DVD Reviews

Toy Story 2 (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo) – Blu-ray Review

By Dana Rae Mar 25, 2010, 16:25 GMT

Andy heads off to cowboy camp leaving his toys to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector named Al McWhiggin (owner of Al\'s Toy Barn) kidnaps Woody. At Al\'s apartment, Woody discovers that he is a highly valued collectible from a 1950s TV show called Woody\'s Roundup, and he meets the other prized toys from that show, Jessie the Cowgirl, Bullseye the Horse, and ...more

Toy Story 2 comes to Blu-ray for the first time, and the high definition is spectacular. A sequel to 1995’s Toy Story, the second installment really delivers in terms of story, revisiting of favorite characters, 1080p animation, and family friendly fun.  

The film is presented with an eye-popping HD picture along with 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio sound. For fans that love the Toy Story franchise, this is a don’t-miss. And if you are unfamiliar with the Toy Story films, you are in for a treat.

When I watched this with my boys (ages 6 and 11), I was amazed at how great the picture was. I saw things that I didn’t remember having seen, and I have viewed Toy Story 2 about twenty times. The textured feel of the film makes you want to reach out and touch it. For example, Bullseye, Woody’s horse, has a patterned, checkered look to him that enlivens already great animation. 

With a slightly better story (in my humble opinion) than the first one, the toy personalities that we came to love tackle Al the Chicken Man and poke good fun at the toy collecting craziness of pop culture.

It also introduces some new characters to us - at the end of the first Toy Story, Andy gets a Mrs. Potato Head for Christmas (much to Mr. Potato Head’s delight), and she is a great addition. Also, Woody meets the other characters of his TV show, The Round-Up Gang. 

Woody finds out that he is a ‘rare Sheriff Woody doll’ and that he was a toy inspired by a ‘50s cowboy TV show. Al the Chicken Man from the Al’s Toy Barn commercials steals Woody from a yard sale (Woody was in the yard sale to rescue Wheezy the Penguin) and has plans to sell the collection he has been amassing to a toy museum in Japan for a small mint.

He only needed a Woody Sheriff doll to complete his collection. When he inadvertently comes across Woody in the yard sale, his collection is complete, much to his glee. 

Buzz and the other toys set out to find the mysterious chicken man and end up at Al’s Toy Barn (think Toys R Us with a barnyard theme) and the offices of Al’s Toy Barn which is across the street, no children allowed.

They plan a rescue operation but during the time it takes to get to Woody, Woody has bought into his own hype and doesn’t want to leave his new-found friends. As he tells Buzz, “I am a rare Sheriff Woody doll.”

But when he has the bright idea to ask The Round Up gang to go with him and be loved by Andy, Stinky Pete stops him. Stinky Pete is ‘mint in the box, never been opened,’ a wide-eyed Jessie the Cowgirl explains. Stinky Pete has issues to deal with - ‘children destroy toys!’ he rants.

He is also very angry that he, at of all of The Round Up Gang toys, was the least popular. He hates space toys, because he says that two words - ‘Sput-nik’ - canceled his TV show. 

This first movie introduced us to its many toy characters: the cowboy doll, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), the space toy Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen), Mr. Potato Head (voiced my Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (voiced by the late Jim Varney), the piggy bank Hamm (voiced by John Ratzenberger), the beautiful sweetheart of Woody, Bo Peep (voiced by Annie Potts), and that lovable Tyrannosaurus dinosaur with the small arms, Rex (voiced by Wallace Shawn). The humans in the mix are: Andy’s mom (voiced by Laurie Metcalf), and Andy (voiced by John Morris). 

New characters to the Toy Story franchise are the Round Up Gang: Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl (voiced by Joan Cusack), Stinky Pete the Prospector (voiced by Kelsey Grammer), and Bullseye, Woody’s horse, who doesn’t speak and reminds one of a lovable puppy.

Other added characters are Al the toy collector, aka The Chicken Man (voiced by Wayne Knight), Wheezy the Penguin (voiced by the late Joe Ranft) and Mrs. Potato Head (voiced by Estelle Harris). 

Special features include a sneak peek at the coming Toy Story 3, a Director’s commentary, Buzz Lightyear mission logs, a series of shorts that include advice from Pixar artists, and a tribute to Joe Ranft.

This is great family fun, only enhanced by the technology of Blu-ray. Fans will be amazed at the quality of animation here. The animation was great before, but now it is spectacular. It is so good it sparkles. Combined with an excellent story, the familiar voice talents of Hanks and Allen and others, and the technology of high definition, Toy Story 2 is a must-have.

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