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2024 FANON WIKI AWARD NOMINEE! |
| Toys to Life 2 | |
|---|---|
| Directed by |
Owen Laramore Kaitlyn Porras |
| Produced by |
Owen Laramore Kaitlyn Porras Teresa Cheng Chris Jenkins |
| Screenplay by |
Frank E. Flowers Michael J. Wilson |
| Story by |
Owen Laramore Kaitlyn Porras Frank E. Flowers Irene Meechi Tom Owens Michael J. Wilson |
| Starring |
Jimmy Fallon Claire Crosby Jenny Slate Warwick Davis Idina Menzel Catherine O'Hara James Corden Catherine Zeta-Jones Elizabeth Banks Ben Schwartz Awkwafina |
| Music by | John Powell |
| Cinematography | Renato Falcão |
| Edited by | Andy Keir |
| Production company |
HumboldtMation |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | October 6, 2023 |
| Running time | 103 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $90 million |
| Box office | $1.047 billion |
Toys to Life 2 is a 2023 American animated adventure comedy film produced by HumboldtMation, and the sequel to 2019's Toys to Life and the second film in the Toys To Life franchise. The film was directed by Owen Laramore and Kaitlyn Porras in their directorial debuts, and was HumboldMation's first film released after Laramore took over the company. Jimmy Fallon, Claire Crosby, Jenny Slate, Warwick Davis, Idina Menzel, Catherine O'Hara, and James Corden reprise their roles from the first film, with Catherine Zeta-Jones, Elizabeth Banks, Ben Schwartz, and Awkwafina voicing new characters. In the film, Murray Playskool, along with his adopted daughter, RaeLynn, his-soon-to-be-wife Anji, and his friends travel to a fictional version of Toys "R" Us (depicted as a big city of toys) in search of a new lightbulb to fix the Toytown Museum's world-famous attraction, the Lava Lamp of Amusement.
Toys to Life 2 was released theatrically in the United States on October 6, 2023 by Warner Bros. Pictures. The film grossed $1.047 billion worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing Toys To Life film, the second highest-grossing film produced by HumboltMation, the fourth highest-grossing film of 2023, and the second highest-grossing animated film released by Warner Bros. so far. Like its predecessor, Toys to Life 2 received generally positive reviews from critics. Two sequels, Toys To Life 3 and Toys To Life 4, were released on May 21, 2027 and August 3, 2035.
Plot[]
Murray Playskool and his adoptive daughter RaeLynn, now nine years old, have become heroes since saving the Toytown Museum by bringing in the Lava Lamp of Amusement. Murray longs to confess his love to his love interest, Anji, for RaeLynn to have a new mom, much to RaeLynn's interest.
One day, the Lava Lamp of Amusement's lightbulb malfunctions. RaeLynn reveals that she found a replacement lightbulb on the website of a store called "SpotLight" on her phone. Seeing this as a way to save the Toytown Museum, Murray and RaeLynn head to a fictionalized version of Toys "R" Us, depicted as a big city for toys, to find SpotLight, bringing Anji, Ian the lion, Tina the train, Ouch the pillow penguin, and Robone the robot dog along. A cheerful, helpful know-it-all named Smarty Pants directs them onboard a citybus to SpotLight. At SpotLIght, the toys find the right lightbulb, but find that neither toy has the $150 needed to obtain the lightbulb.
They befriend a broke salesman toy named the Sales Guy, who offers $150 for a visit to the multimedia entertainment company VideoToons Industries, led by Besst, the CEO. Murray and Besst agree to an inspiring contract to film a video at Jungle Girl, a jungle-theme dark ride/roller coaster attraction at Toys "R" Us' popular amusement park, WonderWorld, to obtain the $150 needed to purchase the lightbulb. The toys befriend Besst's friend, the lead explorer toy, Claire X. Venable, and film themselves finding enjoyment on the attraction. Once filming is complete and uploaded on the VideoToons website, the video trends all over Toys "R" Us in a matter of time. As Murray becomes a celebrity among the toys of Toys "R" Us, RaeLynn and the other toys spread the word throughout Toy Big City. Besst pays Murray the $150 as promised, and back at SpotLight, he finally purchases the lightbulb.
Murray calls RaeLynn to tell her about the success of the video and tells her pick up the other toys and to meet him at SpotLight. Soon, RaeLynn calls back to Murray after she and the toys didn't see him or Anji, and catches the two going on a date and becomes fearful of becoming an orphan again. Desperate to avert this fate, RaeLynn follows the Sales Guy into the Dark Chamber, where a giant slug toy offers her R, a potion that she is sure could prevent her from becoming an orphan again. As Murray and Anji are riding Jungle Girl together, RaeLynn reluctantly unleashes R by hiding R in a note in a bottle for Murray. However, Murray is disgusted by the smell, and tosses R away, causing R to turn the animatronics into real animals that escape from the zoo in a stampede. Claire leads Murray and Anji to safety, but Murray is caught in the stampede, so RaeLynn rescues him as the other toys watch nervously. After the ride is temporarily shut down, RaeLynn confesses that she caused the potion incident out of fear of being an orphan again. Outraged by this revelation, Murray rejects RaeLynn and leads Anji and the other toys from away from her.
