The most entertainment of all of Pixar's offerings so far.

Rating: Null/10 (12 November 2001)

It took me forever to see "Toy Story", mainly because the trailer seemed so gimmicky and because its refusal to give away any plot gave me the impression that it was solely flash with computer animation without substance. Plus, the fact that it was hyped to death made me sick of it before I even had any idea what it was about. But I finally got myself to watch it over a year later on home video and liked it more than I thought I would simply because--thank GOD!--it didn't fall into the trap that the trailer gave the impression of, that is, just try to throw computer animation on to what would otherwise be a lame script just to help it sell.
Now that I understand Pixar's deliberate attempts to keep the plots of their releases basically hidden as much as much, a refreshing change of pace for Hollywood, I can genuinely look forward to their releases. I enjoyed A Bug's Story, and Toy Story 2 was even better than the first one.
But THIS one... this one is the first that I've genuinely fallen in love with. This is the first Pixar release that I'm going to rush out an nab on DVD the second it's available. It's cute, charming, imaginative and is simply so much of a sheer delight for me that I can't resist it.
Should I try describing the basis plot? I'm not sure. People are probably all aware of the basic concept by now, and word about what goes on it is probably being spread like wildfire, so I doubt it's necessary. But let me talk about the things I enjoyed most without going into detail just in case:
I adore Sulley. He's the first Pixar character I've genuinely fallen completely in love it. His design is wonderful, his expressions perfect, and I just can't get over how beautifully every hair on his form is animated! Gorgeous work here, and computer animation at its finest and most expressive. Even a wildly critical artist like myself is impressed with this feat!
I also love the impressive grand finale sequence, I love it with filmmakers come up with a completely unusual approach such as this one. Speaking of which... ...the absolute best thing I loved about this movie most of all. Rather than giving us the typical gosh-wow-flash-bang-zowie Hollywood-style animated flashy ending, this one takes a completely different route--and it's about time an animated film tried doing this! It ends on a hauntingly touching quiet note that captures you simply and effectively.
***SPOILER*** The only thing I didn't like about the film is how the credits afterward insisted on using a gimmicky, cutesy song which sounds like a mere excuse to throw a song in to make the soundtrack CD more catchy and popular. After the perfect ending, even with a few added seconds of silence present, this song destroys the otherwise perfect effect that the ending creates. I personally would have liked the credits to have started rolling with either silence or, perhaps, a softly gentle piece of childishly innocent music quietly floating in the background to be sure the mood of the finale wasn't disturbed.