I'd definitely consider Toy Story 2 a member of the "Superior Sequels" club, alongside The Empire Strikes Back, Aliens, and Hot Fuzz. It was also one of my favourite films from childhood. It was a rare treat to watch it again twenty years later and find that not only does it still hold up, but does so really well.
Woody is due to go to "Cowboy Camp" with Andy, but accidentally rips his arm during playtime. As a consequence, he's consigned to the top shelf and left behind. He sneaks off to rescue another toy from a yard sale, and ends up getting stolen by a toy collector named Al McWhiggin. After determining that Al is the chicken-suited proprietor of "Al's Toy Barn" from a TV advert, Buzz sets off to rescue Woody, accompanied by Hamm, Rex, Slinky Dog, and Mr Potato Head. Meanwhile, Woody learns that he was a character from a 1950s TV series, and meets several other toys based on characters from the show: Jessie, a cowgirl doll voiced by Joan Cusack; a horse called Bullseye; and Stinky Pete, an unopened prospector doll, voiced by Kelsey Grammar. When he learns that Al intends to sell them to a toy museum in Japan, he's faced with the choice of escape or a legacy.
One of this film's biggest strengths over its predecessor is the emotional depth of the characters. Woody becomes depressed when he's shelved, and has nightmares about Andy throwing him away. Later, he learns that Jessie has abandonment issues after her previous owner outgrew and donated her. It's a poignant montage. It's then revealed that Stinky Pete is resentful over never being played with, and is determined to go to Japan, where he believes he'll get the love and attention he craves. His calculating and methodical nature contrasts with his dim-witted character in the show. It's very similar to Kelsey Grammar's other big role as Sideshow Bob in The Simpsons.
The Lilliputian-style of the toys in the real world continues to provide some truly creative action sequences, such as the toys crossing a busy road disguised as traffic cones, unwittingly causing a pile-up along with some nail-biting tension as Mr Potato Head is forced to extricate his foot from chewing gum, unaware that a large concrete pipe which fell off a truck is heading towards him.
I also think this one has a lot more humour. We once again have the voice talent of John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Jim Varney (in what was one of his last roles), and Don Rickles. They all provided some great snark in the last film, but now they have more time to shine in this one. The funniest part is a fake blooper reel which plays during the credits, which Pixar had previously utilised in A Bug's Life the previous year, and would go on to utilise again in Monsters Inc.
Which...leads me to discuss an elephant in the room. One of the bloopers involved a casting couch joke, in which Woody finds Stinky Pete sweet-talking two Barbies in his box, offering them a role in Toy Story 3. This segment was removed in a Blu-Ray re-release of the film last year, and is also absent from the Disney+ version I just watched. Disney had announced that they removed it in response to the Me Too Movement (and it doesn't help that the film's director, John Lasseter, was fired by Disney over allegations of sexual misconduct). Personally, I'm not in favour of altering films in re-releases, because it risks creating another "Who Shot First" scenario. On top of that, it's like trying to claim it didn't happen. However, I do understand why they did what they felt they had to do, and it's not even part of the main film, so I have no desire to make a major issue of it.
Anyway, I think that wraps it up. But before I go, I'd say that the discussion Woody and Buzz have at the end of the film about the inevitability of Andy outgrowing them is kind of sweet. Spending my quarter-life crisis at university, I find myself relating to it now more than I probably would have when I was a kid.
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