The one that started it all

Rating: 9/10 (5 June 2010)

Toy Story will forever be remembered as the first feature film to be fully animated by computer. Since its debut in 1995, dozens more have joined it, including a sequel (soon to be two sequels as of this writing), as well as several other excellent films from its animation company, Pixar. However, for its unique accomplishment, Toy Story stands alone. It doesn't hurt that even beyond the technical achievement, the film is charming, well-written, and touching.
The toys in question belong to Andy, who has a huge variety of them scattered around his room. The unofficial head toy is Woody, a cowboy toy who has "been Andy's favorite since kindergarten". Woody loves being the favored toy, but the order is shaken up when Andy receives a surprise present on his birthday: a Buzz Lightyear action figure, who causes Woody to become jealous when he begins to take over the #1 toy position in Andy's playtime.
There's a lot of good stuff in this film: The animation, which mostly still works 15 years later; the voice acting, which is carried out excellently; the story, which keeps viewers engaged throughout. What gets me most about Toy Story is the way that both Woody and Buzz must grow throughout the movie. Woody has to let go of his jealousy and accept that things change when someone new enters the mix. Buzz has to learn (the hard way) that he really is a toy, but that he has a very important role as such. This is better character development than we see in some "more mature" films. It was here that Pixar began a long line of memorable, excellently crafted characters.
Pixar has released ten feature films in the past fifteen years. Toy Story 3 this summer will make eleven. They've maintained a very high standard of quality during that time. It definitely helps that, with Toy Story, they were off to an excellent start.