The Movie Book (Big Ideas Simply Explained) (2016)

IN CONTEXT

GENRE

Animation, adventure

DIRECTOR

John Lasseter

WRITERS

John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft (original story); Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow (screenplay)

STARS

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen

BEFORE

1991 Disney’s Beauty and the Beast uses some CGI.

AFTER

1998 CGI moves on in A Bug’s Life, Lasseter’s ant colony tale.

1999 Toy Story 2, the first fully digital film, is another big hit.

2007 Ratatouille combines CGI with a daring, original plot.

2012 Lasseter produces a 3D version of Beauty and the Beast.

Toy Story is a landmark movie: it was the first full-length film to use entirely computer-generated imagery (CGI) instead of traditional hand-drawn animation. Pixar, the new studio behind the movie, convinced movie-goers of CGI’s possibilities without relying solely on its technological novelty. Indeed, much of the movie’s appeal derives from its highly original characters and its plot—a simple yet heart-warming buddy story with plenty of excellent gags.

From the outset, Pixar set out to be modern, and chose not to seek inspiration in fairy tales and legends—the staples of Disney animated movies. In fact, the central conflict in Toy Story is about old versus new. A boy, Andy, discards his favorite toy, Woody, a cowboy of the Old West, when given a Buzz Lightyear, a futuristic space-ranger toy. Critics have suggested that Woody’s difficulty in accepting the new toy, with its gadgets and laser, and his grouchy attitude mirror audience fears about CGI excess replacing much-loved classic animation. The film shows Woody can coexist with Buzz. There is a place for nostalgia alongside progress, particularly when it comes in a package as good as Toy Story.

Woody watches enviously as Buzz Lightyear wows the toys. Buzz has no idea that he is a child’s toy—one of the jokes that drives the plot.

What else to watch: Monsters, Inc. (2001) ✵ The Incredibles (2004) ✵ Toy Story 2 (1999) ✵ Ratatouille (2007) ✵ WALL·E (2008) ✵ Toy Story 3 (2010)