Toy Story

By 1995, the world had just been delivered the best films of the “Disney Renaissance” and everyone was still on cloud 9 because of “The Lion King”. What could possible do better than that film? As a little boy, I remember seeing my first television ad for “Toy Story” and I thought it was stop-motion animation. I was familiar with the two main actors but only because of “Forrest Gump” and “Home Improvement”. This film was the beginning of a new chapter in my life but I wouldn’t realize that until years later. As a 12 year old, “Toy Story” was nothing like I had ever seen but I wasn’t just attracted to its technological achievements. It was obviously different story-wise from other animated films of the time. Adults and children are both entertained because the film is relatable. The characters seem almost real, both visually & emotionally, and the story is both original and familiar. The animated films of today owe much of their essence to “Toy Story” and therefore is one of the most important animated films in history. The American Film Institute even rates the film on its list of the top 100 movies of all time.

By 1995, I was beginning to take notice of the names of movie directors as they appeared on the screen. I had already begun to acknowledge actors but now I was becoming aware of the importance of those behind the scenes. John Lasseter was a name that I saw and have never forgotten since. More than half of my top 10 favorite animated films have his name on them and it all began with and includes “Toy Story”. His career is an underdog story in that he was fired from Disney back in the 80’s basically because he was looking too far into the future. It would ironically be like Walt Disney returning to his own studio years after his death only to be rejected. A few years later, the Disney studio began to lure him back to direct a feature film and “Toy Story” was kicked off. As it began to take shape, he and the rest of his creative team were not given all the freedom story-wise that they needed. Once they got it, the rest is history. Just like the story of "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" was a metaphor of Walt Disney's life up to that point, the story of "Toy Story" is a metaphor of Lasseter's career. Lasseter is represented by Woody and things were going great for Lasseter as an animator at Disney at first. Then he was fired and that can be likened unto Woody being replaced. Just as Woody has to work hard to get home, Lasseter had to work hard in a field that few people were daring enough to venture into: computer animation. Woody ends up becoming friends with the very person who replaced him and both Woody & Buzz become Andy's favorite toys. Lasseter united with Disney to create this movie and he later became one of the creative heads at Disney, overseeing every animated film made by Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Animation Studios. Buzz can be likened unto Disney animation in the 80's in that they were unwilling at that time to face reality and change. By the early 90's however they were understanding how to excel. The visual impact of the opening of "Toy Story" was big for me as a child and I still feel it today. When I was in university, my teacher showed us the opening in one class to illustrate its sheer impact in the history of animation. Whenever I watch the film, I expect it to look primitive when compared with today’s media. It does in some ways but I am still surprised by the realism of the first full-length computer animated film. The sets and the human characters are now ancient when compared to those found in films today but our main characters continue to feel state of the art. In my opinion, if the main characters were designed with what today’s technology has to offer, they would still come out looking the same. Also, there are parts of the film that still look real to me like the reflection in Sid’s spoon. Other critics have likened “Toy Story” unto “Snow White” and I feel that “Toy Story” is suffering the same fate as that classic film. Both films are still critically praised but the public feels that they have outgrown “Snow White”. It is a baby’s movie in the eyes of the general population and I can sense similar feelings with “Toy Story”. I, for one, praise “Snow White” and I would hope that “Toy Story” never becomes something childish.

These characters are now world famous and for good reason. Woody is another everyman role of Tom Hanks. He is a leader and is good at his job. The character started out as mean spirited and sarcastic but thanks to the people at Pixar and Tom Hanks, he became less sour. Hanks’ successful performance as Woody can be likened unto his work as Jimmy Dugan in “A League of Their Own”. The two characters that Hanks plays are jerks but we like them anyway. The filmmakers let Tom Hanks’ appeal take center stage when it came to Woody’s character and this made Woody less of a jerk and more like an everyman. Instead of having major personality problems, Woody has minor ones and that makes him very likeable. We can relate to Woody the most. He is secretly afraid of loss and the way he deals with it is by helping the other toys deal with the same fear. He doesn’t however admit his own fear in order to maintain his status as the leader. This secret fear is revealed to the audience by his sigh of relief when the “last” present is opened. Buzz provides a lot of humor in the first half of the film because of his deluded nature. Tim Allen was not the first choice for the part of Buzz but I am so glad he ended up with that role. He brought the humor needed for the character but created a less stereotypical space hero. Buzz became less like Dudley Do-right and more like a police officer. I love the line: "I don't believe that man has ever been to medical school." Once he becomes aware of his identity crisis, we sympathize with Buzz. We want his positive and heroic nature back. Both main characters are relatable because adults and children both experience competition from others in their lives and we become depressed when our future seems hopeless. The movie is filled with such a great supporting cast. I like how the filmmakers looked at a toy’s appearance and then figured out what that toy would be like if it came to life. This is how actors like Don Rickles and John Ratzenberger were cast and “Toy Story” was the film that introduced me to them as well as to Wallace Shawn and Erik Von Detten. I already knew who Annie Potts was from the "Ghostbusters" franchise. The characters in “Toy Story” helped to create the originality that the story needed.

