Inspired not only by the success of the first film, but by how much children adored Woody, Buzz and co., Pixar were keen to expand upon their newly created world. Even keener were Disney; following the early sucesses of the cash-in sequels Disney were very interested in doing the same with Pixar's baby. They didn't reckon for two things - that Pixar would produce something not only up to the calibre of the original, but better and, more importantly, that CGI films cost a lot more than traditional cell-animations. It soon became apparent the only way to do Toy Story 2 justice (commercially and critically) was to go all in and put it in cinemas. With a tight release schedule and a pioneering studio making things up as they went along, this was a pretty troubled production, with issues ranging from tight, distributor imposed deadlines to almost accidentally losing a good chunk of the film. In the end, the Toy Story 2 that was released bore none of the cheapness of a traditional straight-to-VHS sequel; broader in scope and packing a bigger emotional punch, it betters the original. A similar problem would occur with Toy Story 3; Circle 7 Animation, a company set up by Disney purely to sequelise Pixar films, had an early stab at the threequel with a story of Buzz Lightyear being recalled. The idea was scrapped and the studio shut down when Pixar founder John Lasseter took over Disney Animation. Here's hoping Toy Story 4 doesn't start life like that too. Which direct-to-DVD films do you think should have got a cinema release? Let us know in the comments below.
