Toy Story, a 1995 Disney and Pixar film written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow, was directed by John Lasseter. This animated family comedy is a sweet and revolutionary film in history. Andy's toys are fearful of being replaced when the boy's birthday comes along. Woody, his favorite toy, a pull-string cowboy doll, discovers the boy has a new toy, Buzz Lightyear, the latest, greatest action figure, complete with pop-out wings and laser action. Woody's plan to get rid of Buzz backfires and he finds himself lost in the world outside of Andy's room, with Buzz as his only companion. They pair are forced to pull together to escape the evil Sid and find their way back to Andy.
The title of the film explains exactly what the story is about: toys! The entire film revolves around the mysterious and unknown life of toys; it’s a toy story. The conflict between Woody and Buzz develops very early on in the film with the jealousy that Woody feels when Buzz displaces him, and his irritation with the fact Buzz does not know he is a toy. This conflict remains throughout the entire film, resulting in Woody and Buzz ending up in a situation where the only way out is for them to work together.
This film is very entertaining. The fact that it was the first completely computer generated film was very interesting to know. It gave me a new respect for the film, and I saw it in a different way than I had ever seen it. It’s always entertaining to watch a Disney movie and return to childhood, if only for a couple hours. Toy Story was the first feature length, computer-animated film in history. Lasseter and Disney created a film that would change the world of animation forever. Today, many more movies have been created entirely by computer animation. However, few eclipse the pioneering Toy Story, which used computers to build an imaginative world in which toys are the main characters and have complex feelings and lives, just like humans. Every thing in the film had to be created. Every blade of grass, every scuffed door, and every single toy was created completely from scratch. Very cool!
Tom Hanks provided the voice of Woody, and Tim Allen provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear. The two are such a great match and I couldn’t imagine hearing Toy Story any other way. They are perfect! Tom Hanks’ reaction to the introduction of Tim Allen’s character is awesome and the tension between the two is apparent throughout the whole film. Tim Allen is a great space ranger and I really like the way he plays his role. Buzz isn’t a prince charming or a Dudley Do-Right; he is a whole new kind of Disney superhero! I always find it funny how Disney movies hold a permanent place in people’s hearts. Everyone has seen them or at least heard of them, and Toy Story is no exception. I love this movie! Though not my favorite Disney Classic, it is at least in the top five! It is such a sweet and cute movie, a nice transition from the traditional sing songy fairy tales in other Disney movies. Great film!
