The Media Man Reviews: Toy Story (ft. TCH2)

Happy Anniversary Pixar!

Here we are folks, 40 Years of Pixar. On this very day, 40 years ago, the animation powerhouse that gave us Toy Story, Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, WALL.E and Inside Out was founded and still continues to this day to inspire, entertain and captivate audiences with their creative, unique and emotionally powerful movies. While Pixar films haven't been as strong as they used to be back in the 90s and 2000s, Pixar movies still manage to be some of the highlights of cinema and even Pixar's weakest films still manage to be good...except for Lightyear. That one was crap and I genuinely feel my original review was too positive. People can bash Cars 2 all they like, Lightyear is the actual one bad movie Pixar has made.

But anyhow, I'm a lifelong fan of Pixar and consider them my second favourite animation studio behind Disney themselves. Their movies always keep me coming back for more, even the ones that aren't masterpieces, and I think Pixar has the strongest library of quality animated films out there. Then again, I'm yet to see more of Studio Ghibli's works so what do I know? Naturally, I have a lot of nostalgia towards Pixar since I was born in the 90's and grew up watching their movies throughout the 90's, 2000's and 2010's. I owned Toy Story and A Bug's Life on VHS, Toy Story 2 was the first movie I ever watched in cinemas, I would frequently watch their movies whenever a new one came out and I used to own a lot of toys from Pixar movies such as Toy Story, Monsters Inc. and WALL.E. As an adult, I'm still a huge fan of Pixar and still watch their movies to this day. My brother is also a huge Pixar fan to the point he got LEGO sets of Luxo Jr. and WALL.E for Christmas last year. So yeah, my life and my love of media is as much defined by Pixar as it is by Disney.

So to celebrate this momentous occasion and reflect on Pixar's 40 year history, I'll be reviewing the movie that started it all. The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs of Pixar if you ask me. That movie of course...is Toy Story.

Released in 1995, this was the movie that changed the animation industry forever. This movie proved that computer animation was a viable medium to make movies with and that movies animated by computer could entertain and capture audience's hearts the same way traditional animated films could. Sadly, it hasn't all been a change for the better since now computer animated films are WAY too commonplace these days and hand-drawn animation is reduced to more obscure indie projects or anime movies, but let's not fault Pixar for that. They actually felt bad about being responsible for that back in the day. Anyway, Toy Story has become a pop-culture icon alongside many other animated properties to the point it's had wads of merchandise, its own themed area in many Disney parks, has spawned countless memes and is so immensely profitable that they're still making sequels despite Toy Story 3 being the perfect conclusion. Yes, I am genuinely NOT looking forward to Toy Story 5. I have a feeling that'll be the second Pixar dud we'll be getting...

But we're here to look at the original, so let's review it. But I'm not in this alone. I'm going into this with a dear friend who is also a huge Pixar fan. Let's welcome my good pal Thomas Holmes to join in on the celebrations! Welcome to the review Tommy!

(Thomas flies in, wearing a Space Ranger suit.)

Thomas: Thanks for having me, Media Man! And thank you Pixar for 40 years of some of the best animated movies and franchises ever made!

Like a lot of other people, Toy Story was my first ever Pixar movie, and it still amazes me how well it holds up today. But how well, you might ask? Well, let's find out… why the answer is very well! So, Media Man, to infinity?

Media Man: And beyond.

Let's dive in...

Section 1: The Story

Toy Story is, well, the story of a cowboy doll named Woody who is the favourite toy of a fun-loving kid named Andy. But Woody's position as favourite toy is soon challenged when Andy gets a brand new toy for his birthday, that being a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Woody grows jealous of Buzz and tries to get rid of him, but circumstances cause the two to get lost and end up in the clutches of Sid Phillips, Andy's destructive neighbour. Now Woody and Buzz have to team up in order to get back to Andy before they get destroyed and before Andy moves house...

