A further string of mishaps, mainly involving Woody's attempts to save the dusty bird from a yard sale in a brilliant rescue sequence, see him landing in the clutches of toy collector Al (of Al's Toy Barn fame), and finding out facts about his past life, involving a crap 50s black-and-white telly show, a bunch of new characters - cowgirl doll Jessie, boxed gold prospector Stinky Pete and mute pony Bullseye - and one of the biggest merchandising opportunities since, well, Toy Story. Until, that is, Woody is incapacitated in a playroom accident and left on a neglected top shelf, along with a broken penguin, for repair. This time around it's the summer after the original movie and Andy is heading off to cowboy camp, Woody in tow. In the States it zoomed its way to $150 million in just four weeks, kicking off with a not-to-be-sniffed-at $80 million opening weekend - proof, then, that this sort of thing may well come with a built-in audience, but at the same time, a little quality and thought goes a very long way. And right they are, for Toy Story 2, while lacking the immediacy of its predecessor and taking just a little too long to switch into high gear, is a highly superior sequel. Originally envisioned, however, as one of the straight-to-video efforts that have proven so successful for Disney (to wit: Aladdin follow-up The Return Of Jafar, and The Lion King sequel Simba's Pride), the folks at Pixar sensibly decided this film was worthy of a big screen outing first. Having made such a remarkable impact on the world of animation, swapping sentiment and dodgily-etched 2-D stereotypes for something distinctly more multi-dimensional - while creating the same sort of real-life demand for its screen playthings that it portrayed in the movie - it was inevitable that a sequel to Toy Story would appear at some point.

Toy story 2 woody