blasphomy!! Toy Story 2 is the perfect pixar movie!!!

no stakes? It's Woody being confronted with the toy version of death, if he hadn't dealt with it in 2, his non chalantness in 3 wouldn't have made any sense. Toy Story 2 set up Toy Story 3. In fact I was disappointed in Toy Story 3 because it wasnt as good as 2.

no its not. Friends going after friends is NOT the same as a father going after a son. Especially since the rescue mission is more a play for laughs than it is a real serious rescue mission.

And since this was before Shrek, pop culture references in animated movies were less tired.

You know i actually disagree with you. I think this is my favourite of all the Toy Story's. It really shows how much the characters have grown from the first and they expanded on it greatly.

It's also a great way to show some kids grow up. The contrast to Jessie's kid completely discarding her without second thought and how Andy actually reminisces on his old toys and even gets upset when he finds out they've been thrown out was a great way to show the emotional side for both the human counterparts and the toys.

It also gave us time to get to know the side characters like Ham and Potatoehead which again sets up a great way to feel for their characters in the third movie without feeling like thats what it was. Because for the longest time it seemed that this was what the toy story series was going to end on, number two, which I thought was a pretty sweet idea.

I respect your opinion but completely disagree.

May I say that I love how it actually sounds like a genuine conversation between your two sides? It makes the review a lot more enjoyable, and I can tell this is the sort of thing a few mess up in execution, so props to you there.

As for this movie...meh. The Toy Story movies have always been 'Meh' for me. Not exactly Incredibles or Cars level of boring, but...well, I've seen this one, I didn't like it. I saw the first one at a very young age and don't remember any of it.

And the third...I want to punch it. I want to punch it in the face. Last year, my Spanish teacher got TS3 on DVD, and...oh god. She played it so many times that it's grown from a movie I love to something that makes me puke at the mention of it. I have grown to hate it with an intense passion. It's not really a good sign when a film turns so sour so quickly for me. Compare that with a movie such as How to Train Your Dragon, which I've watched a billion times and it's still just as amazing as the first. Then again, HTTYD is my favorite movie, so that's a bit bias, but whatever.

And jeez, why is everyone downvoting this video? Seriously, it's pretty much the same as his other reviews. 2 stars is a bit harsh.

You find The Incredibles boring? Cars I could see, but the Incredibles?? Weird.

Yeah. It's just one of those movies I disagree with the common opinion on. Though I will grant it one of the best death scenes I ever saw in animation. The idea of "death by being sucked into a fan and then epically blown up in the middle of the sky" is just awesome.

I think Toys Tory 2 is the weaker movie of the trilogy, but I completly disagree with your arguments.
For me, the movie was pretty exciting and funny besides is not as good as the first and the third, but give us time to be more beloved with the characters.

Boring review anyway.

His reviews aren't meant to be laugh-out-loud hilarious, they usually consist of more straight-forward opinions. I don't think you should be so quick to judge just because he disagrees with you on "Toys Tory 2," a lot of reviewers I like disagree with my views on certain movies. But hey, it's your opinion. ^-^

Woody DOES have a lot to lose, especially when you see Jessie, who's suffers constant panic attacks and is miserable at the thought of her old owner. Can't say I agree with you. At all.

Toy Story 2 either. Just didn't feel right. Not in a morale way, just didn't have the same feel as the original. Toy Story 3 fixed that thankfully.

Toy Story - Accepting the truth of your existence

Toy Story 2 - Accepting that you will die and that there is a difference between living life and just being alive

Toy Story 3 - Preparing for death and actually dying

Well that's me reading deep into Toy Story movies

Then there is the animated short on the front of the recent Muppet Movie involving the toys after they were given to the little girl. That's not quite as existential. :/

Heh. That's actually pretty good. Although to add to the first one: for Buzz it's about accepting the truth, for Woody it's accepting change. It's honestly a bit like growing up for both of them.

I guess the end of the series stands for going to heaven then? xD Or being reborn? (Damn that was a bad retirement home experience before that btw.)

Well you could say that for woody it is about accepting the truth that he may not be Andy's favorite toy anymore. That he is replaceable. By the end he seems OK with that

Another to look at the movies would be this

Toy Story-End of childhood

Toy Story 2-Entering middle age.