As mentioned, once the filmmakers attained more creative freedom they produced a special story that became the first screenplay from an animated film to be nominated for an Oscar. The story is not completely original because it is a buddy picture and it is the classic story archetype of trying to get home. Because we are dealing with toys that come to life, the story feels fresh. The "moving buddy" portion of the staff meeting informs the audience that moving is dangerous for toys because they could be left behind. Woody seems like the most unlikely toy to be forgotten but ironically, he is the one that becomes lost. It isn’t until he gets his own moving buddy that he finds his way back to Andy. In trying to preserve his perfect life, Woody ends up almost losing it. This is seen in many movies such as in “Revenge of the Sith” with Anakin. Both Woody and Buzz have problems and overcome them together. Firstly, it is almost as if Woody has been selfish his whole life. As indicated, he helps Andy’s toys deal with the fear of being replaced only because it is how he deals with his fear and because he is doing his job as leader of the toys. He wants to stay Andy’s favorite. When he tries to help Buzz overcome his depression, he suddenly realizes that he has just thought of someone else over himself. He is honestly concerned for both Andy and Buzz. He then, for the first time, admits his fear and funny enough; he does this with the very person that threatens his way of life. Buzz realizes what Woody values so much in life and how much it means to him. He understands that making a child happy is so much more meaningful than protecting a whole galaxy. Even though Buzz has a new purpose, he still is the same guy in many ways with honor and heroics. He knows that Andy will be truly happy with both of them and he can’t just abandon the toy that helped him and who is in emotional trouble himself. Because Buzz didn’t desert Woody, Woody wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t save Buzz from Sid. Both characters make each other better people. Woody is now loyal & unselfish and Buzz has come to realize the joy that comes from “caring” for one little boy. They continue to help each other as they try to make it to the moving van during the climax. I like the Binford toolbox by the way in Sid's room.

"Toy Story" won a Special Achievement Oscar and was also nominated for Best Score and Song. The score is Randy Newman’s best work in my view as is “You’ve Got a Friend in Me”. This film is my second favorite animated movie of all time, being surpassed only by one of its successors in the franchise. The movie in my opinion is also the best movie from 1995 and that year saw the release of many iconic movies. Many of the filmmakers who created this show stayed at Pixar, creating some of the greatest computer animated movies of all time. Others, such as co-screenwriter Joss Whedon, found success elsewhere. “Toy Story” introduced adult wit into family movies (please note that this is different from adult humour) This family story innovation was so successful that other animation companies have focused mostly on wittiness and adult comedy in their films. Pixar however knew the true secret to the success of “Toy Story”: there is a balance between humor and heart that is the difference between a good film and great film. Another important element in filmmaking is being emotionally invested in your work. Your own heart and soul can come across in the final product as well as the fun you have at your job. Such is the case with any Pixar film. An entire family audience can’t collectively connect with grown up humor or with technology but they can identify with traditional stories, values and characters. Lasseter has said “the art challenges technology. Technology inspires the art”. This film looks amazing because the computer scientists at Pixar were motivated by the story. In return, the possibilities in the computer induced story ideas. Also when you forget the voices behind the characters, acting success is achieved and both Tom Hanks & Tim Allen accomplished this. Many studios, including DreamWorks, think that an all star cast will yield a blockbuster animated film. This movie and "The Lion King" helped fuel this theory. The next decade would prove that it doesn't always work. Many people forget however that Hanks and Allen were not necessarily superstars when they were recording their lines. Tom Hanks only had one Oscar and Tim Allen's "Home Improvement" was only in its first few seasons. As "Toy Story" approached release, their fame had grown since the time they recorded their voices for the film. As mentioned, the actors were cast to play characters; the characters were not created for the actors. “Toy Story” took family films and even the comedy genre “to infinity and beyond” but in terms of both Toy Story and the Pixar Universe, things were just getting started.

5 Stars out of 5