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So Andy (voiced by John Morris) is a kid just like any other who enjoys playing with his favorite toys. But - spoilers! - as soon as he leaves the room, his toys come alive. Our chief character and leader of the pack is Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks), Andy’s favorite toy. Other toys include Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Rex (Wallace Shawn), and Slink (Jim Varney). After Andy’s birthday party (a very delicate affair complete with green army dudes and Playskool walkie-talkies for a stake out) the new toy arrives. Buzz Lightyear of star command (Tim Allen) is pretty new to the toy-verse. He still believes he’s a space ranger (“Right now, poised at the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg has been secretly building a weapon with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet. I alone have information that reveals this weapon’s only weakness.” - Star Wars anybody?) but regardless his mental state, there’s no denying that this toy is slick. He comes complete with a karate chop action arm, wings, glow in the dark capabilities, a laser, and his helmet does that WHOOSH thing. Pretty soon Woody is no longer the bee’s knees amongst his peers and owner. Laser envy! Buzz and Woody’s rivalry takes them on adventures they never could have imagined in their toy dreams, “one minute you’re defending the whole galaxy, and, suddenly, you find yourself sucking down darjeeling with… Marie Antoinette and her little sister.”
Obviously Toy Story broke ground being the first film to be completely created by computer. The animation is new, fresh, and entirely liberating from its 2-D predecessors. I mean, I can't even fathom the amount of work that went into this baby project of John Lasseter and his fantastic team. It's hard for us - most specifically my generation - to recognize how significant Toy Story is. I mean, we've been around for all of Pixar's greats. But when I watched this today, I thought about how Toy Story marked the beginning of a new era for animated movies. And that's pretty cool.
Several other things stand out, though. First of all, Pixar proved that an animated flick (or any flick) doesn’t have to be childish to appeal to kids. I enjoy Disney movies as much as the next person, but never before had an animated movie captured its audiences of ALL ages with a script so sophisticated and witty. “Hey look I’m Picasso!” “Gee, I don’t get it.” “You uncultured swine!” Toy Story marks the first animated movie to ever be nominated for best screenplay and the writing is, indeed, something to be remembered. Even more than the lines, though, is the story and the characters.
It got us to understand what toys are all about. Every child has had a favorite toy at one time or another. And these toys are real. Real enough that they feel, think, and act but their intentions are pure and their loyalty is earnest. Our Sheriff Woody knows that true joy for a toy comes from bringing happiness to their boy Andy. It's almost like the relationship to these charming characters is reciprocal - you can FEEL how much these toys just want to love and be loved. It makes you feel like you're back safe in your childhood. This movie also deals with issues far deeper than your usual happily ever after tale. No one wants to be forgotten or left behind. It steers clear of the traditional animated-musical format but gets those emotions pumping all the same with Randy Newman's perfectly timed soundtrack.
Obviously Toy Story broke ground being the first film to be completely created by computer. The animation is new, fresh, and entirely liberating from its 2-D predecessors. I mean, I can't even fathom the amount of work that went into this baby project of John Lasseter and his fantastic team. It's hard for us - most specifically my generation - to recognize how significant Toy Story is. I mean, we've been around for all of Pixar's greats. But when I watched this today, I thought about how Toy Story marked the beginning of a new era for animated movies. And that's pretty cool.
It got us to understand what toys are all about. Every child has had a favorite toy at one time or another. And these toys are real. Real enough that they feel, think, and act but their intentions are pure and their loyalty is earnest. Our Sheriff Woody knows that true joy for a toy comes from bringing happiness to their boy Andy. It's almost like the relationship to these charming characters is reciprocal - you can FEEL how much these toys just want to love and be loved. It makes you feel like you're back safe in your childhood. This movie also deals with issues far deeper than your usual happily ever after tale. No one wants to be forgotten or left behind. It steers clear of the traditional animated-musical format but gets those emotions pumping all the same with Randy Newman's perfectly timed soundtrack.
All of the characters are timeless and lovable but Buzz particularly stands out as the cocky space toy, er, ranger who falls with style better than anyone I know. His character is so endearing to the audience because of his naiveté and the poignancy that comes when he finally realizes he is just a toy. That scene is just... THE FEELS.
Though it only gets better with Toy Story 2, there’s no denying the original remains one of Pixar’s very best - as well as its most influential. It isn't getting old any time soon. 9/10
Other notes:
John Lasseter won a Special Achievement Award for "For the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film."
Toy Story was also nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Best Music Original Song ("You've Got a Friend in Me"), and for Best Music, Original Music or Comedy Score (Randy Newman).
Ranked #99 in AFI's Top 100 Years... 100 Films list in 2007.
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