andy's bedroom was a universe of timeless toydom in the first outing, but the sequel ventures boldly into toy mortality and the outside world. Their disposable reality is potentially depressing - nobody wants Mr Potato Head mowed down by a large truck. But the film toys with this morality theme just enough to provide dramatic tension, especially in Jessie's not unreasonable efforts to stop Woody going home.
Yet again, as much work has gone into the 'story' as into the 'toy', making this a rewarding return to an indisputable visual treat. If the standard can be maintained, a third instalment would be welcomed.
