Review of Toy Story (1995) by Harry W — 09 Sep 2014

An animated classic from childhood, Toy Story is one of those films which will never stop being a favourite to me.

The simple fact is that Toy Story is one of, if not the greatest animated film ever made. It's no challenge to see why, because it nails every aspect of the film in terms of entertainment value from being a visual experience to being a hilarious one as well as one with a great story. With a team of four screenwriters including Joss Whedon, Toy Story brings the concept of inanimate action figures and dolls to life so that they can journey through the world and get into all kinds of misadventures. And it works because the Academy Award nominated screenplay of Toy Story has a lot of importance in the underlying message of the film as well as the fact that it is packed to the brim with creative elements about its toy characters. There are a lot of clever anecdotes in the script which transfer over to the animation and make the film a delightful romp due to enough gags to keep audiences laughing consistently while also feeling a range of other things, ranging from sympathy for the characters to disdain for many. The atmosphere of the film is consistently emotionally appropriate with the general themes explored, and that is made consistent by the strength of its screenplay as well as partly thanks to the contributions of a strong soundtrack thanks to Randy Newman's skills at compositions which include such iconic songs as "You've Got a Friend in Me".

Like all Disney movies, Toy Story has an underlying message to it. This time, it is about making sure you take care of your possesions. It does this by cleverly giving its toys life when the humans aren't around, and the effect of this really left an impact on me as a child because several times I would leave my toys in my room and then sneak a peek to see if they were moving around. It made a positive encouragement on me to value my own property, and so Toy Story is one of those films children need to see not just to feel the endeavour of Disney Pixar's success, but also because of the valuable message it maintains. The screenplay in the film leaves a lot of sentimental value for the viewers to appreciate as well as a collection of great characters who all maintain their own iconic humourous elements.

Toy Story represents the first feature length collaboration between Disney and Pixar studios, and it is no surprise that the animation comes off as being spectacular. The quality of the animation in Toy Story hits a new level of excellence, because it is some of the most notable breakthrough in three-dimensional animation of all time. Built entirely on CGI, Toy Story features incredible animation which is exceptionally detailed and gives the characters great movements, as well as a very broad colour palette which breathes a lot of life into the experience. The animation depicts a wide variety of things, ranging from the simple details in the characters' designs to their interactions with each other, as well as plenty of iconic moments of fun. The detail of the animation in Toy Story is exceptional and it makes the film an unforgettable visual experience.

The thing which is really clever about Toy Story is the commercialism. Since Toy Story is one of the most popular animated franchises of all time, there is a high demand for its merchandise. Considering that essentially every character in Toy Story is a toy, children will flock from miles away to own their own Woody dolls and Buzz Lightyear action figures. Toy Story is the greatest merchandising opportunity in the world, and considering that the film would later expand into a trilogy, a series of video games and a collection of expensive but worthy toys in the real world, it was massively successful in its plight. Still at age 18 I play many of the Toy Story games and collect the toys when given the opportunity, with my personal favourite being the Little Green Men.

And with a skilful voice cast lined up, Toy Story is a treat on the ears as well as on the eyes.

Tom Hanks is perfect for the lead role of Woody. He hits the perfect tone of voice because he delivers all of his lines with organic comic charm at every moment, and his high pitched voice is iconic and hilarious. He puts all kinds of emotions into his voice performance, but most importantly he consistently maintains a likeable demeanour which is exactly what is necessary. He makes a great duo with Tim Allen who puts the ideal level of cheesy heroism into the role of the deluded Buzz Lightyear. The two voice actors make an excellent duo and deliver all of their lines on cue with perfect comic charisma, and it gives more positive iconic elements to the characters.

Don Rickles was hilarious because he nailed the perfect pompous persona for the part of Mr Potato Head which made him likeable yet egotistical at the same time. Jim Varney has the perfect deep voice for the role of Slinky Dog, Wallace Shawn brings a hilarious ironic persona to his part as Rex the cowardly Tyrannosaurus Rex toy, and the presence of John Ratzenberger as Hamm is the first in a long line of appearances he would then make in every Disney Pixar film to date. Every member of the voice cast in Toy Story is dead on and really funny in their parts, and it makes the film successful all over the board in terms of characters.

So thanks to the exceptional quality of the animation in the film, a genius screenplay and a talented cast of dedicated voice actors lined up, Toy Story ends up being one of the most unforgettable animated masterpieces of all time and a personal favourite for millions of viewers of all ages.