Toy Story 2

This article is about the 1999 film. For the video game based on the film, see Toy Story 2: Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue. For the soundtrack, see Toy Story 2 (soundtrack). For the Game Boy Color set, see Toy Story 2 (video game).

Toy Story 2
The poster features Woody making a V sign with his fingers behind Buzz Lightyear's head. Above them is the film's title below the names of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Below is shown "The toys are back!" in all capitals above the production details.
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJohn Lasseter
Screenplay by
Story by
Produced by
  • Helene Plotkin
  • Karen Robert Jackson
Starring
CinematographySharon Calahan
Edited by
Music byRandy Newman
Production
company
Distributed byBuena Vista Pictures Distribution[a]
Release dates
  • November 13, 1999 (1999-11-13) (El Capitan Theatre)[1]
  • November 24, 1999 (1999-11-24) (United States)
Running time
92 minutes[2]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$90 million[3]
Box office$511.4 million[4][3]

Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures.[5] It is the sequel to Toy Story (1995) and the second installment in the Toy Story franchise. The film was directed by John Lasseter, co-directed by Ash Brannon and Lee Unkrich (in their feature directorial debuts), and produced by Helene Plotkin and Karen Robert Jackson, from a screenplay written by Andrew Stanton, Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin, and Chris Webb, and a story conceived by Lasseter, Stanton, Brannon, and Pete Docter. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf and Jeff Pidgeon reprise their roles from the first Toy Story film. In the film, Woody is stolen by a greedy toy collector, prompting Buzz Lightyear and his friends to save him, but Woody is then tempted by the idea of immortality in a museum.

Disney initially envisioned Toy Story 2 as a direct-to-video sequel. The film began production in a building separated from Pixar, on a small scale, as most of the main Pixar staff were busy working on A Bug's Life (1998). When story reels proved promising, Disney upgraded the film to a theatrical release, but Pixar was unhappy with the film's quality. Lasseter and the story team redeveloped the entire plot in one weekend. Although most Pixar features take years to develop, the established release date could not be moved and the production schedule for Toy Story 2 was compressed into nine months.[6][7]

Despite production struggles, Toy Story 2 debuted on November 24, 1999, to a successful box office run, eventually grossing over $511 million. It received widespread critical acclaim from critics and audiences, with a 100% rating on the website Rotten Tomatoes, like its predecessor.[8] It is considered by critics to be one of the few sequel films superior to the original[9] and is frequently featured on lists of the greatest animated films ever made. Toy Story 2 would go on to become the third-highest-grossing film of 1999, behind Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and The Sixth Sense.[10] Among its accolades, the film won Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy at the 57th Golden Globe Awards. The film has seen multiple home media releases and a theatrical 3-D re-release in 2009 as part of a double feature with the first film, 10 years after its initial release. A second sequel, Toy Story 3, was released in 2010, and a third sequel, Toy Story 4, was released in 2019.


Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference EWTS2Premiere was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Toy Story 2". The New York Times. November 24, 1999. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 21, 2018.
  3. ^ a b "Toy Story 2 (1999)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on May 4, 2012. Retrieved August 20, 2016.
  4. ^ "Toy Story 2 (1999) - Financial Information". The Numbers.
  5. ^ "Toy Story 2". Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta: Turner Broadcasting System (Time Warner). Archived from the original on June 13, 2018. Retrieved July 10, 2017.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference PixarTouch07 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference iwerks was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Toy Story 2", Rotten Tomatoes, Fandango, archived from the original on June 1, 2017, retrieved July 8, 2022 Edit this at Wikidata
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference PixarTouch12 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "10 Things You Probably Didn't Know About Toy Story 2". Screen Rant. August 6, 2019.