{"id":10680,"date":"2026-06-17T17:57:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T14:57:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/?p=10680"},"modified":"2026-06-17T21:28:22","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T17:58:22","slug":"why-toy-story-2-is-the-best-toy-story-movie","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/2026\/06\/17\/why-toy-story-2-is-the-best-toy-story-movie\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Toy Story 2 Is The Best Toy Story Movie"},"content":{"rendered":"

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It\u2019s undeniable that Toy Story changed the game \u2013 a quantum leap both in 3D animation, and the sophisticated storytelling and humour that came alongside it. To me, that only makes it more impressive that \u2013 against all the odds \u2013 Toy Story 2<\/em> surpasses it in every way. The possible benefits of a sequel (go bigger! Bolder! Darker!) can also be a trap, but Woody and Buzz\u2019s second adventure makes it look effortless; it\u2019s a perfect expansion of everything people loved about Toy Story<\/em>, while throwing in several iconic elements of its own.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s notable that Toy Story 2<\/em> often references The Empire Strikes Back<\/em>, the ultimate bigger-bolder-darker sequel \u2013 both parodying its biggest twist in the Buzz-vs-Zurg storyline, while capturing exactly what made it surpass the original Star Wars<\/em>. Like Empire<\/em> before it, Toy Story 2<\/em> challenges our heroes deeply, splitting the toys apart as they figure out their future; it introduces new characters who you simply can\u2019t imagine not being a part of the Toy Story<\/em> mythos; and it expands the world significantly, taking these inherently domestic characters far beyond Andy\u2019s neighbourhood.<\/p>\n

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\"Toy<\/div>\n

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As a kid, Toy Story 2<\/em> was the one I went back to most on VHS \u2013 I loved the original, but the second film felt massive<\/em>. That genius opening sequence set inside the Buzz Lightyear video game (expanding the series\u2019 idea of what it means to play<\/em>) was a tantalising tease of the sci-fi spectacles awaiting me in years to come; the runaway-plane finale felt heart-in-mouth exciting; the aisles of Al\u2019s Toy Barn were packed with gags (the Barbie sequence seeds what Greta Gerwig\u2019s outstanding film would be) but also showed how big the world of toys was out there. And, of course, it had Jessie, and Bullseye and the Woody\u2019s Roundup gang.<\/p>\n

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Toy Story 2<\/em> is a prism through which to refract Woody\u2019s past, present, and divergent possible futures.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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You can\u2019t imagine Toy Story<\/em> these days without Woody\u2019s old TV pals; their introduction in Toy Story 2<\/em> is a brilliant move. We\u2019d already seen Woody as the Sheriff of Andy\u2019s toys, a staunch believer in the family of playthings curated by their beloved kid owner. What\u2019s the only thing that could believably shake that notion? A different family that Woody never knew he had \u2013 another gang of which he\u2019s also the figurehead. Jessie and Bullseye open up to Woody a side of himself, an entire history, that he\u2019d never connected with. And they need<\/em> him; the film so convincingly depicts a world in which the ever-dependable Woody might leave Andy behind for something else. He\u2019s more than just a cherished toy; he\u2019s a pop cultural icon, a vintage collectible, the rootin\u2019-est tootin\u2019-est cowboy in the Wild Wild West. Toy Story 2<\/em> is a prism through which to refract Woody\u2019s past, present, and divergent possible futures.<\/p>\n

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\"Toy<\/div>\n

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Toy Story 2<\/em> doesn\u2019t just get under the (plastic) skin of our favourite characters \u2013 it gives us the peak version of them. The original Toy Story<\/em> is spikier than you remember; hinging on that central tension between Woody\u2019s insecurities and Buzz sci-fi delusions. But Toy Story 2<\/em> has the Woody-Buzz dynamic that we really<\/em> love and remember: two best pals who\u2019d do anything for each other. It\u2019s a smart switcheroo on the first film to have Buzz risk it all this time, trying to bring Woody home. His ragtag bunch \u2013 Rex, and Slinky, and Hamm, and Mr. Potato Head \u2013 venturing across town, causing traffic pile-ups and toy shop destruction en route, is the film\u2019s funniest thread.<\/p>\n

