Toy Story 2

A Bug's Life

Pixar Films Chronology

Monsters, Inc.

"The toys are back in town!"

—Tagline

Toy Story 2 is Pixar's third movie and the first sequel to their first movie Toy Story. It was released in theaters on November 24, 1999, and was directed by John Lasseter, the director of the first movie. The movie takes place about a few years after the first movie. The movie introduced an array of new characters: Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl, Bullseye, Stinky Pete, Mrs. Potato Head and Wheezy.

Toy Story 2 was re-released in a double feature with Toy Story in Disney Digital 3-D on October 2, 2009, in a promotion for Toy Story 3.

Plot

The film begins with scenes of a Buzz Lightyear adventure, which turns out to be a video game that Rex is playing. The game ends with him being destroyed by Evil Emperor Zurg, much to Rex's dismay. The movie is set some time after the events of the first Toy Story, presumably about 3 years later, Andy is preparing to leave for Cowboy Camp with Woody.

While playing with Woody and Buzz, Andy accidentally rips Woody's arm, leaving him unable to take his doll to the camp. Woody is placed on the shelf, where he finds another broken toy, Wheezy the Penguin, and begins to fear he'll soon be thrown away. When Wheezy is set out for a yard sale, Woody manages to rescue him, but ends up in the yard sale himself. He is seen by Al, an obsessive toy collector and proprietor of Al's Toy Barn. He tries to buy Woody from Andy's mother, but she refuses to sell him. After failing to negotiate a sale, Al creates a distraction and steals Woody, causing Buzz to take action. He slides down the gutter into the yard sale, and sees Al getting into his car after packing Woody in the trunk. Buzz manages to get to the car as Al is driving away, but by the time he opens the trunk, Buzz loses his grip from the car and Al escapes.

However, a clue is presented to Buzz as the car speeds away: a feather from Al's trunk lands in front of him. When Buzz informs the bad news to the toys, the toys try to investigate the culprit. However, Buzz is trying to type the license plate number that he briefly saw on Al's car to track it and whoever he was, and the rest of the toys, including Etch, were having problems doing an identity portrait of Al. When Mr. Potato Head gets fed up with Buzz trying to investigate the number with Mr. Spell and irritably tells the others to "leave Buzz with his toys" the word "toys" caused Buzz to decipher what the license plate said: "Al's Toy Barn" and consequently tell Etch to draw the man in the chicken suit. They then had to try and locate an Al's Toy Barn commercial to trace a map to the shop. He encourages the other toys to launch a rescue mission using the clue as a basis for their search.

Woody is taken to Al's apartment, where he is greeted by a yodeling cowgirl named Jessie, an affectionate steed named Bullseye, and the Prospector, an unsold toy still in its original box. They reveal to Woody that he is a vintage Sheriff Woody collectible doll and the star of a forgotten children's TV show, Woody's Roundup. Now that Al has a Woody doll, he has a complete collection and intends to sell the toys to a museum in Japan. Woody refuses to go to Japan and abandon Andy. Later, Al arrives and rips off Woody's torn arm by accident, making Woody attempt to recover his arm and then return to Andy which he fails. Al then gets a repairman who fixes Woody's arm. After that, a suddenly depressed Jessie tearfully tells Woody of how she once had an owner that loved her, but eventually outgrew and abandoned Jessie at a charity toy drive. The Prospector warns Woody that he faces the same fate as Andy ages. Woody agrees to go with the "Roundup Gang" to the museum. Buzz and his friends search for Al at Al's Toy Barn. After Buzz orders his friends to split up and look for Al. He discovers a aisle full of newer Buzz Lightyear and gets in a scuffle with a new Buzz Lightyear, who, like Buzz in the first movie, does not realize

639px-Snapshot 3 (31-12-2011 15-23) — New Buzz imprisoning Andy's Buzz in a box.

he is a toy. The real Buzz then ends up being tied up and repackaged in a box and set on the shelf for sell by the Deluded Buzz who then sets off with the other toys for Al's apartment, genuinely believing that he is attempting to rescue a hostage from his arch-enemy, Emperor Zurg.

The original Buzz frees himself and follows them to the apartment, but while exiting the store, he accidentally frees an Emperor Zurg toy, who follows to destroy him.When the toys reach the apartment, Woody tells them he does not want to be rescued and intends to go with his new friends to Japan, since he is now a "collector's item". After the original Buzz arrives, in an ironic reversal of a scene from the first movie, he reminds Woody "you're a child's plaything. You... are... a TOY!". Woody (figuratively and literally) turns his back on Buzz, and Buzz's group leaves without him.

However, Woody soon has a change of heart and, after calling Buzz and the group back, invites the "Roundup Gang" to come home to Andy with him. Jessie and Bullseye agree, but the Prospector locks them in the room, saying that the museum trip is his first chance (since he was never sold) and won't have Woody mess it up for him. Al returns and packs the Roundup Gang, and the rest of the toys give chase, but are interrupted by the sudden appearance of the Emperor Zurg toy. The second Buzz battles him, and in a showdown mimicking a similar scene from The Empire Strikes Back, Zurg reveals himself to be Buzz's father, shortly before his defeat at Rex's hands. The other toys resume the rescue mission and find an unattended vehicle (a Pizza Planet delivery truck) and drive it to the airport. The second Buzz remains behind with Zurg, playing father and son games.

