Pixar Studios' kid-at-heart, computer animation visionary John Lasseter has returned with a new toy box adventure even more inventive, witty and astoundingly rendered than the groundbreaking, delightful, original Toy Story. Both a genuinely emotional parable about outgrowing childhood and a screwball rescue mission, TS2 kicks into gear after cowboy doll Woody (voice of Tom Hanks)--who, it turns out, is a collector's item--is stolen by a greedy toy aficionado for his private museum. Cocksure space hero action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) rallies a band of toys to retrieve his good buddy. Easily the best animated sequel ever, jam-packed with perceptive humor and sight gag homages to old westerns, Star Wars, early Pixar shorts and an especially side-splitting Jurassic Park spoof, this all-ages winner also includes the voices of Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, and Wallace Shawn. Highly recommended. (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—Jan. 10, 2006—Buena Vista, 92 min., G, $29.99—Making its third appearance on DVD, 1999's Toy Story 2 (2-Disc Special Edition) looks stunning on this release featuring Dolby Digital 5.1 EX or DTS 5.1 ES surround sound options. DVD extras include an intro by writer/director John Lasseter (2 min.), an audio commentary (by Lasseter and filmmakers Lee Unkrich, Ash Brannon, and Andrew Stanton), an 18-minute production featurette (18 min.), character galleries (12 min.), a nine-minute “making-of” featurette, a publicity section with posters and character interviews (9 min.), a storyboard pitch and storyboard-to-film comparison (7 min.), “3D-Turnarounds” (6 min.), set galleries (6 min.), a “3D-Tour” (6 min.), outtakes (6 min.), a designing sound featurette (6 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), a featurette about coloring and shading the film (5 min.), a music section with a featurette on creating the songs (4 min.), “Who's the Coolest Toy?” (4 min.), a cast of characters featurette (4 min), “Riders in the Sky Music Medley” (3 min.), a “John Lasseter Profile” (3 min.), “Jessie's Song” demo featuring composer Randy Newman (3 min.), the “Woody's Roundup” video (2 min.), a brief autographed pictures montage, the “Which Toy Are You?” and “Ponkikies” (rock, paper, scissors) DVD games, and trailers. Bottom line: an extras-laden release of a contemporary animated classic that never looked better.][Blu-ray Review—Mar. 30, 2010—Walt Disney, 92 min., G, Blu-ray: $39.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1999's Toy Story 2 sports a stunning transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Blu-ray extras carried over from the previous DVD release include an intro by writer-director John Lasseter (2 min.), audio commentary (by Lasseter and filmmakers Lee Unkrich, Ash Brannon, and Andrew Stanton), a design section with character and set galleries and “3D-Turnabouts” (37 min.), a production featurette (18 min.), a music and sound section with a featurette and music videos for “Woody's Roundup” and “Jessie's Song” (14 min.), a publicity section with a “making-of” featurette (8 min.), character interviews (9 min.), storyboards (8 min.), outtakes (6 min.), deleted scenes (5 min.), “Who's the Coolest Toy?” (4 min.), a John Lasseter profile (3 min.), a “Cast of Characters” featurette (3 min.), a “Riders in the Sky Music Medley” (3 min.), a brief autographed picture gallery, the “Which Toy Are You?” and “Ponkikies” (rock, paper, scissors) games, and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are a “Celebrating Our Friend Joe Ranft” memorial on the late animator and story supervisor (13 min.), three animated “Studio Stories” (7 min.), a “Paths to Pixar: Technical Artists” featurette (5 min.), a Toy Story 3 sneak peek (4 min.), “Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: International Space Station” (4 min.), a featurette on the “making-of” Pixar's Zoetrope exhibition (2 min.), a bonus DVD copy of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a sterling Blu-ray debut for a contemporary animated classic.]
Toy Story 2
Walt Disney, 92 min., G, VHS: $26.99, DVD: $39.99 (2-pack w/<i>Toy Story</i>) Vol. 15, Issue 5
Toy Story 2
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