I'm going to start off by saying this premise is a fantastic idea for a movie, especially for a movie you can watch with your children. I mean a movie where toys come to life when no one's there? How can you not get suckered into a premise like this? And with this being a Pixar movie, they take full advantage of this idea too. You get all kinds of creative gags, you get creative character animation (which we'll cover later), you have fun ideas on what toys get up to behind closed doors and you especially get action scenes that are only possible with the kind of concept this is. Need I bring up the truck chase during the climax? The fact this is a premise that easily appeals to children really helps too, but as Pixar is wont to do, they take a premise that sounds kid friendly but make it appealing for adults as well. This is where the execution of the story comes in and how the movie tells it.

Thomas: Firstly, the film tackles themes of change and jealousy. Woody is a vintage cowboy doll, while Buzz is the latest toy on the market, all space-age and modern. This actually reflects how children's interests changed during the mid-20th century. Once people started going into space, children lost interest in Westerns and instead wanted space toys.

Circling back to Toy Story, this reflects how things are always changing - be they interests, technology or friendships - and how we can feel helpless to fight it. Woody loved being Andy's favourite and being generally respected by the other toys, but now Buzz is stealing his thunder, he feels left out.

This film also shows the dangers of jealousy; how it can blind us to what's really important and how it can potentially cost us everything. Woody's jealousy of Buzz essentially made him an outcast. Now he has to make a decision: continue to be jealous and resist change, or accept it and make peace with it. I'm sure any adult who was once popular only to be overshadowed by the next generation can relate to that.

This leads into the next two aspects that make this movie so timeless: its core theme of what it means to be a toy, and, of course, the greatest Pixar staple of all, its heart!

Media Man: It's practically Pixar's trademark at this point, how they make movies that take you on an emotional rollercoaster ride while also being touching and sweet as all hell. Toy Story was where that all started. The movie has many touching scenes in there, mostly between Woody and Buzz when they lift each other up while they're done and how Woody comes to accept that in the end, he can't be Andy's favourite forever but still be at peace with the fact he's still valued even while Buzz is in his life. His devotion to Andy and making him happy is also admirable too and I like to think it represents a parent's love for their child too. Much like a parent, Woody will do whatever it takes to keep Andy happy and that makes the movie extra touching. Considering how tough times can be nowadays, movies like this have only become more valuable as we need that reminder of how not everything is all doom and gloom and there's some goodness still in the world.

But Toy Story isn't just a very touching movie. It's also a very funny movie. Seriously, this is one of those films where you watch it again and suddenly realize how funny it is. There's a lot of great humour to be found here from physical comedy to spoken comedy and you even get little in-jokes here and there. Do I need to bring up the many memes that this movie has spawned because of how hilarious it is? Even to this day I still crack up at moments like "BUZZ LOOK, AN ALIEN!" and "I AM. MRS. NES-BITT!" It's just so obvious the writers were having so much fun when they were crafting this story and developing the characters, Buzz Lightyear especially with how quotable he is.

So yeah, big shocker, this excellent movie is still excellent now. But is it perfect? Of course not, no movie is perfect. Thankfully, we don't have much to talk about in terms of negative points since there's little to criticize here.

Thomas: One minor issue I have is that, if Buzz thinks he's a real Space Ranger, then why is he content to let Andy play with him? Surely, a Space Ranger devoted to protecting the galaxy would object a thing?

And how did no one (apart from Molly) notice the whole truck chase at the end, with the trailer open and the rocketing RC car? I know it's nit-picking, but just thought I'd say. You, Media Man?

Media Man: I have to agree that it does make you wonder how they didn't notice all that going on and Buzz still acting like a toy despite not thinking he is one is such a confusing plot hole that fans have had to make up several different theories to explain it. Still, these don't ruin the movie or hurt the story in any way.

My one problem is that it can feel like this film relies a little too much on coincidence just to make the plot happen. Not saying stories shouldn't do that, just that Toy Story relies a little too much on it so it can end up making everything seem a little too convenient. Like how convenient is it that Woody and Buzz get lost at a petrol station and a Pizza Planet truck coincidentally shows up to get them to Pizza Planet? Or how Sid just happens to be at Pizza Planet as well so Woody and Buzz can end up in his clutches? Or how RC just happens to run low on batteries so they can drag the climax out a little longer? If they had things happen less coincidentally, it might've helped the story a little more. But I admit, that too is also nit-picking and I can overlook it because the story is as entertaining as it is.