Toy Story 3-Old age

Funnily enough, I think he hit the nail on the head, and I suppose someone's got to not flame this video. I remember seeing this when I was younger, and I liked it, but I kinda liked it in that guilty pleasure way. What surprised me was how many people really loved it though and thought it was the best animated film ever. Don't get wrong, it's a good movie, but it's a movie that has some problems with tone I think. It tries to combine some wacky slapstick, pop culture references with heart-renching moments. In that sense, for me, it's not like Up, which balances these elements much better to still trigger an emotional response. I don't know if this is the only issue, or if it's even an issue, but it's something I noticed.
Oh, and I still think that "Emperor Zerg is my father" joke is funny. If for no other reason then after that, they choose to bond over a friendly game of arm cannon catch.

Does disagreing really qualify as flaming? o.o

Perhaps to some people.

Am I the only one who likes Toy Story 2 better than the first? I felt 2 was more creative.

Also Luke no offense but you remind me of the kind of critics Brad Jones parodies with his character the Cinema Snob. Lighten up and stop being such a snob. I hate Michael Bay and Joel Schumacher movies as much as the next guy but I go into a movie to be entertained not to nitpick the living Hell out of it. I know you are young and feel that over analyzing films will make people respect you more but you need to live a little. Life is too short to feel guilty about liking something that makes you happy which is why I respect all views.

But anyways have a nice holiday season Luke! :)

You're not the only one that likes Toy Story 2 better than the first. I thought it was funnier, more heartwarming and more touching. Even to this day when I watch it I always lose it when Jessie starts reminiscing about Emily while that Sarah McLachlan song played in the background!

As for the Luke as a reviewer comment, yeah I have to agree with that too. When he first started out, it seemed liked he praised just about every movie he reviewed and now it seems he's going in the opposite direction. I'm hoping since he is young, he'll grow as a reviewer and realize he doesn't need to be the extreme of one or the other.

I know someone mentioned this earlier that his reviews aren't meant to be silly and more to-the-point, but as I said before, Luke seems to take it to the extreme and most of his videos fall flat and are downright dull and boring. Heck, Ed Glaser, Y Ruler of Time and Paw to name a few have a good mix of entertaining and educational at the same time. So yeah Luke, to reiterate what Taron said: Don't be afraid to branch out and try something new with these reviews! You don't have to be nitpicky over every minute detail!

EDiT: Also, maybe because no one brought this up but Luke you might want to do some fact checking. Toy Story 2 came out in 1999 while Finding Nemo came out in 2003. Perhaps people might think I'm being nitpicky but it's a pretty big detail to overlook when you make the statement, pardon if it's worded a bit differently: "Toy Story 2 is essentially Finding Nemo but Finding Nemo did it better".

I would have to disagree with you on this one Luke.


I found Toy Story 2 to be very entertaining and actually was one of the better Disney sequels (if you could still consider Toy Story to be under Disney nowadays) I enjoyed the more indepth details of the toys and the characters are still funny and likeable in my honest opinion.

But don't be discouraged, it doesn't mean I won't stop watching your videos or anything Luke or flat out hate you. This will be one of those videos that I won't watch as much. Plus, everyone always has to have "That One" review to balance out all the good ones.


Look forward to what other movie you will review.

This was NOT a direct to video sequel. I specifically remember seeing it in theaters. As for this movie, I love it.

THANK YOU!

I thought I was the only one who heard him say that.

He said "it almost was direct to video".

Looking back at any of the series feels odd to me now, like it was something to be enjoyed at that age. Especially since they all have basically the same plot - "One or more of the toys is separated from the others, and their problems would be over in 5 minutes if they listened to Woody." Even by the 3rd movie, he's still playing Cassandra.

He said it was GOING to be direct-to-video. Disney didn't want the sequel to get a full theatrical release. They fought Disney, rewrote and released Toy Story 2 in theatres.

He said it ALMOST was a direct to video. But then they decided to release it in the theaters. I have watched this movie 3 times in the theater. 2 times the year it came out, and once in 3D.

Wow! It's like I was hearing my own thoughts said out loud by someone else... eerie.

I've never really seen what all the hoopla is about in this movie. I wholeheartedly agreed with what you said. To me it's just meh. I really liked the third one and the first one still holds up as great, but this one definitely had its mostly mediocre and dumb moments.

