Wow, definitely a good improvement over #1! That snail shell was just too cool to kick around. I would absolutely love to see some kind of puzzles from kicking things like that around. Maybe roll it up a hill to aim at a button? Anyway, that first level is a vast improvement graphic-wise over any of the first game's levels. Keep going and make this one of the best flash games ever!
Oh, and I also thought that perhaps changing his pants color like in the last game can do something more than just looks this time? I'm thinking colored platforms that you can only step on/activate if his pants are the same color, among other things, possibly.