Genre Animation

Toy Story 2 (1999)

Item: Toy Story 2
Rating: 4.5
Author: Ross McLaren

★★★★½ — Toy Story 2 (1999)

I'll come right out and say it: Toy Story 2 is better than the first film. There, it's done. I know that's a contentious thing to say about a sequel to one of the most beloved animated films ever made, but I genuinely believe it. It takes everything that worked about the original and pushes it further, deeper, and with a much sharper emotional punch. When I rewatched Toy Story, I loved it, but this one just edges it for me. It's the rare sequel that doesn't just continue a story but actually justifies its own existence.

A big part of why it works is the new additions to the cast of characters. Jessie and Bullseye are brilliant inclusions, and I don't say that lightly. Jessie in particular shifts the whole emotional centre of the film. Her backstory is handled with a real tenderness that catches you off guard, and suddenly the film isn't just about Woody finding his way home. It's asking a much harder question: what does it mean to be loved, and what happens when that love runs out? For a kids' film, that's genuinely weighty stuff, and it earns every bit of it.

Then there's Al, the toy collector. What a gloriously hapless villain he is. He's not menacing in any traditional sense. He's sweaty and selfish and obsessive, a grown man in a chicken suit who thinks he's making a shrewd business move while being completely oblivious to the chaos unfolding around him. He works precisely because he's so pathetic. You don't fear him, you almost feel sorry for him, and that makes him oddly perfect for the kind of story this is. The stakes feel real without the film needing to resort to anything darker than a bloke who really, really wants to sell some toys to a museum in Japan.

And look, I know animation has come a long way since 1999, but even by the standards of the time, the leap in visual quality from the first film to this one is striking. The textures, the lighting, the way fabric moves. It all feels more alive. Pixar were clearly flexing, and they had every right to. There's a sequence early on that drops you straight into a video game world and it's pure joy, setting the tone for a film that's confident it knows exactly what it wants to be.

What I keep coming back to, though, is how well the film balances everything it's juggling. You've got slapstick comedy, a genuine heist sequence, a villain with comedic incompetence, new characters finding their footing, and an emotional thread running underneath all of it about identity and belonging. That's a lot to manage, and it never once feels overstuffed. The pacing is tight, the gags land, and when the film wants you to feel something, it earns it properly rather than just reaching for your heartstrings without doing the work first.

I've seen Toy Story 4 too, and while that has its moments, this is the high watermark for the franchise as far as I'm concerned. It took a concept that could have coasted on the goodwill of its predecessor and turned it into something richer and more surprising. That's harder to do than it looks.

Four and a half stars. If you've not revisited this one in a while, do yourself a favour.

Rating: ★★★★½ | Year: 1999 | Watched: 2025-05-15

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Google Play Movies
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Hulu · Disney Plus
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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