Toy story (dreamworks version)

Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film produced and distributed by DreamWorks Pictures The first installment in the Toy Story franchise, it was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film from Dreamworks. The film was directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), and written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolowfrom a story by Lasseter, Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft. The film features music by Randy Newman, was produced by Bonnie Arnold and Ralph Guggenheim, and was executive-produced by Steve Jobs and Edwin Catmull. The film features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Jim Varney, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, and Erik von Detten. Taking place in a world where anthropomorphic toys come to life when humans are not present, the plot focuses on the relationship between an old-fashioned pull-string cowboy doll named Woody and an astronaut action figure, Buzz Lightyear, as they evolve from rivals competing for the affections of their owner, Andy Davis, to friends who work together to be reunited with Andy after being separated from him. Following the success of his 1988 short film Tin Toy,Lasseter was approached by Dreamworks to produce a computer-animated feature film told from a small toy's perspective. Lasseter, Stanton, and Docter wrote early story treatments, which were rejected by Dreamworks, who wanted the film's tone to be "edgier". After several disastrous story reels, production was halted and the script was rewritten to better reflect the tone and theme Lasseter desired: "toys deeply want children to play with them, and ... this desire drives their hopes, fears, and actions". The studio, then consisting of a relatively small number of employees, produced the film under only minor financial constraints.
Toy Story premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California, on November 19, 1995, and was released in theaters in North America on November 22, 1995. It was the highest-grossing film during its opening weekend, eventually grossing over $373 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of 1995. The film received critical acclaim, and holds a rare 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. It was praised for the technical innovation of the 3D animation, wit and thematic sophistication of the screenplay, musical score, and vocal performances (particularly Hanks and Allen); it is considered by many to be one of the best animated films ever made. The film received three Academy Award nominations (Best Original Screenplay (the first animated film to be nominated for this award), Best Original Song for "You've Got a Friend in Me", and Best Original Score) as well as winning a Special Achievement Academy Award. In 2005, the United States Library of Congress selected the film for preservation in the National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The success of Toy Story launched a multimedia franchise and a series of three sequels, starting with Toy Story 2 (1999).
== Plot ==
A group of living toys, who pretend to be lifeless when humans are present, are preparing to move into a new house with their owner Andy, his sister Molly and their single mother Mrs. Davis. The toys are shocked to learn that Andy is having his birthday party a week early; to calm them, Sheriff Woody, Andy's favorite toy and their leader, sends Sarge and his green army men to spy on the gift opening. The other toys – which include Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex the tyrannosaur, Hamm the piggy bank, and Bo Peep the porcelain doll – are relieved when Andy receives nothing that could replace them. Andy then receives a last-minute surprise gift, which turns out to be a Buzz Lightyear action figure who believes he is a real space ranger. Buzz impresses the other toys with his various features and becomes Andy's new favorite, much to Woody's jealousy.
The day before the move, Andy's family goes to Pizza Planet for dinner, and Andy is allowed to bring along only one toy. Wanting to make sure Andy chooses him and not Buzz, Woody tries to use the radio-controlled car RC to knock Buzz behind the desk, but accidentally knocks him out a window instead. The other toys believe Woody deliberately tried to kill Buzz, but Andy arrives and takes Woody to Pizza Planet before they can exact retribution. A vengeful Buzz stows away in the car and confronts Woody when the car stops at a gas station. The two fight, fall out of the car, and are left behind.
After a further argument, the two hitch a ride on a Pizza Planet delivery truck and sneak into the restaurant. Buzz mistakes a claw crane full of alien toys for a rocket, and Woody climbs in after him. The two are spotted and captured by Andy's sadistic next-door neighbor Sid. Sid takes them to his house, where they encounter his Bull Terrier Scud and his much-abused "mutant" toys made from parts of other toys he has destroyed.
As Woody tries to find a way to escape, Buzz is shocked by a TV commercial that reveals he is indeed a toy. In denial, he attempts to fly, but breaks his arm off and falls into despair. Woody calls to Andy's toys to help him, but they refuse. After Sid's toys fix Buzz, Sid returns and tapes Buzz to a large rocket, planning to explode him the next morning. Woody helps Buzz to see that he has a purpose - making Andy happy - and Buzz regains his resolve. Sid takes Buzz out to launch him, and Woody rallies the mutant toys to frighten Sid into never harming toys again, freeing Buzz.