Although I do have to agree with what others have said when I say that I'm pretty sure this did go to theaters. I can remember being so sad while watching the Jesse scene in the theater.

Big Al is a manchild unnaturally extending his childhood and thereby distorting it into something petty and sad. That's the implied fate facing the Round-Up Gang in Japan: They'll never have to grow up, but the price of doing so will be that they have to stop being toys in order to become collectibles; playthings that can't ever be played with again. In the toy world, that kind of immortality is probably equivalent to vampirism.

Of course, I could just be grasping at straws here because I like this movie. When I saw it, I was really into ToyFare magazine (I can't in good conscience say I was into toys), so a lot of the movie felt like an in joke that I was actually in on.

Yeah the reason why this film is considered the worst is because it followed Toy Story (the first ever CGI feature length movie) and was followed by Toy Story (the best CGI if not animated movie all of time). It's only weak because it has to be compared with two amazing films. However despite the fact that it's weaker then 1 and 3, it's still better then 80% of the other CGI films out there.

While I do agree that of the trilogy, 1 and 3 are better, I would not go so far as to call this movie "painfully average". If it is average, it's not painfully so.

For me, Toy Story was a series that was the subject of incredible passion and this one was no exception.

Was this ad libbed or something? It looked and felt really, really, realllllly amateurish. No offence, but I appreciate the effort that people like Doug, Spoony, Linkara, Phelous and Lupa put into their videos. Regardless if I like what they produce or not, I can tell that a lot of work was put into it. With this? Not so much.

I like the concept of your videos, but the execution, for me, leaves a lot to be desired. Not trying to flame or anything, simply trying to offer an honest opinion.

The Irate Gamer puts a lot of effort into his stuff, doesn't stop the content being entirely worthless.
Production value has little to do with content, nor how long something might have taken - though I think you underestimate the time it takes to edit this into what seems like a flowing conversation between two different aspects of a personality played by the same guy.
I don't agree with Luke in this case, but his analysis is just as worthwhile or credible as Spoony, Lupa or anyone else.

I personally found the second one more enjoyable than the first. It was funnier, more exciting, and more emotional.

And to say that there were no stakes is to completely discount one of the chief themes of the first movie: toys were meant to be played with. The main conflict for Woody in the first movie was the prospect of no longer being Andy's favorite toy; in the second, what's at stake is never getting played with again, ever. Woody doesn't realize this at first because he was left behind by Andy after having been damaged, and he thought he was going to get shelved anyway. But by the third act, he knows better, and what's more, he realizes that he would rather risk the loss than to simply throw it away. He only thought he had something to gain from being in a museum because he was suffering from the same delusion that plagued Buzz in the first movie: the belief that he really was the old school cowboy TV star, and not just a toy modeled after him. Notice that, when he reveals this aspect of his past to the other toys, he refers to the old TV show character in the first person. Like Buzz in the first movie, Woody has to let go of his delusion and face the truth about himself: he's not a TV star; he's a toy.

And the same with Jessie. Stinky Pete had them both convinced that the museum was the answer to their problem, but in reality, they were going to exchange a cardboard box for a glass one; they would still be trapped, still be alone. Stinky Pete's hell was being stuck in a box all those years; in the end, his plan was going to put the rest of the Round Up Gang in the same hell.

Frankly, learning about Woody's history was interesting to me. I enjoyed finding out where he came from.

Bottom line: I can see why some people would say that 1 was better, because it was the original, the template upon which 2 was based. But to me, 2 was every bit as enjoyable to watch, if not more so. But it certainly isn't painful mediocrity.

This movie has Stinky Pete, how can it be bad?

I hated Toy Story 1, so I never saw this one.

You're dead inside. ;)

I remember liking the first Toy Story, but by the time this one came around I had totally lost interest in any CG type cartoon movie thing. This movie only further cemented my view that CG movies all feel like the same movie over and over. I saw it and I can't remember anything that happened. Even seeing the review didn't bring back any memories. It was *that* uninteresting.

I've always felt this way about this movie its just eh. When I saw it in theaters I remember going home feeling a little empty inside like there was something missing from watching this movie. This has always been my view on it.

