By BO BLAIN
“To infinity and beyond,” shouts Buzz Lightyear as he leaps off the bed, bounces off a kickball, lands on a minuscule pair of skates, rides a loop-to-loop, launches off a jump, clutches onto a remote controlled helicopter attached to the ceiling, executes a couple of spins and gracefully manages to return to the bed (or as Woody called it “falling with style”).
These movies were some of my favorites growing up around the ages of four to seven. Now, they don’t give me the same kind of satisfaction of action and adventure. When I was five years old this movie was like watching “Rambo.” Although I now get bored very rapidly with my short attention span, these will always be some of my most cherished movies of all time.
The original “Toy Story” starts out as any toy movie should: the owner playing with the main focus of the movie - his toys. It’s about toys that come to life when nobody is looking. The leader and Andy’s (the owner of the toys) favorite is Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks). He’s a cowboy with some odd catch phrases he says when his string is pulled. Woody is unaware of the event that would soon alter his cozy life. During Andy’s birthday party, he gets a new space ranger toy named Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) who threatens to take the spot of Andy’s favorite toy. Buzz thinks he is a genuine space ranger and believes he has crash-landed on an alien planet. The problem really begins when Andy and his family go to Pizza Planet which reminded me of Chuck E. Cheeses without the spaceships. Before the family departs, Andy is allowed to bring one toy. Woody knows this and assumes he’ll pick Buzz. So, Woody, who’s getting extremely jealous, plans to send Buzz behind the dresser where he can’t be found. His plan backfires which sends Buzz out the window. The other toys retaliate and heave Woody out the window as well. Woody and Buzz must hang on for the adventure of a lifetime.
“Toy Story 2” poses a similar theme of getting home. This time, Woody is the only one lost. The real problem begins with a yard sale where Woody sets out to save a toy, but in the process he’s stolen faster than a pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving Day by a greedy toy collector named Al. Al only needs Woody to finish a very famous collection of toys called the Roundup Bunch. The rest of the toys back at Andy’s initiate a rescue mission to bring Woody back. It is a pretty uncontrollable journey getting Woody back, but they find he has to make a decision: Does he want to spend a child’s life full of fun with Andy or spend an entire lifetime behind a glass case being admired by kids in Japan?
The 3-D part of the movie did not make a substantial difference to in comparison to the regular version. Some parts were very impressive, but that’s it. I would recommend this movie to ages four through seven or to anyone who wants an enjoyable story to remember.