Toy Story 2: 2-Disc Special Edition

Rating G Formats DVD Genre animated Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammar, Don Rickles, John Ratzenberger and Wayne Knight Directed by John Lasseter Publisher Disney Home Entertainment External Links Official Site

One of the biggest crimes that members of the DVD industry are guilty of is the nearly endless tactic known as "the special edition." Shortly after the release of a bare bones DVD with features that consist of no more than a trailer and maybe a small 5-minute "making of" featurette, a second edition of the DVD, dripping with all of the special extras we hoped for, is released; influencing those who already purchased the original version to run out and buy the same movie again. Disney Home Entertainment is a repeat offender of this crime and the Toy Story 2 2-Disc Special Edition is their latest attempt. Hey, weren't Toy Story and Toy Story 2 the latest films that were "going back to the vault"? Didn't they release the "Toy Box", a set featuring both films plus a third disc loaded with extras? Oh well, Disney is a money machine, we are a bunch of gullible suckers and complaining isn't going to do any good. Is this special edition worth grabbing or is it just another waste of your cash? Let's find out!

Toy Story 2 picks up shortly after its predecessor. Andy and his family have moved into a new home and the toys have seemed to adapt to the new environment rather smoothly. The boy's two favorites, the cowboy hero Woody (Tom Hanks) and the intergalactic hero Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), have smoothed out their differences and have become the best of friends. All is well with Andy's toys until, during a daring yardsale rescue attempt, Woody finds himself in the clutches of Al (Wayne Knight), a greedy and disgusting toy collector. While in Al's apartment, Woody learns that he was once star during TV's "golden age" and is "reunited" with a few old friends, Jessie the yodeling cowgirl (Joan Cusack), Bullseye the trusty horse and the mint and still in the box old Prospector. Woody also learns that the four of them are being sold to a museum in Japan and shall remain behind glass forever. Meanwhile, Buzz and the rest of the toy gang set themselves on a dangerous rescue mission that leads them to leave Andy's home and venture into town. Will the toys beat the race against time and save Woody? Or will Al succeed in selling the Roundup Gang and send them to Far East? Better yet, does Woody want to be rescued? Does he want to embrace his long lost fame and stay with his new friends? So many questions...

Place Toy Story 2 in the category of "sequels that beat out the original". Toy Story handles introducing the characters and letting us get to know them and their unique personalities. With all of that out of the way, Toy Story 2 has enough open space to provide a bold adventure! The most important aspects of an animated feature, along with the visual quality (which is typical top notch work from Pixar), are the pacing and the script. Toy Story 2 is set at a pace that will keep you absolutely glued to the screen from start to finish. The humor provided is clean (minus a few fart jokes), witty and clever. The score provided by Randy Newman sets a playful tone, with the highlight being the Sarah McLachlan song, "When She Loved Me", a song that truly emits the overall message of the film.

Like the original, Toy Story 2 has a stellar cast of voice talents. The returning members, led by Allen and Hanks, are spot-on with their performances. John Ratzenberger and Wallace Shawn, who play Hamm the Piggy Bank and Rex The Green Dinosaur, nearly steal the show with some of the film's more memorable lines and moments! Joan Cusack delivers the type of loud enthusiasm that perfectly fits the wild cowgirl ways of Jessie and Al the Toy Collector is basically an animated version of Newman, the other character that Wayne Knight is known for! Even in animated features, casting is extremely important and Toy Story 2 is picture perfect in this aspect!

As for the special features, alas, some of the great features from the previous boxed set did not make the cut. However, we still got a slew of stuff to go over. The commentary track featuring John Lasseter and several members of the Pixar crew is light-hearted and fun. They don't really comment on the technical aspects but more on the storytelling elements of the film. It's a nice track with some great anecdotes and interesting insight. Disc 2 holds the meat of the features. We get a big behind-the-scenes feature that is divided into each aspect of production, from storyboarding to promotion and advertising. Animation aficionados will want to dive into this one. The outtakes reel is a funny piece that spoofs the outtake reels of other DVDs. The deleted scenes section is somewhat limited but provide some laughs. We also get a few games ("Which Toy Are You") that children may find absolutely fascinating but will provide limited entertainment for adults. Other than the making-of featurettes, most of the features are garnered to the younger audience. Still, they are rather worthwhile.

Toy Story 2 is one of the finest animated films ever. I will go that far and say that. However, unless you don't own the "Toy Box" boxed set, the extra features do not really serve as enough merit to run out and buy another souped-up special edition.