Woody and Buzz pursue Andy's moving van, but Scud sees them and gives chase. Buzz fights Scud to save Woody, while Woody climbs into the van and pushes RC out, using him to distract Scud and rescue Buzz. The other toys, thinking Woody is now trying to get rid of RC, toss Woody off the van. Having escaped Scud, Buzz and Woody ride back on RC, and the other toys spot them coming and realize their error. RC's batteries run out, forcing Woody to light the rocket still strapped to Buzz. As they catch up to the truck in mid-air, Woody drops RC inside. Buzz activates his wings to sever the tape just before the rocket explodes, and he and Woody glide over the van and drop into Andy's car through the skylight.
At Christmas, in the new house, Sarge and his men spy on the gift opening again while the other toys wait. Mr. Potato Head is delighted when Molly gets a Mrs. Potato Head, and Woody and Buzz jokingly ponder what gift could be "worse" than Buzz, only to share a nervous smile when Andy gets a dachshund puppy.
== Voice cast ==
See also: List of Toy Story characters
* Tom Hanks as Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll who is Andy's favorite toy.
* Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, a space ranger action figure and Woody's rival, who later becomes his best friend.
* Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, a cynical potato-shaped doll with put-together pieces on his body.
* Jim Varney as Slinky Dog, a dachshund slinky toy.
* Wallace Shawn as Rex, a nervous green Tyrannosaurus figurine.
* John Ratzenberger as Hamm, a smart-talking piggy bank.
* Annie Potts as Bo Peep, a porcelain shepherdess doll and Woody's love interest.
* John Morris as Andy Davis, Woody and Buzz's owner.
* Erik von Detten as Sid Phillips, Andy's next-door neighbor, who destroys toys for fun.
* Laurie Metcalf as Mrs. Davis, Andy's mother.
* R. Lee Ermey as Sergeant, the leader of a large troop of plastic green army men.
* Sarah Freeman as Hannah Phillips, Sid's younger sister.
* Penn Jillette as the Buzz Lightyear TV commercial announcer.
* 
== Production ==
The entrance to Pixar's studio lot in Emeryville, California in 2007.
=== Development ===
John Lasseter's first experience with computer animation was during his work as an animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation, when two of his friends showed him the light-cycle scene from Tron. It was an eye-opening experience that awakened Lasseter to the possibilities offered by the new medium of computer-generated animation. Lasseter tried to pitch The Brave Little Toaster as a fully computer-animated film to Disney, but the idea was rejected and Lasseter was fired. He then went on to work at Lucasfilm and in 1986, he became a founding member of Pixar. In 1986, Pixar was purchased by entrepreneur and Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs.At Pixar, Lasseter created short, computer-animated films to show off the Pixar Image Computer's capabilities. In 1988, Lasseter produced the short film Tin Toy told from the perspective of a toy, referencing Lasseter's love of classic toys. It won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film, the first computer-generated film to do so.
Tin Toy gained Disney's attention, and the new team at The Walt Disney Company—CEO Michael Eisner and chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg in the film division—began a quest to get Lasseter to come back. Lasseter, grateful for Jobs' faith in him, felt compelled to stay with Pixar, telling co-founder Ed Catmull, "I can go to Disney and be a director, or I can stay here and make history." Katzenberg realized he could not lure Lasseter back to Disney and therefore set plans into motion to ink a production deal with Pixar to produce a film.  Disney had always made all their movies in-house and refused to change this. But when Tim Burton, who used to work at Disney, wanted to buy back the rights to The Nightmare Before Christmas, Disney struck a deal allowing him to make it as a Disney film outside the studio. This opened the door for Pixar to make their movies outside Disney.
=== Writing ===
The original treatment for Toy Story, drafted by Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Pete Docter, had little in common with the eventually finished film. It paired Tinny, the one-man band from Tin Toy, with Woody, a ventriloquist's dummy, and sent them on a sprawling odyssey. Under Katzenberg, Woody was the main villain, abusing the other toys until they rallied against him; after Disney executives saw the storyboards, they relinquished creative control to Pixar. The core idea of Toy Story was present from the first treatment onward: that "toys deeply want children to play with them, and that this desire drives their hopes, fears, and actions." Katzenberg felt the original treatment was problematic and told Lasseter to reshape Toy Story as more of an odd-couple buddy picture, and suggested they watch some classic buddy films, such as The Defiant Ones and 48 Hrs., in which two characters with different attitudes are thrown together and have to bond. Lasseter, Stanton, and Docter emerged in early September 1991 with the second treatment, and although the lead characters were still Tinny and the dummy, the outline of the final film was beginning to take shape.