But the big problems that I don't think are nit-picking are times where Woody acts oddly idiotic just so the story can play out a certain way. The scene with him at the window trying to convince the toys to help him back over to Andy's house and when he's trying to help Buzz with RC are two such examples. Why the heck didn't he just go back down and fetch Buzz up so he could prove to everyone he was alive instead of just hoping they'd buy his puppet act with Buzz's arm? Or why did he just send RC out of the moving van without explaining himself to the other toys first? He literally could've avoided some of the things that happened in the climax if he just explained himself instead of fetching RC out of the box and kicking him out of the van! Seriously, what did he expect to happen? No wonder the toys assumed the worst and threw him out! It's so weird because Woody clearly is NOT stupid so why did he suddenly lose several IQ points at those scenes? They could've made these things happen without needing Woody to become a total idiot, is what I'm saying.

Thomas: Even accounting for potential stress and desperation, yeah, Woody wasn't helping his case, especially in the former situation.

Ah well, this was their first movie, and they were bound to make mistakes. What wasn't a mistake was the theme of friendship this movie promotes, especially with its theme song 'You Got A Friend In Me' by Randy Newman.

Media Man: There's a reason that song is the Toy Story franchise's signature theme song, kinda like their equivalent to "When You Wish Upon A Star" if you get my meaning.

With a well-crafted story like this that is full of action, heart, humour and creativity, it's no wonder Pixar nailed it on the first try...

Section 2: The Characters

If there's a big reason why people LOVE the Toy Story movies, it's the characters.

Let's start with the main one, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks). Woody is so relatable in a multitude of ways. I'm sure we've all felt the way he has at some point in our lives, where we feel valued and loved but then something else comes in to take that attention away from us and now we have this desperate need to be valued again. While I personally find jealousy a worthless emotion, I'm not going to fault Woody for feeling that way in the movie since when you're a toy, you REALLY need to be valued or else you could end up donated or worse. As is, Woody is not a bad guy by any means. Yes him trying to get Buzz lost so Andy will take him to Pizza Planet instead was douche-y of him, but Woody learns his lesson in the end and comes to make friends with the toy he once envied. That and if you put all that aside, you see plenty of his good traits in other areas, namely how devoted he is to keeping Andy entertained and happy and also putting the other toy's fears to rest if they begin to panic over the possibility they might be replaced. This is a toy I'd trust to be a leader any day.

To think we could've had a VERY different Woody if Pixar had followed Jeffery Katzenberg's example...

Thomas: Yeah, Woody would have been real a-hole if they had. Even Tom Hanks himself hated it.

Next, we have Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen). Buzz is the latest toy on the market and the newcomer in Andy's room who quickly becomes the centre of attention in Andy's room. Buzz provides much of the comedy in this movie, what with him initially thinking he's the 'real' Buzz Lightyear and the comically serious way he interprets the world around him. But he eventually suffers an existential crisis when Buzz realises he is indeed just a toy, leaving him lost and desolate and, dare I say, suicidal. But thanks to Woody, he comes to realise that being a child's plaything is actually wonderful, which in turn leads to a great friendship with Woody. And of course, how can you go wrong with dialogue like 'To infinity and beyond!' or 'You are a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity.' or 'I AM MRS NESBITT!'? Tim was the perfect choice, no questions asked. Although Jim Carrey was an interesting option…

Then, we have the other toys in Andy's room - Slinky (voiced by the late Jim Varney), Mr Potato Head (voiced by the late Don Rickles), Rex (voiced by Wallace Shawn), Hamm (voiced by John Ratzenberger, who'd go on to become a frequent voice actor in Pixar movies), Bo Peep (voiced by Annie Potts), and Sarge (voiced by the late R. Lee Ermey). All of them are memorable in their own way, each with their own distinct personalities. Slinky is Woody's loyal second-in-command who has to wrestle with his loyalties; Mr Potato Head is cynical and the most antagonistic to Woody; Rex is a nervous dinosaur who wants to feel big and strong like an actual dino; Hamm is a wise-cracking piggy bank; Bo Peep is Woody's love interest and his main source of comfort over Woody's worries; and Sarge is effectively Gunnery Sergeant Hartman from Full Metal Jacket, minus the swearing and general harshness.