Meanwhile, heartbroken and lonely, RaeLynn discovers that R has targeted her emotional insecurities for a spell that has manifested into dimwitted and emotionally unstable zombie duplicates of her that overrun Toys "R" Us, all while chasing Murray to keep him for themselves. Murray, Anji, and the other toys, who were about to leave Toys "R" Us to return to Toytown, are chased by the zombie clones and hide with Smarty Pants, where the real RaeLynn meets up with them. As Murray's friends try to fend off the zombie clones, Murray and RaeLynn concoct a plan to lure the clones back to the Dark Chamber with the help of Besst, Claire, Sales Guy, and Smarty Pants. However, the plan fails, as the zombie clones subdue the toys and form a giant RaeLynn zombie clone. The giant zombie seizes both Murray and the real RaeLynn, but she finally lets go of her fears and insecurities, causing the zombie clones and R to disintegrate. The stampede of animals also return to their animatronic forms, and Jungle Girl is reopened.
Murray and RaeLynn reconcile, and the toys bid farewell to Claire, Besst, Smarty Pants, and Sales Guy. leave Toys "R" Us, and return to Toytown. Back at the museum, Murray, RaeLynn, Anji, the toys, and the guests finally observe the Lava Lamp of Amusement's newly-fixed light as John's VideoToons celebrity popularity helps keep the museum busy, while Murray and Anji are married, which finally gives RaeLynn a new adoptive mom.
Cast[]
- Jimmy Fallon as Murray Playskool, a blue snowboarder action figure who is a tour guide at the Toytown Museum and now RaeLynn's adoptive father.
- Claire Crosby as RaeLynn, a former orphan who is now Murray's adoptive daughter.
- Jenny Slate as Anji, an angel Christmas ornament and Murray's love interest.
- Warwick Davis as Ian, a smart-talking toy lion and one of Murray's friends.
- Idina Menzel as Tina, a toy train and one of Murray's friends.
- Catherine O'Hara as Ouch, a pillow-sized penguin resembling a dachshund who is one of Murray's friends.
- James Corden as Robone, a British-accented robot dog toy and one of John's friends.
- Elizabeth Banks as Claire X. Venable, the main character of Jungle Girl, an attraction at Toys "R" Us' most popular theme park, Wonder World.
- Catherine Zeta-Jones as Besst, the CEO of VideoToons Industries.
- Awkwafina as Smartypants, a cheerful know-it-all who directs toys in Toys "R" Us to selected destinations.
- Ben Schwartz as Sales Guy, a desperate salesman who can't make a sale.
- Chris Jenkins as The Fishies:
- Yellow
- Red
- Blue
- Green
- Isiah Whitlock Jr. as Slug, an anthropomorphic giant talking helpful-but-pompous snail who resides in the Dark Chamber.
- Woody Allen as Oak, an assistant to Besst.
- Claire's Jungle Girl crew:
- Eugene Lee Yang as Stewart
- Ellie Kemper as Mary
- Beck Bennett as Chad
- Lily Singh as Kath
- Jim Meskimen as Mr. Rutherford, the elderly owner of the Toytown Museum.
- Tara Strong as Saanvi, Mr. Rutherford's son and the museum's janitor who used to want to tear the museum down.
- Brooklynn Prince and Ana Ortiz as Little Spence and Mamo, two Tonka trucks who are mother and daughter.
- Sarah Vowell as Mousey, a 3-inch-tall elephant toy and Little Spence's best friend.
- Warwick Davis as Dr. Mad, a genius inventor.
- Fred Tatasciore as R, an insecurity potion.
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a SpotLight cashier
Release date[]
Toys To Life 2 was released theatrically in the United States on October 6, 2023.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Toys To Life 2 opened in select theaters on October 6, 2023, and grossed $300 million in its opening weekend. The film completed its theatrical run on February 22, 2024, having grossed $407 in North America and $640 million internationally, for a worldwide total of $1.047 billion. Produced on a $90 million budget, the film was a box office success.
Toys To Life 2 was met with a positive reception from film critics. On the website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 81% approval rating based on 213 reviews. The site's consensus reads, "Toys To Life 2 may not be as surprising as the first film, but not even that can hold it back from showing breathtaking animation, consistent humor, and fleshed-out characters". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 70 out of 100 based on 39 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.