BONUS REVIEW! A Look Back at "Toy Story" and "Toy Story 2"
- Matt Palmer
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
Just recently I took a look at the latest adventure of the Toy Story franchise and I will be posting my Examiner review of Toy Story 5 Friday morning! For this bonus review, I will be talking about the first two movies since I still have to RE-VISIT the third and fourth movies.
In Toy Story (1995), Woody, a good-hearted cowboy doll who belongs to a young boy named Andy, sees his position as Andy's favorite toy jeopardized when his mother buys him a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Even worse, the arrogant Buzz think's he's a real spaceman on a mission to return to his home planet.
When its revealed that Andy and his mom, along with his baby sister, are moving to a new house, Woody and Buzz must escape the clutches of maladjusted neighbor Sid and reunite with their boy.
When Toy Story first premiered in 1995, it instantly became an instant cultural phenomenon and the second highest grossing film of that year. Both audiences and critics alike were captivated by it's perfect blend of technological wizardry, emotional depth, and universal humor.
Now, while it's CGI does seem a little dated compared to today's CGI graphics (well most of the time), the very first entire computer-animated film still looks really great! Even with the early limitations of computer graphics, the plastic look perfectly suited all of the toy characters, especially Woody and Buzz.
The central premise of the toys secretly coming alive when people leave the room is still incredibly imaginative and practically taps directly into a universal childhood fantasy. The 1995 film perfectly captured the nostalgia of how children interact, play and even form deep bonds with their favorite belongings.
Toy Story features a lot of fun moments that anyone who grew up with the film will easily remember, such as the opening montage of Andy playing with Woody set to Randy Newman's "You've Got A Friend in Me," all the moments that show Woody and Buzz's rivalry ("You are a tooooy!"), the escape from Sid's house and so much more!
In the 1999 sequel Toy Story 2, Woody is stolen from his home by toy dealer Al McWhiggen, leaving Buzz and the rest of the gang to try to rescue him. But when Woody discovers that he;s actually a valuable collectible from a once popular TV show called Woody's Roundup and is reunited with his horse Bullseye, Jessie the yodeling cowgirl and his faithful sidekick, Stinky Pete the Prospector, he doesn't want to leave.
This animated Pixar sequel did an awesome job expanding the franchise's Universe with deeper emotional stakes, engaging new characters like Jessie and Bullseye and some fun little action moments. Toy Story 2 is also widely celebrated as a truly rare sequel that either matched or arguable improved upon the original.
The sequel explores the deeper, universal fear of being outgrown. It forces Woody to choose between being in a museum with his newfound friends forever, or being loved by a child, despite knowing his playtime with him will eventually come to an end. The musical sequence "When Somebody Loved Me" is easily one of the most heartbreaking, and emotionally resonant moments in any animated film I have ever seen.
It's also fun to get a bit of a backstory for Woody as it also introduces us to a couple of fan favorite characters. This film also broadened its setting, moving from a single neighborhood into a much wider world, allowing for great sequences inside Al's Toy Barn and an airport.
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are universally celebrated as groundbreaking masterpieces. The first film revolutionized animation and storytelling, while the first sequel is widely considered one of the rare cinematic follow ups that expands its universe and matches or even surpasses the original's critical acclaim.
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