REVIEW: Toy Story (Released in 1995) [25th Anniversary]

DIRECTOR: John Lassater

PRODUCERS: Ralph Guggenheim & Bonnie Arnold

WRITERS: Joss Whedon & Andrew Stanton & Joel Cohen & Alec Sokolov (screenplay) & Joe Ranft & John Lassater & Pete Docter (original story)

VOICES: Tom Hanks Tim Allen Don Rickles Wallace Shawn Jim Varney Annie Potts

John Ratzenberger R. Lee Ermey John Morris Erik Von Detten Laurie Metcalf Jeff Pidgeon

Toy Story was a film that broke barriers, rewrote the rules of creating an animated film and over the years, even replaced the traditional hand drawn animation. In doing so, it created an empire full of dreams, imagination and visualization told in a way that only this kind of animated work was capable of. When first released in 1995, no one especially the creative minds behind it had any idea what they were making, just that they were taking a huge risk at a very high standard that would define their future careers, particularly change the way animated films are viewed as well as made. With this film, animation history was made with this somewhat small film about playthings that come alive when humans are absent, only to become something much bigger than that: a legacy to be reckoned with.

Toy Story is a film more than about toys, it's a film about new possibilities and what the future holds for the unknown.

Seen through the eyes of a group of toys in a boy's room you get a sense of what these things are truly like, what they feel and how they respond to things they're surrounded by on a constant basis. The fact that these characters are representations of toys from our past childhood (old and new) makes it all the more collective and interesting. If you're someone like Mr. Potato Head (voiced by the late DON RICKLES), you know what it's like to be compromised of several pieces that are detachable. But if you're a old school pull-string doll like Sheriff Woody (TOM HANKS) you've been around the block long enough to enjoy your status as the big man on campus and the leader that everyone looks to when a local workers meeting is taking place or just keeping all the others in line. That's what we see here in Toy Story, old school meets new school which at the time was an essential theme for the 90's era. You have a cowboy doll for an old timer, wise and ahead of his years and a fancy spaceman named Buzz Lightyear (TIM ALLEN) for a new guy on the block, rookie and good looking and ten times more braver and courageous. When these two toys meet up for the first time, you're looking at the beginning of an iconic paring between them, like Riggs and Murtaugh from the 'Lethal Weapon' films. They're two different playthings from two different eras, but when outside their owner's room, both their worlds collide and eventually change within the course of the time they spend together.

One of the few things that Disney films have been known for is their story-line structure and the themes included. In this case, two toys who start as rivals for the affection of the same owner, only to have that rivalry drive them into the real world and in traditional Disney-style, go on an adventure and along the way, form an alliance, find their middle ground and develop a new found admiration for one another despite their differences. For the themes you had jealousy, envy, humility and eventually unity. These play a huge part in this film as you see Woody evolve from self-absorbed to caring and reluctant (PHILLIPIANS 2:3 NIV), then there's Buzz who at first thinks he's a real person and when he finds out he isn't, is sad about it at first but then realizes what it means to be a toy (PROVERBS 19:20 NIV). And who can forget the villain of the picture? The kid who you just loved to despise as he takes pleasure in torturing and abusing his toys, unlike Andy who takes special care of his toys and shows no ill will towards any of them. I sometimes think what this film would be like if they're we're a showdown scene between the two boys, on the other hand just watching Sid do what he does with his toys is such a sight that it either scares you or thrills you. When the story sees Woody and Buzz end up in his clutches, you see just how bad he is to his toys: taking them apart and mutating them into hideous hybrids for toys even when he's going as far stealing them from his innocent sister. Plus this film pays a lot of homages to past films particularly Star Wars, but for me in one scene near the end, when Sid's toys finally stood up to him, I find myself saying 'Hey Sid, you ever seen Child's Play before'? I always took good care of my toys when I was young and collecting them, yet after I saw this film I always wondered and probably still do, what toys do when I'm not around. That's just how great this film was and still to this day holds an affect on everyone, as well as myself, who had toys growing up.

Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another - PROVERBS 27:17 NIV

The journey these two go on together just never gets old, in one scene Buzz is down and depressed and while Woody is desperate to get out of his box prison, he at one point breaks down and reluctantly asks for help. But Buzz is too sad to help because he'd rather be real than a plastic plaything, then Woody explains to him the joys of being a toy and he realizes just how overshadowed he is by Buzz, saying 'you're more important to him than I am, plus I'm the reason we're in this situation so go while you can and don't worry about me'. Here they start working together and throughout their odyssey back to their owner, depend on each other to see it through. Just watching them encourage each other to get back to their kid, there's something about those moments that gets you in the heart and brings you back to a time when past Disney films made you feel young again or just being in the moment when you were as young as you were. I won't lie, I even found myself tearing up when the two main characters were falling with style through the skies and even today, still has the same affect on me! When you see a partnership like this you're immediately entranced into it and you forget this is a movie, you think you're watching two people becoming the best of friends. The vocal performances of Hanks and Allen are a match made in voice over heaven, they both have great chemistry and they bring that to such a degree that you can't hear anyone else doing their parts. One more great thing about Toy Story is the music and songs by Randy Newman. There are only three songs in the film, but for me the one that stands out is the immortal "You've Got A Friend in Me" which embodies the true meaning of friendship. What makes that song so great is the story it tells and how it relates to Woody and Buzz, like it was just destiny for them to become friends (1 JOHN 4:11 NIV). Same thing for the way this film to be what it became. You play something like this for your own best friend and you'll see the dots connect.

I was only 12 years old when this was first released and when I saw it, I immediately fell in love with it. Even as an adult I still love it, the fact that this was the very first of it's kind ever made it all the more special. It had a story you could go with, characters you could identify with and a ride you just wanted to go on over and over again. With the success of Toy Story, more films of it's kind followed within the ranks of Pixar and since then, has not showed any signs of slowing down. An additional number of sequels followed and I have to say: they made me bawl in a pool of tears in ways no other films have ever done before! Pixar made so much more than just another animated movie, they made history. If not for Toy Story, there would never have have been no Tangled, no Moana and certainly no Frozen for that matter. This paved the way for computer animated films over the last twenty plus years and while they all have had their fair share of worldwide acclaim, it's important to remember it all started with this. Those toys and their adventures have brought so much significance into our lives that even the old responded to it in a huge way. Because of this classic of a masterpiece, computer animation has such a bright future ahead and this may be twenty five years old, but will live on as the one the most significant films of the 20th century. Happy 25th Anniversary to Toy Story... To Infinity and Beyond!

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