Instant Classic

Rating: 10/10 (23 October 2012)

Every company has that one movie that puts them on the map. That is what Toy Story did for Pixar. Toy Story is a cartoon about a little boy's toy collection that is alive when the little boy is not around. His name is Andy and he loves his toys, and they love him back. Woody is a cowboy and is Andy's favorite toy. The toys always get worried every Christmas and birthday because they fear they will be replaced by a bigger and better toy. The story starts off with Andy's birthday party and all of the toys are on edge. It turns out that a new toy by the name of Buzz Lightyear challenges Woody as the favorite toy. Buzz comes along, steals a little bit of the spotlight and Woody gets incredibly jealous. Eventually Woody and Buzz get lost and must find their way home and back to Andy before he and his family move away forever.
Let's start with the toys. I loved these toys. Mr. Potato Head, Rex the Dinosaur, Little Bow Peep, Woody, Buzz, Slink, Ham, and even Etch-a-Sketch are the main toys and each are lovable and different. Rex is hilarious because he is ironic. He is a dinosaur but he is a wimp, and he is my favorite of the toys. I remember watching as a little kid and I was always excited to see Rex on screen. Each character has their individual role. There are also toys every kid can relate with and that make the movie special. For example, the barrel of monkeys, the small soldiers, the etch-a-sketch, and Mr. Potato Head are toys every kid used to play with. The smaller toys aren't really relevant for long but when they are seen in the beginning and end of the movie their impact is huge.
One of the major themes in the story is jealousy and the relationship between Woody and Buzz. Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, was the favorite toy. Woody is a cowboy with a pull string that says some catch phrases. The other toys look up to him, he is a hero, and Andy loved him with all his heart. Andy dresses up like a cowboy, has Woody posters, and is obsessed with this toy. Woody embraces the love; it defines him, gives him confidence, and confirms that he is the leader. Then Buzz Lightyear comes into the picture with his better quality of a toy. He doesn't have a pull string, but a button Andy presses to have a better sound quality voice box will speak catch phrases. He is made of plastic, which is more durable and he has wings pop out which can simulate flight. Woody becomes incredibly jealous of Buzz and fights for Andy's love. He eventually knocks him out the window. Toy Story may be a kid's movie but it has an interesting and entertaining premise, especially with its characterization. Woody and Buzz both develop into better and stronger characters. Woody goes from a pompous, jealous, selfish, toy, into a respectable and lovable character. He and Buzz become best friends and inseparable, a little cliché, but it's a movie for families so it's perfect. When Buzz first appeared he thought he was a real "space ranger." He was convinced that he was not a toy, he could really fly, and he had a dangerous "laser" which was really a blinking light bulb. He develops and he eventually accepts the fact that he is a toy but he is a "cool toy." He is "Andy's toy." Woody admits his jealousy to Buzz and that becomes a turning point in their relationship.
We have our villain in the movie, Sid. This kid is just evil. He is a spoiled kid who "terrorizes toys, just for fun." One scene we the toys in Andy's room watch him as he straps firecrackers to a Commander Carl and it explodes. First of all, what kind of nine or ten year old kid plays with explosives? If he isn't nine or ten, what is he doing playing with kid toys? He may tear them apart and put different parts on them, making them scary and horrific for children to even see on screen, that just doesn't make sense. His character fits for a children's movie but in reality a kid like this would never exist in real life. Sid is really my only problem with the movie, but still a character needed for the film.
Overall, Toy Story is a classic and put Pixar on the map and was the beginning of a highly successful company. It came out in the 1995 and families everywhere fell in love, including me. It is a movie that can be watched again and again no matter what age. It is a movie kids will show their children when they are older. Teenagers lined up to see Toy Story 3 years later because it meant so much to them back when they were little. Toy Story and its characters left a rare imprint on the hearts of people all over the world. Without a doubt, Toy Story gets the WillyT Seal of Approval and goes down as one of my personal all time favorite animation movies.