I don't want to be harsh here FC or anything. But this review just lacked your usual energy. It seems you were bored making it, thus makes it boring to watch. I've seen you do some really good reviews and I know you can do better than this. But this one just fell short, sorry.

I second that. There wasn't enough energy coming from your personas, which was a shame, because it really did feel like a real conversation otherwise (kudos on the editing job you did there).

As for Toy Story 2, I basically agree with you, Luke. To quote Dimitri Martin: "Toy Story 2 was okay." It was necessary for the 3rd (and, in my opinion, best) film of the series to be what it was, but it never engaged me the way the first movie did, nor did it resonate with me on an emotional level the way the third did. If someone were to see the first two Toy story movies today without having ever seen either one in theaters, they might like the second one better; my experience was different, though. I saw Toy Story back when it was the first and only computer-animated movie to ever hit theaters, and that will probably always color how I feel about it.

WRONG! There was talk of the movie going direct to video but that was the first draft being forced into production by Disney executives! But once John Lasseter stepped back into the fray to rewrite the whole thing and star over from scratch... the movie was saved and became good enough for theaters (which is funny how you might think that it wasn't since even Pixar themselves have made worse films)! Under a constrained time period, Pixar pulled a miracle out of their hats. That miracle is a great sequel that does justice to the original. The movie didn't need great revelations about character we already knew, it was turning the tables and forcing Woody to make hard choices instead of Buzz.

The pop culture jokes were rarely used at the time and as a result were funny in 1999. I hate to say it but you're too young to understand, and you're judging the movie by modern day standards when it is a dozen years old, and from Pixar's early days. Toy Story 3 was done only last year, and in between the company had made several leaps and bounds in story-telling and taking risks.

One of those risks involved Jessie's song, and it's a damn great Randy Newman song! Anyone with a heart seeing that in 1999 was brought to tears, and it laid the foundation for the tear-jerker moments often found in Pixar movies. Cheesy? Tell me you didn't think the songs from the first movie were even cheesier and I'll know that you're certifiably insane. At least they got someone else to sing this one, and it brought down the house!

Not to mention that if you look back at the original... it's just a standard buddy comedy, made famous by 48 hours. Two people who hate each other are forced to work together to achieve a common goal and along the way find reasons to like each other and eventually become friends. It's not an original premise, but it's quality... and that's what Pixar strives for. They may not always succeed but name 5 other companies that put story-telling before loud music, explosions, and sex? Not easy to do is it?!

I think you're being WAY too picky, as many people have tons of great memories about seeing this movie. It's your right not to like it, but compared to almost every other Hollywood garbage dump they take on us each year Toy Story 2 was one of the good guys, with a good script and quality direction... me thinks you have way too much time on your hands. And good God change your theme song and your cynical hat! This isn't a 1972 variety show! (Now that's being too picky!)

How is he wrong about the direct to video thing. He didn't elaborate as much as you did but he said the exact same thing - that it was almost going to be released as a direct to video sequel at some stage.

Luke... You shouldn't have done this! I've seen the movie as a Child, and I LOVED it! And you let Phillip Call this movie "The Awkward Middle Child of Pixar"?! BULL CRAP!!!! You want an awkward Pixar Movie?! How about Cars? I found the idea of talking cars to be... well, A bit rushed! And The sequel it had was terrible, despite the CGI mastery displayed by Pixar! But Toy Story 2??? COME ON!!!! All three movies had an amazing plot, didn't do Retarded jokes (Unlike MOST Dreamworks 3D Animated movies... Except "How to train a dragon". It was awesome, and "Flushed Away" was mainly made by Aardman, another animation studio that I like.), The pop culture references MIGHT be present, except they are well-placed and not EVERYWHERE (Like The Shrek films), And had memorable characters! Plus, you're ripping on a movie made by an AMAZING 3D movie studio whom, aside from Cars and its sequel, made Cool movies like "A Bug's Life", "Wall-E", "Monsters INC", and even "UP"! Seriously! Just do something that is WORTH tearing apart for Phillip! How about you review ONE of the Shrek Movies, and Compare it to a Toy Story film (Or Any OTHER film made by PIXAR), to see How Pixar does its Job! WAKE UP!!!!! Damn!

