Pixar Retrospective: "Toy Story"
"Toy Story"
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
Directed by: John Lasseter
Of all of pixar's breakthrough movies, perhaps none holds as special a place as their first, "Toy Story." It arguably defined a new genre of film: the CG animated film, and also may have put the first nail in the coffin for big screen traditional animated films. By focusing on something so commonplace, yet taking a new spin on them, and also making it into an enemies-turned-buddies story, it stands as a symbol of the creativity and innovation that pixar continues to embrace.
As many know, the story follows Woody, a cowboy and favorite of Andy. When newcomer Buzz Lightyear comes along, Woody feels threatened, and accidentally throws Buzz out a window. In an attempt to rescue him, he ends up at Sid's house of horrors, befriends his former enemy, and makes his way back to Andy.
My biggest flaw with this movie is that it's way too short. I'm glad two more sequels followed, because in hindsight, this movie seems so brief. In one of the blu ray specials, Lasseter was talking about how it was daunting to craft a 75-minute story from what they were used to, which were short films. It goes to show how far animated features have come, that now a movie once considered long seems ever so brief.
Another aspect that shows how far we've come is the animation itself. "Toy Story" hold up incredibly well over a decade and a half later. Certain parts of the animation are crisp and beautiful, especially the woodwork, like the floors of Andy's home. However, some textures and characters don't come across as well, especially the three-eyed aliens. Motion also is not as fluid as it is now. Despite that, it's still a beautiful movie to watch, and much of that is due to pixar's gift of storytelling and crafting genuine, heartfelt characters that draw you into the story.
The blu-ray also included a peek at the dark days of "Toy Story," when pixar seemed forced to create a more "edgy" Woody who threw Buzz out a window, yelled orders at Slinky, and got the other toys riled enough that they wanted to throw him out the window. That totally would've been an anti-kids movie, I think. Thankfully disney got the sense knocked into them, and let pixar take the reigns of their own work.
Like many companies that start strong, they start to fizzle out. Pixar created masterpiece after masterpiece, and I hope they continue to do so for many years to come.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen
Directed by: John Lasseter
Of all of pixar's breakthrough movies, perhaps none holds as special a place as their first, "Toy Story." It arguably defined a new genre of film: the CG animated film, and also may have put the first nail in the coffin for big screen traditional animated films. By focusing on something so commonplace, yet taking a new spin on them, and also making it into an enemies-turned-buddies story, it stands as a symbol of the creativity and innovation that pixar continues to embrace.
As many know, the story follows Woody, a cowboy and favorite of Andy. When newcomer Buzz Lightyear comes along, Woody feels threatened, and accidentally throws Buzz out a window. In an attempt to rescue him, he ends up at Sid's house of horrors, befriends his former enemy, and makes his way back to Andy.
My biggest flaw with this movie is that it's way too short. I'm glad two more sequels followed, because in hindsight, this movie seems so brief. In one of the blu ray specials, Lasseter was talking about how it was daunting to craft a 75-minute story from what they were used to, which were short films. It goes to show how far animated features have come, that now a movie once considered long seems ever so brief.
Another aspect that shows how far we've come is the animation itself. "Toy Story" hold up incredibly well over a decade and a half later. Certain parts of the animation are crisp and beautiful, especially the woodwork, like the floors of Andy's home. However, some textures and characters don't come across as well, especially the three-eyed aliens. Motion also is not as fluid as it is now. Despite that, it's still a beautiful movie to watch, and much of that is due to pixar's gift of storytelling and crafting genuine, heartfelt characters that draw you into the story.
The blu-ray also included a peek at the dark days of "Toy Story," when pixar seemed forced to create a more "edgy" Woody who threw Buzz out a window, yelled orders at Slinky, and got the other toys riled enough that they wanted to throw him out the window. That totally would've been an anti-kids movie, I think. Thankfully disney got the sense knocked into them, and let pixar take the reigns of their own work.
Like many companies that start strong, they start to fizzle out. Pixar created masterpiece after masterpiece, and I hope they continue to do so for many years to come.
posted by DarthDooku at
10:55 PM
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