What it’s about
When greedy toy collector Al McWhiggin (Knight) kidnaps Woody (Hanks), a pull-string cowboy doll who’s unwittingly became a rare commodity, Buzz Lightyear (Allen) and the rest of the toys vow to free him before Andy, their child owner, returns from summer camp. But retrieving Woody from McWhiggin’s pad proves to be quite a harrowing expedition..
Why we love it
Impeccably voice-acted and animated like its Oscar-winning predecessor, this wonderfully clever sequel from Disney/Pixar reunites the original cast — Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney (et al.) — and director John Lasseter, with winning results. Joan Cusack joins the fun as a hollerin' cow girl, Jessie, but TS2's biggest yucks for adults come from the wink-wink homages to blockbusters like “Jurassic Park.” Punchy and genuinely touching, “Toy Story 2” makes you wish all sequels could be so well-conceived.