Media Man: And then we get the human characters of the movie. There's not many to cover in that regard, mostly just Andy Davies (voiced by John Morris) and Sid Phillips (voiced by Erik von Detten). Andy and Sid are the yin and yang of this movie, and I mean in the sense of how they approach playtime with their toys. Andy plays fun games with his toys, takes care of them, shares them with his little sister Molly and is ultimately a good person who any toy would love to be in the hands of. Sid on the other hand is a MONSTER. His idea of "fun" includes dissecting toys and making monstrous abominations with them or blowing them up! This contrast further exemplifies the danger Woody and Buzz find themselves in for we see Sid is no Andy and that the two could end up dissected or destroyed if they don't get away. And yet because Toy Story is a more nuanced story than you'd expect from this kind of premise, Sid isn't really a "villain" per say, just a very disturbed child. It is subtly implied his home life might not be pleasant with parents who are either neglectful or abusive (even his own dog Scud retreats from a room when he sees his dad sleeping in a chair so that should tell you something...), which could explain why he's so...unhinged to put it bluntly.

The characters are beloved icons of animation and pop culture as a whole, and it's very easy to see why. With memorable personalities, fun quirks and stellar voice acting, you'll walk away with plenty of favourites, and maybe even the urge to buy these toys yourself so you can play with these characters in your own room like Andy does. ;)

Section 3: The Animation

We can't talk about this movie without talking about the way it made history of course, and that's with its animation. For context, when this movie came out in 1995, a computer animated film was UNHEARD OF. At best, you had CGI commercials or short films, but a FEATURE LENGTH CGI FILM? That would've been unthinkable back in the day! Yet here's Pixar absolutely nailing it on the first try...mostly. We'll get to the aspects that haven't aged well later, but let's talk about the good stuff and why this was such an impressive first outing for not just Pixar's first movie, but the first feature length computer animated film in general.

Thomas: Animating Toy Story was unsurprisingly a challenge, with leaves and grass all needing to be animated, giving the backgrounds a sense of history. Characters started out as either clay models or computer diagrams before being brought to life, with numerous motion control codes to enable movement. But it was a worthwhile effort.

The CG animation really helps make the concept of toys coming to life feel surprisingly plausible. The way the toys are animated, and the textures on them, accurately convey how their real-world counterparts would move if they were sentient. From the smooth skin of plastic for Buzz and Woody, and porcelain skin for Bo Peep, Rex's scales, to Mr. Potato Head's detachable parts that can move even if not connected to him, Slinky's spring and more, it almost feels exactly like how a child might envision sentient toys.

Then, there's how the movie is shot. Eschewing sweeping shots that were popular at the time, the animators wanted to share a feel of realism. The cinematography makes it feels as if the audience is seeing everything from the toys' perspective, with everything from the furniture to the vehicles to the humans feeling much bigger than they actually are.

Media Man: Too right buddy. The use of low angles helps sell the idea that this a movie about sentient toys and it's all from their perspective. A dog is akin to dealing with a colossal monster for a toy, a flight of stairs feels even more of a climb for them, a bed is like a whole landscape for them and so much more. Also because the main cast are the size of toys, the animators take advantage of that in order to deliver exciting action scenes and thrilling moments that captivate your attention. The highlight for me is and always will be the final chase scene as Woody and Buzz try to outrun Scud and catch up with the moving van. A climax like that would NOT have worked if this was a movie staring humans. With everything practically supersized, everything feels more intense than it should do since there's that possibility of getting wrecked by Scud or run over by cars. The way they animate speed during said climax helps too with a big shout out going towards the scene with Woody, Buzz and RC shooting after the van after Woody lights the rocket. You can really feel how fast they're moving! It's a climax that was executed perfectly and I love watching it every time.

