Toy Story is a film that almost didn’t happen. In November 1993 CGi animator and Pixar employee John Lasseter was told his story just wasn’t working and was given 3 months to turn his film around. That day was dubbed Black Friday by Pixar staff. Thankfully Lasseter persevered and took this unique idea from inception to creation hitting the big screen in 1995, earning $5bn to date in the box office and collecting 24 Oscars – one of them being a Special Achievement Award for Lasseter.
Lasseter and Disney/Pixar had made cinema history with the first computer generated feature length film, Lasseter was later named Chief Creative Officers at both Disney and Pixer animation studio. The creation of Toy Story is a fairytale in itself. 15 years later the latest instalment in the story of Andy and his toys is as magical as ever. Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toy box are back to give a farewell to Andy as he heads off to college, a coming of age story with a twist.
In an unfortunate turn of events the toys end up in a Day Care Centre instead of tucked away safely in the attic where they could romanticise about being played with again by Andy’s children. Hurt and disillusioned by Andy’s apparent rejection of them, the toys search for a new home, but somehow end up in the Day Care Center from hell. Now it’s up to our hero Woody to convince the toys that Andy didn’t throw them out and get them back to the attic before Andy leaves for college.
The film creates a great sense of nostalgia both in terms of the characters and for the older viewers. It’s appeal stretches across age barriers jogging the memory of anybody who had a Fisher Price telephone on wheels (I have been searching the attic for it since seeing this film!) or any of the toys for that matter. Love is in the air when the toys arrive in the Day care Centre as Barbie meets her soul mate (and fellow bimbo) Ken, who comes fully equipped with Ken’s Dream House (lift and all!) and a wardrobe of vintage clothes. Woody discovers the headquarters of the crime circle in the Day Care Centre and sets about rescuing his friends. But Buzz, reset to his original factory settings, is convinced the galaxy is in trouble and must fight to save the day, oh the tomfoolery!
There are plenty of laugh out loud moments for young and old, like when Woody ends up changing Buzz’s language to Spanish, classic! Or when Barbie and Ken take turns saying every second word of ‘I love you’ so that each of them gets to say the word love, adorable! The 3D is not obnoxious and in your face (excuse the pun), instead completely unobtrusive and manages not to take over as the star of the film, a real bonus.
By Trish Keenan.
By Trish Keenan
