Anthony's Film Review - Toy Story (1995)

Funny, heartwarming, and imaginative are how I would describe this groundbreaking animated film...

Toy Story makes an important milestone in the history of cinema by being the first feature-length computer-animated film. For that reason, it was selected to be part of the Library of Congress's National Film Registry archiving films of significance. Pixar Animation Studios should be proud of this achievement. Early on, the studio made short animated films that bring to life a variety of inanimate objects, such as a desk lamp and little toys. You might say that the latter was a precursor to this 1995 movie.

And unlike the earlier shorts, Toy Story adds life to its characters with voices. Tom Hanks does the voice of Woody, a toy cowboy who is like the leader of all the toys in Andy's bedroom. He is the one most respected and revered. However, it is all turned upside-down when a new toy enters the bedroom. Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, is the sleek new spaceman toy that Andy receives as a gift. All the other toys suddenly pay attention to him, and Woody naturally becomes jealous of Buzz.

As you can guess, the theme of this film is friendship. Woody and Buzz don't seem to get along, but when they get separated from the other toys, face danger in the bedroom of a toy-torturing kid, and race to get back to their gang, they have no choice but to work together. By the time the film has run halfway through, it's very clear that these toys are real characters with a life of their own.

Of course, the other toys playing the supporting roles are interesting. There's Mr. Potato Head, a piggy bank, a dinosaur, and a dog. The magical wonder of this movie is how it recreates a child's imagination when he or she is playing with toys in the bedroom. As children, we all imagine our dolls, stuffed animals, action figures, and other toys to have a life of their own. What better way to explore that is through a film like Toy Story?

So really, I have nothing more to say except that Toy Story is a masterpiece in feature-length animation. It's funny, sad, uplifting, and just a joy to watch. I'm not surprised that a sequel would be made years later. A great film like this deserves one.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Toy Story, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my reviews of the following:

The Toy Story Films