31 Years Later, The Best Toy Story Movie Should Be Obvious

Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Toy Story 5 (2026)The Toy Story franchise has been remarkably consistent since Pixar’s first film back in 1995. Every chapter has earned major critical and commercial acclaim. While that might make choosing the very best Toy Story movie difficult for others, I’m confident in my choice, especially after the release of the brand-new Toy Story 5.

The original Toy Story will always be a beloved classic, and Toy Story 3 still has one of the most emotional endings of any Pixar movie ever. Toy Story 4 gave Woody a new status quo, and the new Toy Story 5’s solid message about the role of tech in children’s lives was far more nuanced and entertaining than I was anticipating. However, I have long attested that Toy Story 2 is the very best movie in the entire franchise, and I think my case has only become stronger.

27 years later, I keep coming back to Toy Story 2. Having done a recent rewatch ahead of Toy Story 5, the second Toy Story movie not only holds up, but has arguably become more relevant than ever as well.

Why Toy Story 2 Has One Of The Highest Rotten Tomatoes Scores

It’s almost unheard of for an entire franchise to maintain such massive critical acclaim across multiple films over 30 years, and yet we somehow have Toy Story. When looking at their Rotten Tomatoes scores, every movie in the original Pixar franchise has earned a 90% critics’ score or higher (including connected animated shorts). However, the only two Toy Story entries to have earned a perfect 100% score are the first and second movies. When it comes to sequels, it’s a pretty amazing accomplishment considering how difficult it typically is to live up to the original.

Rather than repeating more of the same, Toy Story 2 was a major expansion of the franchise’s world. New characters were introduced, major dangers in the form of a sinister toy collector who kidnaps Woody, and an opportunity for Buzz Lightyear to remind Woody about his purpose, even in the face of change and the inevitability of time as kids get older.

Like all the best Pixar movies, Toy Story 2 went far beyond what was expected for a children’s movie. The movie also dove into the surrounding lore of both Woody and Buzz and what made them such iconic toys in the first place (the Woody’s Roundup show and Buzz’s sci-fi roots with a rival Buzz Lightyear and Emperor Zurg).

To put it plainly, Toy Story 2 is so good for its excellent execution, having done a remarkable job building upon everything the original movie established while telling an even richer and more dynamic story overall.

So Much Of Toy Story 5 Continues Arcs From Toy Story 2

Jessie and Woody in Toy Story 2 Sad — Sad Jessie and Woody talk in Toy Story 2

Most recently, one of the strongest arguments for Toy Story 2’s importance is how much the new Toy Story 5 builds on its best concepts. First and foremost, Jessie’s story is the emotional cornerstone of Toy Story 5, which naturally began in Toy Story 2. Not only do we get some incredibly satisfying payoff for Jessie’s tragic parting from her original owner (Emily), but we also see Jessie becoming a central figure as a result, 27 years after she was first introduced in the first Toy Story sequel.

Likewise, Toy Story 5 expands on very similar ideas first introduced in Toy Story 5, like the concept of inevitable change (in this case, grappling with the growing emergence of tech).

Additionally, Buzz Lightyear owes much of his ongoing story to Toy Story 2. After all, the sequel gave Emperor Zurg his first on-screen debut, revealing that Buzz’s fictional universe wasn’t that far off from Star Wars, hence the hilarious parody of The Empire Strikes Back, with Zurg revealing himself to be Buzz’s father, and Toy Story 5 plays off the same joke in the new Pixar movie.

Toy Story 5 also features a whole army of brand-new hi-tech Buzz Lightyears, not unlike the entire aisle of new Buzz Lightyears in Al’s Toy Barn still in the box, as well as the rival Utility Belt Buzz, who still thought he was a genuine space ranger (just like the new Buzz army).

All things considered, so many of Toy Story 5’s best moments have origins dating back to Toy Story 2, proving just how influential the movie was on the whole franchise.

Few Pixar Movies Have Cooler (Or Scarier) Scenes In Their First 12 Minutes

Buzz Lightyear flying through space in Toy Story 2

On a personal level, it’s also worth mentioning that even before its emotional story begins, Toy Story 2 delivers one of Pixar’s greatest opening acts.

Right off the bat, the movie initially convinces audiences they’re watching Buzz Lightyear’s latest heroic adventure, battling evil robots and facing Emperor Zurg in his secret lair, only for Buzz to be vaporized with the reveal that it’s just Rex playing a Buzz Lightyear video game. Nevertheless, it absolutely stood out as one of the most epic sci-fi action sequences I’d ever seen in an animated movie during my childhood, especially at the time, as a four-year-old. The entire sequence is easily one of the most epic animated movie fakeouts of all time.

We then see Woody reeling after a rip in his arm sees him being left at home instead of going to cowboy camp with Andy. We then get another fakeout where Andy throws Woody in a trash can for being broken, speaking in an unsettling monotone as he says goodbye to a panicking and horrified Woody as various toy limbs drag him down, only for the sheriff to wake up from his nightmare. Again, definitely one of the scariest movie scenes I’d ever seen at the time, being four years old.

Likewise, what’s truly remarkable about these great scenes is that they both happen within Toy Story 2’s first 12 minutes. The opening video game sequence made Buzz look cooler than ever, while Woody’s nightmare was genuinely terrifying in a way I don’t think I’d ever quite experienced from an animated movie before.

It’s that contrast that perfectly captures why Toy Story 2 remains so special. It truly does balance adventure, comedy, suspense, and genuine, mature storytelling. At least in my mind, it’s no wonder why its influence can still be felt 27 years later in Toy Story 5.

Toy Story 5 is now playing in theaters from Disney and Pixar Studios.