And then there's the character animation. Like Thomas said, the toys move believably as if they're actual sentient toys. Woody's limbs are more loose and floppy when he moves due to being a cowboy doll, Buzz's limbs are ball-jointed and he moves within the limitation's of his own articulation, Mr. Potato Head can detach his body parts like the real thing can, Slinky can stretch with his springy middle and so much more. Even the green army men figures move like how you'd expect them to move. Their feet are sculpted to a flat piece in order for them to stand, so they can't walk normally like we do. Amusingly, the animators filmed themselves walking around a room with a pair of sneakers nailed to a board so they could figure out how to animate them. Yes really! Then there's how expressive all the characters are. All the toys are given expressive faces that convey all their emotions flawlessly. I think what really helps is how nearly every toy is given eyebrows to make them more expressive, most noticeably Woody, Buzz and Mr. Potato Head. Even those who don't have eyebrows are still pretty expressive like Rex or RC. Even the army men who don't even have faces are still expressive and have readable emotions.

But as good as the animation was for its time, when you compare it to Pixar movies nowadays...yeah, it's noticeable how outdated the animation looks. Keep in mind, this was CGI back in its infancy, so it's going to look outdated with some noticeable errors here and there like blurry textures at some parts, character's body parts clipping through one another and not all the backgrounds are that well detailed. This is especially noticeable in the way the human characters look and the lighting effects. The human characters look...off, to put it politely. They just don't look right with their dead eyes and weird looking mouths and the lighting effects don't look all that convincing. with a lot of things in the move looking rather plastic-y, even though only the toys should look that way. It's so funny how they have a realistic looking spoon in the movie yet they couldn't make some of the other textures look as convincing. And of course, there's Scud. Even to this day, people are still mocking how he looks. When you compare him to Dragon the Cat in Toy Story 4, the difference is as clear as knight and day!

Thomas: Yeah, you can definitely see why they chose to generally focus on toys, bugs, monsters and fish for their first few movies with stylised looks, relegating humans to secondary or background roles.

Still, the fact they managed to pull all this off is nothing short of incredible, especially given the technical limitations of the time. It took them a whole day just to render less than half a minute of animation, and even considering the short runtime of 77 minutes, that's still months of work!

Also, apparently, video games continue to use Toy Story as a template for how to animate cutscenes to this day.

So, yeah, Toy Story's animation might be dated in some areas, but otherwise, it holds up very well, and deserves its spot as a technical milestone

Media Man: Doesn't it just?

The animation has definitely aged, but otherwise is still pretty damn impressive to look at, even by today's standards. The fact they achieved creating visuals like this in computer animation's infancy is pretty admirable...

Conclusion

Toy Story was great in 1995 and it's still great now. The story is creatively crafted and takes full advantage of its premise, the characters have a lot of charm and likability, the animation is a little dated but still pretty impressive, the action scenes are exciting and the film has a lot of heart and humour. It's the complete package if you ask me: a fun movie that can make you laugh and play with your emotions. It's so incredible how Pixar nailed it all on their first try with this movie. I bet audiences in 1995 knew they'd just witnessed something special with this film.

Thomas: And this was only the beginning. Toy Story would spawn three sequels, with a fourth coming this year, two spin-offs focusing on the Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear (one a TV show, the other a movie), several short films and TV specials, and more.

As for other movies, over time, Pixar would hone their craft with computer animation, eventually advancing it to the art it is today, and all the while, they've continued to produce quality entertainment involving all kinds of characters that are truly like no other.

I think I speak for all fans that I say that we got a friend in Pixar, for infinity and beyond!

Media Man: Oh indeed. The film industry just wouldn't be the same without Pixar and their legendary library of films. Even if their films nowadays aren't as legendary, Pixar are still able to make great movies that we can enjoy to this day. Happy Anniversary Pixar. Here's to the next 40 years and beyond...

And that's it for this review. Thanks for reading and big thanks to Thomas Holmes for joining me for this celebration. It's been fun to have you hear again mate!

Thomas: My pleasure, Media Man! Take care, all! To infinity and beyond!

(And he blasts away.)

Media Man: And there he goes.

So that's it for this review. I hope you enjoyed it and feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below. Do you like Toy Story? Do you not like it? Do let me know.

I'll be back again with more facts about Pixar later this week, so I'll see you then media fans!

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