Please note, this is an archived story. Please check the date above.

The fantastic plastic is back in Toy Story 2. Award winning animation, heart-warming characters and the incredible magic touch of Pixar Studios has produced a sequel that bucks the straight to video tradition of recent animated films.

Toy Story 2 gets on track right from the start with a wonderful opening sequence featuring the heroically comical Buzz Lightyear. From here it?s one hilarious scene after another in a story that?s more fun than all the real toys you ever had as a child. Along the way we get reacquainted with the likes of Hamm, Slinky (and Slinky?s butt), Mr Potato Head and the hugely popular 3 eyed aliens along with new faces such as Mrs Potato Head, Jessie the Cowgirl and the fearsome Zurg - Buzz Lightyear?s arch enemy!

It?s fair to say that this toy?s outing risks more in the way of plot as it attempts to imbue its jointed heroes with warmth, frailty and vulnerability. For some, the batteries on this Disney-style pitch for our emotional involvement may have run out long ago yet Pixar do have the best intentions and show that they haven?t lost touch with their audience with the characterisations holding more than a few lessons for so-called ?real? actors.

A full range of emotional kicks holds this movie back from no-brainer territory. Real depth is given to the cast through near perfect animation and the vocal talents of Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack, Kelsey Grammer et al. Classic film moments lift the whole experience to a point where hours can be invested in the "is it better than the original" argument.

Technically, Toy Story 2 surpasses any other film of its kind. Quality and technique shine through in a way that pulls at your involvement from every direction. Should you like it for its story, characters or technical achievement? That?s a choice you?ll have to make for yourselves. Should you like it as a film, however - well, that?s a choice I?d be happy to make for you.

Now run along and play.

This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it