Movie Review - Toy Story 1 and 2 Double Feature in 3D (1995/1999)

Featuring the voice talent of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack
Directed by John Lasseter

First things first...there's really no reason for these two films to be re-released in this 3D format. It doesn't appear that anything additional has been done to these films to give them a 3D effect. Sure, there's depth, but that's about it. The two flicks absolutely look good in digital, but there's nothing new here. That being said, for the price of a 3D upgraded ticket, you get to see two good films. Do you need to see them on the big screen? I don't know. There's nothing that really screams "you've got to see this again at a theater." Still, two decent films here, with one significantly better than the other.

I'm not gonna delve into plot summaries because everyone's seen these two movies already, I'm sure. Let's just jump into my thoughts.

The first flick was a landmark film -- the first full-length computer animated feature. For me, the unfortunate thing is that after a stellar 45 minutes that manges to whiz right by, the film falls flat when Buzz and Woody get stolen by mean kid Sid. The last 30 minutes or so feel drawn out for suspense and there really isn't all that much suspense to be had. It's disappointing because the character development here is superb all around. The filmmakers manage to make all the characters (with the exception of the one-note Sid) resonate with the audience. It should be said that the film looks good, too...it was an easy choice, I guess, for the computer animators at Pixar to choose to animate plastic things first and you can certainly see the advancements they've made over nearly fifteen years from this to Wall*E and Up. That being said, the film still looks darn good.

Where Toy Story fails a bit in the story department, Toy Story 2 succeeds greatly. Thanks to the addition of Jessie the Yodelin' Cowgirl (voiced wonderfully by Joan Cusack), the folks at Pixar manage to do a rare thing in Hollywood -- make a sequel that surpasses the original. Because of Jessie, the film contains one of my favorite scenes ever in movies. As Jessie remembers her past of being loved by her owner and then being discarded as she grew older, we are treated to a beautiful visual montage set to the heartbreaking song "When Somebody Loved Me" sung by Sarah McLachlan. Chills...just chills...There is something about that scene that gets to me every single time I watch this movie. I love it. I just love it.

The sequel works a little better in part because we don't have the obligatory set-up introduction of the characters. We're able to jump right into the story. It also helps that the story -- a toy collector "abducts" Woody and wants to ship him off to Japan to be part of a toy collection at a museum -- works much better than the Sid-centric storyline in the original.

I will say that going into this, I thought that Toy Story 2 had a place in my Top Ten Movies of All Time (which I still haven't crafted), but I don't think it will go there anymore. Top 25, maybe, but it just didn't hold up quite as well as I remembered. Still, it's a stellar movie (as evidenced by the rating below).

The RyMickey Rating for Toy Story: B-/C+
The RyMickey Rating for Toy Story 2: A-