Verdict: Relax. Woody, Buzz and friends avoid the sophomore jinx expertly, with a new dazzling adventure that works well for kids and grown-ups.

Details: Starring the voices of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Rated G. 1 hour, 33 minutes.

Rate it: Write your own review

Review: There's "The Godfather, Part 2," there's "Addams Family Values" and precious little else.

Now, there's "Toy Story 2." The short list of movie sequels that improve on their antecedents just got a new entry with this holiday present for all ages. As cleverly written and visually startling as the 1995 feature from computer animation expert Pixar, the follow-up improves upon it in so many tangible ways.

Returning director John Lasseter obviously understood that tots would be an easy sell. They would love anything remotely resembling the giddy fun of the original adventures of Andy and his favorite playthings: cowboy Woody, action figure astronaut Buzz Lightyear, plus an overstuffed toy chest of name brand toys. On this level, "Toy Story 2" certainly delivers, with increased visual dimension and a dizzier pace, thanks to the technical advances of the past four years.

The problem was getting adults to buy into another "Toy Story" movie. With the initial surprise element gone, how do you recapture the childlike joy, wonderment and gee whiz that so many moviegoers found so infectious?

Much of the answer is in the solid new story, written by a committee including "Toy Story" Oscar nominee Andrew Stanton and Rita Hsiao, who debuted as a screenwriter on Mulan. The humor and pop cultural references are clearly pitched to grown-ups, evident from the first glimpse of Andy in his Triple R Bar Ranch T-shirt, a nod to Roy Rogers.

Even the central story is downright adult, in a G-rated way, that is. When Woody (voiced again by Tom Hanks) accidentally lands in Andy's mother's garage sale, he attracts the attention of money-grubbing Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight), owner of Al's Toy Barn and hoarder of lucrative collectibles.

It turns out that Woody dolls are a spinoff of a low-tech '50s television show, Woody's Roundup, in which he was a marionette, not unlike Howdy Doody. And if Al can get his hands on such a doll, he can crate him up with his TV sidekicks — spunky cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack) and cantankerous prospector Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) — and ship them to a Japanese museum that will pay anything for the complete set. Kids will enjoy the peril-and-rescue plot, but parents will get the inside jokes and international finance satire.

Sure enough, unscrupulous Al swipes Woody, so a convoy led by Buzz (Tim Allen) with Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex the dinosaur and Hamm the piggy bank leave the safety of home to bring back their cowpoke pal. Picture "Saving Private Woody." The comic highlight of their adventure is a daring crossing of the highway, disguised as traffic cones.

While not a full-fledged musical, "Toy Story 2" takes a couple of opportunities to reprise Randy Newman's "You've Got a Friend in Me" and to moisten our tear ducts with "When She Loved Me," Jessie's ballad about her former owner outgrowing her interest in dolls. Higher-testosteroned tykes may prefer the Star Wars-inspired opening sequence with heavy-breathing, villainous Emperor Zurg. Although seemingly unrelated, this subplot eventually dovetails neatly with the main story and reveals that Woody is not the only toy that has been unaware of his own past.

Instead of the usual bait-and-switch of sequels, virtually all of the voice talents have returned for "Toy Story 2," plus such additions as Annie Potts as a porcelain Bo Peep and Jodi Benson ("The Little Mermaid") as a Barbie doll who catches Mr. Potato Head's eyes, causing him to repeatedly remind himself, "I'm a married spud."

Incredibly, "Toy Story 2" was originally intended to be a direct-to-video quickie. Then some perceptive Disney executive saw its potential and the studio upped its budget and visibility. It is hard to imagine anyone not having his spirits lifted by this movie. And when it gets to video, you'll probably want to see it over again.

— Hap Erstein, Cox News Service