After arriving at the airport, Buzz and his group manage to free Woody and Bullseye from the suitcase. The Prospector has other plans though and he re-tears Woody's arm, even though it still works. However, Buzz and his group come to Woody's rescue, and stick the Prospector in a little girl's backpack so he can "learn the true meaning of play-time". The Prospector is terrified to learn that the little girl likes to draw on all of her toys. But Jessie finds herself in trouble and remains trapped in the suitcase. Woody and Buzz ride Bullseye in order to rescue her from being taken to the museum on her own.

Woody manages to find Jessie inside the plane, but just when they're about to escape, the door closes and the plane heads for the runway. Woody finds another way out of the plane, through a small hatch which leads down to the landing gear wheel, and as they are doing so, he slips on tar, but Jessie catches him. When the plane is at the main runway, Woody knows that time is running out. In true "Woody's Roundup" style, he uses his pull string to swing him and Jessie down to safety on Bullseye's back - just seconds before the plane takes off. Their mission accomplished, the toys now make their way home.

At home, Jessie (with whom Buzz becomes a bit smitten) and Bullseye are adopted into Andy's toy family. Woody's ripped arm is repaired by Andy himself. The events of the airplane's cargo hold have a terrible (and hilarious) consequence for Al. After Hamm fails at the Buzz Lightyear video game, he flips through the channels and sees Al in an Al's Toy Barn commercial, crying since he lost his precious luggage and the money he was going to get for it, which is why in the commercial he is selling everything for as Al says in the chicken suit, "For a Buck, Buck, Buck". While Al is crying, Hamm says a somewhat humorous remark about Al and his scheme ("Well, I guess crime doesn't pay."). Meanwhile, a fixed Wheezy sings "You've Got A Friend In Me", and Buzz asks Woody if he was still worried about Andy giving him up. Woody replies that he isn't worried anymore, and that when it is all over, he will have Buzz to keep him company, for "infinity and beyond".

Foreshadowing

Stinky Pete's words foreshadow various things that happen in the next film. His last words, "Children destroy toys. You'll be forgotten, spending eternity rotting in some landfill" happen to almost come true because the young children at Sunnyside Daycare do nearly destroy the toys and the toys are thrown into a landfill (from which they escape) at the end of Toy Story 3. However, it could be noted that Stinky Pete didn't think Andy would take Woody to college, but it is shown in Toy Story 3 that he planned to.

Voice Cast

Tom Hanks: Woody
Tim Allen: Buzz Lightyear (Credited)/ Utility Belt Buzz (Un-credited)
Joan Cusack: Jessie
Kelsey Grammer: Stinky Pete
Don Rickles: Mr. Potato Head
Wallace Shawn: Rex
Jim Varney: Slinky Dog
John Ratzenberger: Hamm
Wayne Knight: Al McWhiggin
Annie Potts: Bo Peep
Estelle Harris: Mrs. Potato Head
John Morris: Andy Davis
Joe Ranft: Wheezy (speaking voice - Ranft also voice Lenny in the First film), Heimlich
Dave Foley: Flik
Robert Goulet: Wheezy (singing voice)
Jodi Benson: Tour Guide Barbie/Amy's Barbie doll
Andrew Stanton: Emperor Zurg
Laurie Metcalf: Ms. Davis
R. Lee Ermey: Sarge
Jeff Pidgeon, Debi Derryberry: Aliens

Production

Toy Story 2 was not originally intended for release in theaters. Disney asked Pixar to make a direct-to-video sequel for the original Toy Story with a 60 minute running time, to be released in the fall of 1998. When Disney executives saw how impressive the in-work imagery for the sequel was, they decided to create a theatrical movie, and the plot was reworked to be more epic and cinematic in scope. The duration of the movie was extended to just over 90 minutes.

Pixar and Disney had a five-film co-production deal and Pixar felt that with its change in status, Toy Story 2 should count as one of the pictures in the deal. Disney, however, felt that since the production of Toy Story 2 was negotiated outside of the five-picture deal, it should not count. This issue became a particularly sore spot for Pixar, leading to a falling out between Pixar CEO Steve Jobs and Disney CEO Michael Eisner, concluding in Pixar's 2004 announcement that it would not extend its deal with Disney and would instead seek other distribution partners. With Eisner's departure and Pixar's ultimate purchase by Disney, however, these problems have been overcome.

An original storyline for the film can be read here.

Reception

Box Office Results

Toy Story 2 made over $245.9 million in its initial US theatrical run according to Box Office Mojo, far surpassing the original, and in fact, every other animated movie to that date except for The Lion King, though both were later eclipsed by another Pixar movie, Finding Nemo. Worldwide, Toy Story 2 grossed $485 million.

Trailers

One Pixar tradition is to create trailers for their films that do not contain footage from the released film. In one trailer, released theatrically with Doug's 1st Movie, the green alien toys come up to a center with the claw coming down. First the claw was carrying down Toy Story with the aliens doing their trademark "Oooh." Second the claw brings down a "2" and with the aliens turning around and looking at the audience and saying "Twoooo." Then Woody appears and is swiftly disappointed when Buzz shows up as well. He expresses his annoyance that Buzz is in the sequel. Buzz replies, "Excuse me, pull-string boy, What would Toy Story 2 be without Buzz Lightyear?" "A good movie," counters Woody.