Review 24: Toy Story

Toy Story is an amazing animated film and a childhood favorite of mine.

A kid called Andy has a group of toys who look lifeless but come to life when no ones around, Andy's favorite toy is a cowboy doll named Woody (Tom Hanks).
On Andys birthday he gets a space ranger action figure named Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) who actually believes hes a space ranger and doesn't realise hes a toy and quickly becomes Andys new favorite toy. This makes Woody jealous and he accidentally knocks Buzz out the window which causes all the other toys to get mad at him. But Woody is taken by Andy to an space-themed restaurant called Pizza Planet and Buzz (having surviving the fall) follows.
When Buzz finds Woody the two fight and get left behind at a petrol station and then end up at Andy's next door neighbor Sid (Erik von Detten) who likes to torture toys. Woody and Buzz must escape from Sid and along the way a friendship builds between them.

I was hooked the minute I saw this film, I loved it, I had the actual toys of the characters and I remember playing with them and pretending they were alive.

The plot is a work of genius. What makes it so remarkable is that it touches on a simple yet extremely poignant subject matter. Every child imagines there toys are actually alive

At its core, Toy Story is a simple but effectively touching story about friendship: A friend in need is a friend indeed.

It also took animation to a whole new level as it was the first computer animated film ever made.

Director John Lasseter's animation direction is beautiful fluid throughout the film, the animation is astonishing, the Character Design is sensational, they design so many toys of all different sizes and shapes, I've got to ask how many kids actually went to shops and bought them as actual toys?
The production design is breathtaking, creating so many small spaces and the toys community, the humor is memorable and quotable, there are great moments of intensity as well as some imense action set pieces, the score and songs by Randy Newman are masterful and memorable and the ending is hilarious.

The voice acting was excellent as well especially from Tom Hanks and Tim Allen who voice there characters of Woody and Buzz impeccably well.

Woody is an old soul which is understandable given that he's a 50's pull string doll. He's been Andy's favourite toy since Kindergarten according to Mr. Potato Head and has grown just as attached to Andy as Andy has to Woody and he wouldn't want it any other way which makes his jealousy of Buzz feel completely natural as he feels threatened by Buzz's cool factor.

Buzz is a character who took a life of his own and became an icon overnight. Buzz represents that toy we all wanted as kids but most of us weren't lucky enough to get: The ultimate action figure of the ultimate hero.

They were born to play their roles, Erik von Detten was a scary villain and you've got an excellent supporting cast: Don Rickles as Mr Potato Head, Jim Varney as Slinky Dog, Wallace Shawn as Rex, John Ratzenberger as Ham, Annie Potts as Bo Peep and John Morris as Andy.

Toy Story is a classic animated film and a must see, 5/5.

The Anonymous Critic