Social Icons

Toy Story (1995)



Toy Story (1995)




10/10




Starring the voice of
Tom Hanks
Tim Allen


Directed by John Lasseter

Every child dreams of their toys coming to life and playing back, but the real question has always been: what would it actually be like if toys did come to life? Toy Story answered that in an engaging and imaginative way, making you eager to see more of the adventures Andy’s toys would get into. It has a masterpiece of a storyline that makes you sit and wonder. The way the screenplay blends the toys’ actions with human interaction is so well done that, if not for the fact that this isn’t possible, kids might actually believe it could happen.

The movie is about a group of toys that pretend to be lifeless whenever humans are present but come to life when no one is around. Their behavior, actions, and fears all revolve around their need to be played with by their owner.

This particular group of toys belongs to a boy named Andy, and his favorite toy is Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), a cowboy doll. Everything was great for Woody while he was on top—until a new toy arrived and took his place: Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen). Feeling threatened, Woody tries to get back at Buzz, but his actions backfire, leading to a situation where he may never see Andy again.

Toy Story was the first fully computer-animated feature film of its time. It came about when Disney approached Pixar to produce a computer-animated movie after seeing their short film Tin Toy (1988). The production went through many ups and downs, mainly because Disney wanted a story that was thrilling and nearly perfect, leading to multiple rewrites. The main characters evolved over time until they finally settled on Woody, the wise leader of Andy’s toys, and Buzz, the newcomer who is confused about who he really is.

Then there was the debate between Pixar and Disney about songs. At the time, Disney animated films were all musicals, with characters breaking into song to push the story along. But John Lasseter didn’t want that, arguing that Toy Story was a buddy film. They eventually reached a compromise: the score would complement the action rather than the characters singing. This can be seen in the scene where Buzz tries to fly out the window to prove he isn't just a toy—the song playing at that moment includes lyrics like, No, it can't be true, I can fly if I wanted to.

Toy Story received massive recognition upon release. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes still holds it at a 100% approval rating from critics. It also won three Academy Awards for Best Original Song, Best Original Score, and Best Screenplay.

The movie was a financial success and led to two sequels, each an even bigger hit. Toy Story 2 (released in 1999) also holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, while Toy Story 3 (released in 2010) has a 99% rating and remains the highest-grossing animated film to date, making over $1 billion. There was also a direct-to-video animated film, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins, and a spin-off TV series, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command.

Toy Story is a true classic—one DVD you should definitely own.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Disclaimer

All images featured on this site are the property of their respective copyright owners. They are used solely for illustrative and commentary purposes under fair use principles. This site is a personal blog, unaffiliated with or endorsed by any copyright holders. If you are the copyright owner of an image featured here and wish to have it removed, please contact me directly, and I will address your request promptly.