 |
| Disney/Pixar |
Well seeing that we are less than two weeks until Toy Story 4 premieres, I thought it would be fun to do a review/retrospective of one of my favorite animated film series of all time, Toy Story. This is a film series that has a rare achievement in cinema to where a film series got better and better with each entry. It’s been a franchise that has literally been with me since my childhood and has grown with me through each film. Even though I thought Toy Story 3 had a great ending that could finish the series, I am up for seeing Toy Story 4 as I love watching these characters and love how they evolve in each film. It’s been a franchise that has spanned 24 years of my life and I hope to review the films as best as I can, with that said, let’s start with the film that single-handedly started the era of computer-animated films, Toy Story.
Back in the late 90’s, I was very restricted on what films I could watch as a kid, my Mom would always make sure that I knew where the kid films were and the films that she always kept or recorded on TV for me to watch were Disney films of new and old. We had some of the classic films; Snow White, Cinderella, Bambi, The Aristocats, Peter Pan, Old Yeller, and Fantasia. We also had most of the Disney Renaissance films; The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Hercules. But there was one Disney film that I watched the most, one that I had no clue was the first computer-animated feature film ever made, and one that Disney distributed with the film being developed by a computer-animated film studio known as Pixar. That film was Toy Story. This film introduced me to two great characters, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, and unknowingly introduced me to two great actors, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. The impact this film had me is one that I can remember by heart, and it’s one that I remember either by watching with babysitters or by playing the Sega Genesis game. This film was a huge game-changer for the film industry and after that, major film studios would come along to try and top Pixar such as DreamWorks, and even Disney themselves. It was that impactful, but what made it so impactful? In my opinion, this film had some of the best writing, dialogue, and characters that only a very dedicated group of filmmakers can develop. With all that out of the way, let me briefly explain the story for those few people who haven’t seen it.
Toy Story takes place in a world where toys come to life when people are not around and, in the story, we focus on a group of toys owned a kid named Andy. Andy is a kid with a wild imagination and loves to create all kinds of pretend stories by using his toys such as a Mr. Potato Head (Voiced by the late Don Rickles), a green T-Rex named Rex (Voiced by Wallace Shawn), a piggy bank named Hamm (voiced by John Ratzenburger), a porelain figurine named Bo Peep (Voiced by Annie Potts), a dog shaped slinky named Slinky Dog (Voiced by the late Jim Varney), and cowboy doll named Woody (Voiced by Tom Hanks). Woody is Andy’s favorite toy and is considered the leader as he coordinates the toys’ safety and times where they can move around when Andy is not present. On what seems to be a normal morning of playtime, Woody finds out that Andy is having his birthday party early as the family is about to move into a new house in about a week. Birthdays are very nerve-racking for the toys as they fear of being replaced or shelved, though Woody is not as worried about it since he is considered Andy’s favorite toy, unbeknownst to him that is all about to change when Andy receives a new toy as a surprise gift. Woody and the gang meet the new toy, a Space Ranger known as Buzz Lightyear (Voiced by Tim Allen) who has a huge number of features such as “karate chop” action and can extend wings that he believes can allow him to fly. It is one thing to note that Buzz, even though he is just a toy, believes that he is a real space ranger that has crash landed on earth and works to try to repair his “spaceship,” while bonding with the new toys. Andy loves his new Buzz Lightyear that he starts to not play with Woody as much and that makes Woody very much envious to the point that on one uneventful evening, he tries to knock Buzz back behind a desk when Andy is allowed to take one toy before they go to Pizza Planet, and accidentally launches Buzz out a window and into a bush outside of Andy’s house. Andy’s other toys take great offense at what just happened and simply believe that Woody killed Buzz. They try to kill Woody but are interrupted when Andy comes back to pick up Buzz but is forced to pick up Woody instead as he can’t find Buzz. At a stop at a Dinoco Gas Station, Woody discovers that Buzz has stowed away on the family van’s roof and is dragged under the van by Buzz where they fight each other before they witness Andy and his family drive away, making Woody and Buzz lost toys. From there, it is a race against time for Woody and Buzz as they must resolve their rivalry and work together to get back home before Andy’s family moves away and they must go through dangerous obstacles, such as a next door neighbor kid named Sid Phillips who loves to torture toys, in order to get back home.
