Day 33.1: Toy Story

So this post is a long time coming.  I meant to do this a couple of days ago, the same day I did Pocahontas, as they came out the same year.  But here we are a few days later, though I will be editing the date on this post to put it chronologically where it belongs.  This obviously is not your traditional "Disney" movie.  It's a part of the Pixar canon, but it just feels too significant to ignore.

Toy Story (1995)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, Erik von Detten, R. Lee Ermey, Sarah Freeman, Joe Ranft

Songs: "You've Got a Friend in Me," "Strange Things," "I Will Go Sailing"

Toy Story was the first full length CGI film, and the first Pixar film.  Released in 1995 (a few short months after Pocahontas hit theaters) it was unlike anything audiences of the time had seen -- the Snow White of its time, if you will.  This film, of course, tells the story of Woody, a cowboy doll and favored toy of a boy named Andy, and his jealousy over Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut doll that comes to live with them and becomes Andy's new favorite toy.

The wheels were set in motion for this film when animator John Lasseter saw the movie Tron and was introduced to the idea of CGI and became taken with how it might be used in feature animation.  He worked for Disney at the time, and when he presented the idea to them, he was fired.  Some years later, after working at LucasFilms and helping to found Pixar, Lasseter had the idea to do a short about an anthropomorphic toy from the toy's point of view.  This idea became the 1988 short "Tin Toy" which won that year's Academy Award for Best Animated Short.  That film then gained Disney's attention, and they tried to get Lasseter back to their company.  When he wouldn't come back to work for them, Disney decided then to work with Pixar, who had already created the CAPS process Disney was using to color their animated features.  After intense negotiations (with lingering hurt feelings on both sides) a deal was stuck, and they decided to make a feature film based on the idea behind the "Tin Toy" short.

Production on the film began in 1991 and was difficult from the start.  The script was rewritten numerous times, staying within the budget was difficult, and working with the new technology provided numerous challenges.  But to keep this post from becoming longer than it already has (and is necessary), I'll cut to the chase, the part we all already know.  The movie came together beautifully and was released to massive financial and critical success.  Not only that, but it completely changed the landscape of animation.

This is a great movie.  I love it now and have always loved it, and for reasons both connected to how great the movie is and my own sentimental attachment, I would probably say it's my favorite Pixar film.  The idea that toys have lives when their children aren't there, but that those lives are driven by their children's needs, fascinated and captivated me as a child and honestly still does now.  A toy wants to be needed just like most people want to be needed... what a beautiful idea.  

What I Liked: Woody and how he delivers every line.  He's always been my favorite.

What I Disliked: Honestly, nothing!  When I was little, however, I did like the movie, but it creeped me out when I first saw it because it was just so realistic.  Crazy to think of that now!  Since this time, CGI has only become more and more lifelike, but at this time, in 1995, there had been nothing quite like it.  Compare this movie to Pocahontas, which came out the same year.  Obviously Pocahontas isn't CGI or 3D, so the comparison is a bit lumpy, but those things aside, Pocahontas is stylized.  Animation had been about being stylized and suggesting a similarity to real life.  This movie is not only more lifelike, but it is shot like a live action film.  It was so unprecedented. 

Should You Watch This Movie: If you haven't already, I feel sorry for you.  In other words, YES.