Film Review: ''Toy story 2''

ANOTHER summer vacation treat for children that follows the inimitable ``Stuart Little'', ``Toy Story 2'' takes the viewer on a fantasy cruise through the world of toys.

What would happen if toys were endowed with the sentiments, emotions and feelings of humans? With this imaginary fantasticality as the bottom line, writers John Lasseter, Pete Doctor, Ash Brannon and Andrew Stanton have interwoven a tale of toys which children can understand, identify with and enjoy.

Probably the sequences and the screenplay are not as spell binding as the earlier ``Toy Story'' or ``Bug's Life.'' Nevertheless ``Toy Story 2'' provides wholesome entertainment.

Andy, the young boy owns the toys Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Slinky the spring dog, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Hamm the pig, Rex, the 12-inch plastic dinosaur and Wheezy, an adorable toy penguin.

Andy goes to a cowboy camp, leaving his toys behind. Toy collector, Al McWhiggin kidnaps Woody, the hero and do-gooder of the toy gang, and puts him in his toy barn along with the slimy villain Stink Pete, the prospector.

Andy's toys, under the leadership of Buzz Lightyear, get together and march towards McWhiggin's toy barn to get back Woody. The film abounds in thrills, fights, stunts on an aeroplane, a fleeting romance and plenty of action.

The vocal talents of ``Toy Story 2'' deserve kudos. Tom Hanks who has lent his voice for the character of Woody and Tim Allen who takes on the role, or rather the voice, of Buzz Lightyear, have done ample justice, presenting a whole gamut of emotions from comedy to anxiety.

All the voices without exception are so aptly expressive that after a point you conveniently forget that you are watching supposed interactions among the sub-human or inanimate kind. So absorbingly rendered are the voices, and also Randy Newman's background score that is filled with pep and verve.

Whether this sequel to ``Toy Story'' becomes a sensation all over or not, the Pixar Animation Studios film, presented by Walt Disney Pictures and directed by John Lasseter, is surely an entertainer for children.

MALATHI RANGARAJAN

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