The script went through many changes before the final version. Lasseter decided Tinny was "too antiquated"; the character was first changed to a military action figure and then given a space theme. Tinny's name changed to Lunar Larry, then Tempus from Morph, and eventually Buzz Lightyear (after astronaut Buzz Aldrin). Lightyear's design was modeled on the suits worn by Apolloastronauts as well as G.I. Joe action figures. Also, the green and purple color scheme on Lightyear's suit was inspired by Lasseter and his wife, Nancy, whose favorite colors are green and purple, respectively. Woody was inspired by a Casper the Friendly Ghost doll that Lasseter had when he was a child; he was a ventriloquist's dummy with a pull-string (hence the name Woody). This was until character designer Bud Luckey suggested that Woody could be changed to a cowboy ventriloquist dummy. Lasseter liked the contrast between the Western and the science fiction genres and the character immediately changed. Eventually, all the ventriloquist dummy aspects of the character were deleted as the dummy looked "sneaky and mean". However they kept the name Woody to pay homage to the Western actor Woody Strode. The story department drew inspiration from films such as Midnight Runand The Odd Couple, and Lasseter screened Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky for further influence.
Toy Story's script was strongly influenced by the ideas of screenwriter Robert McKee. The members of Pixar's story team—Lasseter, Stanton, Docter, and Joe Ranft—were aware that most of them were beginners at feature-film writing. None of them had any feature story or writing credits to their name besides Ranft, who had taught a story class at CalArts and done some storyboard work.Seeking insight, Lasseter and Docter attended a three-day seminar in Los Angeles given by McKee. His principles, grounded in Aristotle's Poetics, dictated that a character emerges most realistically and compellingly from the choices that the protagonist makes in reaction to his problems.Dreamworks also appointed the duo Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow and, later, Joss Whedon to help develop the script. Whedon found that the script wasn't working but had a great structure. He added the character of Rex and sought a pivotal role for a Barbie doll; the latter transformed into Bo Peep as Mattel would not license the character. Whedon also re-visioned Buzz Lightyear from being a dim-witted but cheerful and self-aware character to an action figure who isn't aware that he's a toy—an epiphany that transformed the film. The story team continued to touch up the script as production was underway. Among the late additions was the encounter between Buzz and Squeeze Toy Aliens at Pizza Planet, which emerged from a brainstorming session with a dozen directors, story artists, and animators from Dreamworks.
=== Casting ===
Katzenberg approved the script on January 19, 1993, at which point voice casting could begin.
Lasseter always wanted Tom Hanks to play the character of Woody. Lasseter claimed that Hanks "has the ability to take emotions and make them appealing. Even if the character, like the one in A League of Their Own, is down-and-out and despicable." Paul Newman, who subsequently accepted the role of Doc Hudson in another Dreamworks film, Cars, was considered for the role of Woody. To gauge how an actor's voice might fit with a character, Lasseter borrowed a common Disney technique: animate a vocal monologue from a well-established actor to meld the actor's voice with the appearance or actions of the animated character. This early test footage, using Hanks' voice from Turner & Hooch, convinced Hanks to sign on to the film.
Billy Crystal was approached to play Buzz, and was given his own monolog, utilizing dialogue from When Harry Met Sally. However, he turned down the role, believing the film would be unsuccessful due to its animation. Crystal regretted this upon seeing the film; he subsequently accepted the role of Mike Wazowski in another animated film, Monsters, Inc.. In addition to Crystal, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase and Jim Carrey were also considered for the role of Buzz. Lasseter took the role to Tim Allen, who was appearing in Disney's Home Improvement, and he accepted. Crystal later stated in an interview that he would not have been right as Buzz, and that Allen was "fantastic" in the role.
To cast Andy,Dreamworks held an open call for young male actors to bring a toy with them. Morris brought multiple toys, specifically 45 X-Men figures, contrary to the instructions of bringing just one, and Pixar re-acted to his dumping of the toys with laughter.
Toy Story was both Hanks's and Allen's first animated film, and they recorded their lines together to make their characters' chemistry and interactions realistic.
