"You are a cool toy"!

Rating: 8/10 (17 August 2011)

With films like "Toy Story", I feel like I'm going out of my movie comfort zone somewhat, but then on the flip side, I think I'd like to be a kid forever. At least in spirit. You know, like the seniors in the old age home in the Twilight Zone episode 'Kick the Can'. There's a lot to like about this picture; part of it's the cool animation and creative voicing, part of it's the clever use of sight gags that young kids would have no idea about, like the Binford Tool Box and the Punisher logo on Sid's shirt. I guess it's good to be old enough to have that perspective.
With only nominal appearances by the 'humans' in the movie, the picture stayed true to it's mission of presenting Andy's toys as if they were living and thinking creatures. They had their own favorites, showed emotion, and helped teach the lesson of having a friend by being a friend. When things looked bleak in Sid's back yard, the misfit toys even managed to violate their own prime directive, that is, they allowed Sid to see they were 'real' in order to help Woody and Buzz. I wonder if Sid ever got over it.
I read a dozen or so of the other comments on the picture and no one mentioned Randy Newman in their reviews. I'm sure someone did, but let me add my voice to that minority. "You've Got a Friend in Me" is a perfect accompaniment to the picture, and fits it like a glove. Now that I see what I've missed with these animated films going back to "Toy Story", I'll have to hunt up a few more and kick that getting older can down the road a few more times.