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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
An Interesting Film, with some Good Characters, August 18, 2000
Initially, I had pretty low expectations for this film and expected that it would be a quickly completed low-quality effort released only to maintain the Toy Story cash flow. How many ways can they make money from "To infinity and beyond"? However, since my household includes a three-year-old boy, any new Toy Story item is a mandatory purchase.I am pleasantly surprised how good the film is and how entertaining. My son is watching it repeatedly, and I have watched it three times with him. While the Pixar animators admittedly owe a huge debt to "Star Wars" (as they made explicit in "Toy Story 2"), Buzz Lightyear's story has the making of an interesting series on its own terms. I am looking forward to the next installment. Buzz Lightyear, of course, remains an admirable super-hero as he zealously pursues Evil Emperor Zurg. His inherent "squareness" and single-minded determination to follow the Space Ranger rules are character traits that make him interesting. What I like about the film is the way it shows how even a super-hero can use a little help sometimes. Buzz's partners are eccentric and a bit out of the Space Ranger mainstream; it is nice to see the filmmakers give a nod of approval to eccentricity. The film works as pure entertainment for children, but it also contains good messages about the value of friends, about persevering in the face of obstacles, and about how good always wins in the end. There is nothing subtle about the story or its presentation, but that is part of its charm. Although you will buy this film for your children, the whole family might enjoy watching it. Even so, I sort of dread the new action figures that we might have to buy soon.
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