Here’s our review of Toy Story 2! There’s a wild & crazy backstory, the 22 Rules of Storytelling illuminates some bests & worsts, & we debate how effective Sarah McLachlan music is on our collective psyche.

What is a Pixar Re-Watch Episode? - 1:38

NON-SPOILER SECTION

Cast and Crew - 2:40

How Pixar Got Here - 5:09

Production Nuggets - 17:51

Movie Specs - 19:10

Plot Premises/Expectations - 24:22

Production Values: 26:08

Performances - 31:17

Spoiler Warning - 33:25

SPOILER-FILLED SECTION

Pixar’s 22 Rules of Screenwriting No. 16 - 34:28

Issues and Lowlights 1.0 - 39:45

Scenes of Heartbreak + Heart Warming- 41:20

Happy Pills + Highlights - 43:57

Issues and Lowlights 2.0 - 46:51

Issues and Lowlights, Grand Finale - 50:53

Final Thoughts - 55:53

Our Socials/Your Homework - 59:57

What’s Next/Words of Wisdom - 1:00:35

We Mikes continue to burn the candle at both ends amidst these two re-watches. Yes, we’re nearing the end of our Pixar Series Re-watch. Yes, we just started our Tarantino films playlist as well. But it’s been tough on our schedules, our brains, & certainly, on our free time to watch TV, etc. It’s been so worth it.

These are terrific films chuck full of great storytelling & filmmaking lessons, hilarious jokes, and shocking backstories. This episode on Toy Story 2 seems to include all those things. So us two (too) tired Mikes have a goofy, banter filled blast of nonsense chatting about the sequel to the film that started it all.

As usual, we do a full non-spoiler section before we break down the plot in spoilers. This time, we have a History of Pixar segment that goes deep into the both the production and the big business that is Disney and Pixar’s partnership. We go back in time in the series to discuss how far they’ve come in their animation innovations, but it’s definitely a palette cleanser in how we analyze some of the fundamentals. Then we break down some broader issues and triumphs of the film in its cast construction and it’s accelerated screenwriting both before and after our spoiler warning.

Finally, once we dive into spoiler territory, we have another fitting Rule of Pixar Storytelling to analyze, and we shout out some strong youtube coverage of the writing process. Then we discuss the heartbreaks & happiness moments, paying special attention to the effect of Sarah McLachlan music 20 years after its heyday. To round things out, we also recite a Ted Talk Andrew Stanton joke to encapsulate what the episode and the Toy Story 2 creation process seemed like to us from the outside looking into the frey.

It’s another joyous re-watch episode in this Pixar Series, and as always, we want to know what you think. Do we rate this movie highly enough? We did enjoy it, but is it that masterpiece & that rare sequel better than the original? Let us know your thoughts. We’re at MMandOscar on Twitter, and we are on Instagram, Facebook, Reddit, and Gmail. You can subscribe / rate / review / like / share / & listen to us on iTunes, Soundcloud, Stitcher, Google Play, Tune In, Spotify, and just about wherever you listen to podcasts. When reality sucks, keep watching movies with us. We’re Mike, Mike, & Oscar!