Great fun, a film that's not just for kids

Rating: 9/10 (2 March 2002)

I wasn't too sure about this film before I watched it. The premise (basically of showing the secret lives of toys) sounded great, but I'm not a particular fan of the often sickly-sweet Disney, not to mention that I've seen several other computer animated films that were so-so, but didn't really live up to their hype. So it was with pleasant surprise that I found myself enjoying every minute of Toy Story.
The plot is straight forward; a bunch of toys, who live in a young boy called Andy's bedroom, come to life, walk, talk, and generally get up to mischief when no-one's around. They're lead by Wild West Sheriff doll Woody (superbly voiced by Tom Hanks), who, being Andy's favourite toy, takes it upon himself to organise all the toy's activities and make sure that they return to their proper place when anyone comes near. But Andy's birthday is coming up  something which the toy's are fearing, because that means one thing: presents; new toys, which if they're unlucky, could result in some of them being turned out for the next yard sale to make space!
Woody's life as the much-respected `leader' of the toys is bliss, until the fatal day of Andy's birthday, when the boy's last, biggest present turns out to be a galactic crusader Buzz Lightyear figure (voiced by Tim Allen), a shiny new toy with a lot of fancy features. Woody soon finds himself knocked off his place as most popular toy, and before long, he's planning to get rid of Buzz, which not only results in him loosing his respect from the other toys, but ultimately winds up with himself and Buzz being lost away from home.
Despite my initial worries about this film just being another over-hyped sickly Disney picture, I was not only pleasantly proven wrong, but would go as far as to say it's one of the most enjoyable, memorable films I've seen for several years (okay, well the film is 6 years old, but I've only just seen it!).
The voice actors are great and do the animated creations justice, and it's wonderful to see so many great toy characters brought to life. Some of the toys are created based on classic toy designs, while others  such as Mr. Potato Head  are based on real existing ones. The other toys who inhabit the bedroom include Slinky' Dog (complete with springy middle), Hamm the Piggy Bank, and Bo Peep  who has a soft spot for Woody. My personal favourites are the classic green toy soldiers (who are dispatched on a covert mission to report back to the other toys on what Andy's birthday presents are), and Rex, the plastic dinosaur who can't be just scary no matter how much he tries!
The story is nice and straight-forward, and as with all great simple stories, that works in it's favour and is what makes the film so enjoyable. It doesn't get bogged down in too many whats, hows and whys too much, it just delivers a wonderful world where toys come to life behind their owners back.
Despite all the flashy computer generated graphics and animation, beyond that the story has a wonderfully classical' feel, being sure to deliver some good old morals with it's tale. There's no violence (well, unless you consider a plastic toy falling out of a window violent!), no bad language, and you just know that things are going to wind up alright by the end of the story. There are no real bad guys; the main conflict is based around Woody's jealously and dislike for Buzz. The film's only real villain is Sid, a cruel neighbouring kid who enjoys destroying toys in as messy and as extreme ways possible.
The film is one that will appeal to all ages. As I said, initially I was rather put off by the Disney' label, fearing it would be the typically childish, by-the-numbers, squeaky-clean American tale as seen in so many other Disney films  particularly the animated ones in recent years. But there really is universal appeal in this film, with its wonderful mix of slick graphics, good voice acting, and sheer fun of bringing toys to life on screen. It's generally suitable for and will appeal to all, from very young to very old. The only bit that very young might not like so much is the scenes where Woody and Buzz are trapped at Sid's house, and they meet a horde of nightmarishly tortured' toys, that have been broken and re-assembled by Sid into creepy new creations.
All in all, a great film, and one that stands the key test of being enjoyable enough to watch over and over again.
And you know how all those times when you were a kid, much to the annoyance of your parents, your toys always seemed to end up in a mess and not where you left them? Well, now we know why!