Right off the bat, one of the first things that make this film so iconic is the dialogue. There are so many lines that I can remember from this movie and some that I didn’t catch as a kid but later caught as an adult. Most of the great dialogue comes from our two main heroes, Woody and Buzz. The way that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen pronounce their lines as their characters is what makes me remember it so much. I have a gift to where if something said to me is phonetically sounded off in a certain tone, I am most likely to remember it and Toy Story is one of the few films that I can remember through the way it was spoken. From lines such as “You are a Toy!” to iconic lines such as “To Infinity and Beyond,” this is some of the best dialogue that you will ever hear in an animated film. Also, to note, there are many pieces of dialogue written that can appeal to both kids and adults, and when that happens, that’s is when I know I’m watching a great animated film The other elements include the storytelling, characters and designs, Randy Newman’s score, and overall appeal as a unique film. The storytelling is very cohesive and the film does a great job of going through the story through both Woody and Buzz and the animation does a great job of showing you how they feel as it helps show why they are motivated to act throughout the film.
Woody and Buzz Lightyear are one of the best cinematic duos in film history, both characters have great development throughout the film. Woody is such a good character because he’s not afraid to take the lead when there is trouble, he has a huge heart and shows so much dedication into being with Andy as he’s been with Andy for the longest time. I also love that he is not perfect, he is easily swayed into jealousy through Buzz and does a great job of showing his emotions in the film. Buzz Lightyear is equally as good as Woody and goes through a huge dramatic change alongside Woody. When Buzz is introduced, he sees himself as a Space Ranger and has a lot of courage and determination to act whenever he bonds with Andy’s toys, but that is also a weakness as he really believes he’s the real Buzz Lightyear and can be a little unreliable throughout a few scenes since he’s still under the impression that he can leave Earth eventually. But after going through a wild journey with Woody and finally learns that he is a Toy, he at first is distraught and doesn’t care what happens to him, but is encouraged by Woody that even though he is a toy, he has great benefits of being a toy as he is loved by Andy, which in turn makes Woody realize that instead of being jealous of Buzz, he should be friends with him as Andy will always still play with Woody alongside Buzz. The designs are legendary, and I really mean legendary, if Woody and Buzz were not designed like they were, it would not be as memorable, and that is done really well through the animation having an edgy style, mainly with how the plastic features help the early form of animation run. I also love how the animation adapts several real-life toys like Potato Head into animation, it just works so well. I will say that the human characters needed a little work, but over time, it was improved, like very much improved. Randy Newman’s score helps drive this movie in a great way, not to mention some of his songs like “You’ve Got A Friend in Me,” and “Strange Things.” It helps get you through the emotional moments and would become even better in the other two films.
Lastly, this film has a huge major appeal as when it was released, it was a very big deal since it was the first computer-animated feature film ever made and it left a huge legacy that many other studios have tried to duplicate, even rip off if you see The Secret Life of Pets. If I had to pick a few of my favorite scenes, I would say I love the scenes when Woody and Buzz bicker and when they fight at the gas station. I loved the opening scene as it helps set the stage and introduce most of the characters. I also loved the scene when Sid’s toys and Woody team up to save Buzz from being blown up by a rocket and it leads into a freaky/hilarious confrontation with Sid that ends with the toys revealing to him that they are alive. I also love the scenes when Woody and Buzz finally resolve their rivalry and work together to get themselves home. Finally, I love the rocket scene as it has one of my favorite finales of all time.
Toy Story is THE film that started the era of Computer-Animated films and is still rewatchable since it’s premiere in 1995, it has been a personal favorite of mine and would be continued in a great way in Toy Story 2. Any kid should see this film, any adult should see this film, anybody should see this film. Toy Story is a groundbreaker and shows that the industry could change with CGI if done the right way. I’ve rambled about it long enough, see it if you absolutely haven’t.
I have always enjoyed this movie. The film score really is memorable!