Sequels that are better than the original, while not common, aren't as hard to come by as the popular consensus would have you believe. Sequels to bonafide masterpieces that inexplicably manage to better what could reasonably be called perfection, however, are; you only really have The Godfather Part II, The Empire Strikes Back and, biggest of all, Toy Story 2. The follow-up to Pixar's breakthrough hit (which, crazily, almost went direct-to-DVD) managed to take everything that worked about the original's concept and characters and explore then further, playing up the story's allegorical nature while also providing a fun examination of more elements of toy culture. The whole story could be seen as a role reversal of the first, with Woody the one choosing an unreal life and Buzz having to convince him otherwise, but, as it's done with full acknowledgement of the previous adventure and motivated by compassion rather than irritation, that only deepens the conflict and emphasises the ultimate realisation, which is simultaneously less up-beat and more jubilant than the original's. The fact that things changes over time was a big part of Toy Story, but here things become much more definite. The universal inevitability of growing up is soberingly raised in When She Loved Me, the heartbreaking song that reveals Jessie's far-from-atypical backstory, but it joins with everything else in the film - Woody's torn arm, Al's obsession over collectors items, even the very believable theory about Andy's mom being Jessie's former owner - to work towards Woody's ultimate acceptance; he finally sees that Andy won't be around forever, but realises it's better to enjoy it "while it lasts".