CTFD, mon ami. Jeez. He wasn't trying to rip apart Pixar. He was only trying to explain his thoughts and feelings on ONE movie. And even you note that the Cars movies were among the weaker Pixar films. So it's okay to not love and adore every single thing Pixar produces. Really, before Cars, Toy Story 2 was easily the weakest thing they had produced. And that's okay. It's obvious that Luke wouldn't have even bothered talking about this movie if he didn't otherwise enjoy Pixar's films. It's only an "awkward middle child" in comparison with a catalogue of absolutely breathtaking movies (and Cars/Cars 2 would be the...what? The misshapen conjoined twins we keep chained up in the basement?).

Another great review - I agree with a lot of the points made.

Luke, heed not these nay sayers with their low star ratings!

I am so thankful for this review because I finally found someone who feels like I feel about Toy Story 2.

What really hurt me were those cheesy pop culture references.... See, I always sort of imagined Pixar was above all that. That's Dreamworks thing. The thing that makes stuff like Toy Story and Monsters Inc. so genuinely funny is that the humor is timeless and based on THEIR world and the sensibilities you'd imagine came with it, not based on our world.

And ugh, don't get me started on that ending. Seriously?

The fact that Pixar and Disney had a hiccup in their relationship during production of Toy Story 2 REALLY shows, no matter how much of a box office success it was.

At least it's better than Toy Story 3 which was a rehash of 2 in many ways like the other characters (HugALot is just like Prospector) and plotlines (toys that are discarded and find a home somewhere special).

You dropped the ball your choice of film here. It's not a divisive film, it's a well-regarded classic, polling high again and again. Remember the line in Kill Bill II about Hatori Hanzo swords? You don't compare a Pixar film to other Pixar films. You compare it to any other film ever made.

So Cars 2 is on the same level as, say, WALL-E?

I haven't seen Cars 2. However I'm willing to bet money that Cars 2 is not the disaster its rottentomatoes score suggests. People rated it as a failure because they, like you, were probably comparing it unique masterpieces like Wall.E or Ratatouille or Finding Nemo, rather than taking it on its own merits. When "Failure" means "not an instantly beloved, timelessly told jewel of cinema", it's a bit of a joke.

Plus, in the review his compares the film unfavourably to films that came later. Is a filmaker supposed to say "better not make this film, because a similar film might get made eventually, so we'd better save ourselves the embarrassment"? Bullshit. If you have to compare a film to other films to bring it down, your repetoire is limited to films that came before it.

It's not just that he doesn't like a very likable film, or that he cites some of the most famous parts as the worst parts, it's just a poorly written review. Not only do the negative points not make a lot of sense, the "positive" side of the argument is half-hearted and clearly intended to damn with faint praise. If he'd actually put the work in and made it a properly even-handed review I probably would've liked it. But in the video he seems completely oblivious to the film being a celebrated classic (100% on rottentomatoes) and certainly seems blind to the appeal of the film. While criticizing it down with one character he should've celebrated it with the other.

When you're bringing down a film this good, you have to bring your A-game, and he didn't.
To quote Omar: "You come at the king, you best not miss"

I agree with you Luke. It seems to be an unpopular opinion but I thought Toy Story 2 was bland, boring, cheesy and kinda uncomfortable. If you were to ask me to watch the 1st or 3rd films, I'd be more than happy to re-watch them but I've been avoiding Toy Story 2 since I first saw it.

The additions of Jessie and Bullseye were predictably lame. Stinky Pete was just a plain odd villain and he went a little too psycho with his pickaxe for a kids movie. Didn't he try/succeed in ripping off Woody's arm; I know they're toys but that's pretty graphic. And there were other elements you pointed out in the review. I also remember the Jessie's backstory scene as one of the few memorable moments of the film and yeah, it was painful.

I think Toy Story 2 was as entertaining as other films. It was very enjoyable, thrilling, and had heart-wrenching moments. Also, as many pointed out, this was NOT a direct to video sequel. Had it not been for John Lasseter, this movie would have been released directly to video. So technically it's "almost" but you could have elaborated it.

Luke, your negative side has gotten too strong; it dominated this review, barely giving your positive side a chance, and I really don't think that's fair to this movie. Toy Story may be the original, but in my opinion Toy Story 2 was a better-done story, and while I enjoyed Toy Story 3, it was basically a re-hash of 2. The main theme, the villain...it was a well-done re-hash, but still a re-hash.