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This was the stuff I loved most as a kid. As an adult, the emotional flip-side impresses me most. The notion of obsolescence has always been key to Toy Story<\/em>, and Toy Story 2<\/em> goes much deeper on those fears. Woody is physically ripped in the opening act, reflecting a similar psychological tearing \u2013 missing out on Cowboy Camp with Andy marks the first time he\u2019s truly been left behind, and it won\u2019t be the last. Eventually, Andy will no longer need him. The film really cracks open Toy Story<\/em>\u2019s biggest philosophical debate: what is the purpose of a toy who\u2019s no longer played with?<\/p>\n

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\"Toy<\/div>\n

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It is heartbreakingly \u2013 truly, devastatingly<\/em> \u2013 explored in Jessie\u2019s backstory. Her Andy was \u2018Emily\u2019, a girl who loved ponies and cowgirls. And therefore, Jessie. Until she preferred lipstick and sleepovers, and all the things kids should<\/em> grow into, leaving Jessie forgotten beneath the bed. It is crushing. But there\u2019s no villain in this scenario. It would be weirder if Emily did<\/em> play with Jessie in her teens. Toy Story 2<\/em> doesn\u2019t attempt to solve this \u2013 it provides space for that sadness, for the natural end of things, and lets our heroes wrestle with what\u2019s next. The sequence \u2013 alongside the eerily mesmeric Woody repair scene \u2013 is the film\u2019s crowning glory, desperately bittersweet, soundtracked beautifully by Sarah McLachlan\u2019s heart-stomping ballad \u2018When She Loved Me\u2019.<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s the tightest and funniest of the bunch, with the best versions of these characters.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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This gaping emotional wound is core to the motivations of the film\u2019s ostensible villains \u2013 Al, the Chicken Man of Al\u2019s Toy Barn, an adult toy collector, and Woody\u2019s Roundup prospector Stinky Pete. (As a grown-up with many toys in his office, I hate the thought that I may be Al now. I hope that my Godzilla and Star Wars figures are all friends when I leave the room, and promise that none of them are sealed in their boxes.) Al obliviously denies the toys the thing that gives them purpose \u2013 actually being played with \u2013 while Stinky Pete never got past the fact that he remained unopened. The old prospector makes a compelling argument: Woody will inevitably be forgotten someday, so why not embrace being a museum exhibit?<\/p>\n

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\"Toy<\/div>\n

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Of course, with the arrival of Buzz and co, Woody eventually makes the right choice \u2013 he\u2019ll return to Andy, and take the other Roundup guys with him for a few more years of play. They\u2019ll figure out the rest later. It\u2019s an outcome that justifies the entire rest of the Toy Story<\/em> saga, to the new fifth film and beyond \u2013 these toys, and these films, are there to be played with by multiple generations. They shouldn\u2019t be boxed forever, preserved in amber as idols to be worshipped.<\/p>\n

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While I appreciate Toy Story 3<\/em>\u2019s heavyweight ending, and love every film in the series, Toy Story 2<\/em> will always be my go-to. It\u2019s not just the comfort of a childhood favourite \u2013 it\u2019s the tightest and funniest of the bunch, with the best versions of these characters, all topped off with a \u2018blooper\u2019 reel for the ages. Ride like the wind!<\/p>\n

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Toy Story 2 is streaming on Disney+<\/em><\/p>\n

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Read why the original Toy Story is the best in the series here<\/p>\n

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It\u2019s undeniable that Toy Story changed the game \u2013 a quantum leap both in 3D animation, and the sophisticated storytelling and humour that came alongside it. To me, that only makes it more impressive that \u2013 against all the odds \u2013 Toy Story 2 surpasses it in every way. The possible benefits of a sequel (go bigger! Bolder! Darker!) […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10681,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"Default","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10680","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-47"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10680"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10682,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10680\/revisions\/10682"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10680"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10680"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imdbnews.ir\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}