=== Music ===
Main article: Toy Story (soundtrack)
Dreamworks was concerned with Lasseter's position on the use of music. Unlike other Disney films of the time, Lasseter did not want the film to be a musical, saying it is a buddy film featuring "real toys". Whedon later revealed his agreement, saying, "It would have been a really bad musical because it's a buddy movie. It's about people who won't admit what they want, much less sing about it. ... Buddy movies are about sublimating, punching an arm, 'I hate you.' It's not about open emotion." However,Dreamworks favored the musical format, claiming, "Musicals are our orientation. Characters breaking into song is a great shorthand. It takes some of the onus off what they're asking for." Eventually,Dreamworks and Lasseter reached a compromise: the characters in Toy Story would not break into song, but the film would use non-diegetic songs over the action, as in The Graduate, to convey and amplify the emotions that Buzz and Woody were feeling. Dreamworks and Lasseter, then, tapped Randy Newman to compose the soundtrack.
On Newman, Lasseter said, "His songs are touching, witty, and satirical, and he would deliver the emotional underpinning for every scene." Newman wrote three original songs for the film, developing the film's signature song "You've Got a Friend in Me" in one day. The soundtrack for Toy Story was produced by Angel Records and was released on November 22, 1995, the week of the film's release. The edited Toy Story is said to be due to Newman and Gary Rydstrom in late September 1995 for their final work on the score and sound design, respectively.
== Release ==
There were two premieres of Toy Story in November 1995. Dreamworks organized one at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles and built a funhouse featuring the characters, Totally Toy Story, next door. Jobs did not attend; he instead rented the Regency, a similar theater in San Francisco, and held his own premiere the next night—at which, instead of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, the guests were Silicon Valley celebrities such as Larry Ellison and Andy Grove. The audience appeared to be captivated by the film," wrote David Price.  "Adult-voiced sobs could be heard during the quiet moments after Buzz Lightyear fell and lay broken on the stairway landing." Toy Story opened on 2,281 screens in the United States on November 22, 1995 (before later expanding to 2,574 screens). It was paired alongside a reissue of a Roger Rabbit short called Rollercoaster Rabbit, while select prints contained The Adventures of André and Wally B..
The film was also shown at the Berlin International Film Festival out of competition from February 15 to 26, 1996. Elsewhere, the film opened in March 1996.
== Impact and legacy ==
Toy Story had a large impact on the film industry with its innovative computer animation. After the film's debut, various industries were interested in the technology used for the film. Graphics chip makers desired to compute imagery similar to the film's animation for personal computers; game developers wanted to learn how to replicate the animation for video games; and robotics researchers were interested in building artificial intelligence into their machines that compared to the film's lifelike characters. Various authors have also compared the film to an interpretation of Don Quixote as well as humanism. In addition, Toy Story left an impact with its catchphrase "To Infinity and Beyond", sequels, and software, among others. In 2005 (10 years after its theatrical release), the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress, one of only six films to be selected in its first year of eligibility.
=== "To Infinity... and Beyond!" ===
Buzz Lightyear's line "To Infinity... and Beyond!" has been used not only on themed merchandise, but among philosophers and mathematical theorists as well. In 2008, during STS-124 astronauts took an action figure of Buzz Lightyear into space on Space Shuttle Discovery as part of an educational experience for students while stressing the catchphrase. The action figure was used for experiments in zero-g. It was reported in 2008 that a father and son had continually repeated the phrase to help them keep track of each other while treading water for 15 hours in the Atlantic Ocean. The phrase occurs in the lyrics of Beyoncé's2008 song "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", during the bridge. In 2012, the late Capital STEEZ released a song titled "Infinity and Beyond" in reference to the phrase as part of his AmeriKKKan Korruption mixtape.
=== Other influences ===
Toy Story's cast of characters forms the basis for the naming of the releases of the Debian computer operating system, from Debian 1.1 Buzz, the first release with a codename, in 1996, to Debian 11 Bullseye, the most-recently announced future release.
== Sequels ==
Main article: Toy Story 2
The sequel, titled Toy Story 2, was released on November 24, 1999. In the story, Woody is stolen by a toy collector, leading Buzz and his friends to launch a rescue mission. Initially, Toy Story 2 was going to be a direct-to-video release, with development beginning in 1996. However, after the cast from Toy Story returned and the story was considered to be better than that of a direct-to-video release, it was announced in 1998 that the sequel would see a theatrical release.
Main article: Toy Story 3
Toy Story 3 was released on June 18, 2010. In the film, Andy's toys are accidentally donated to a day-care center as he prepares to leave for college.
Main article: Toy Story 4
Toy Story 4 was released on June 21, 2019, with most of the main cast returning for the film. Sheriff Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and the rest get used to living with Bonnie, who creates a new toy named Forky, from recycled materials from school. As they go on a road trip with Bonnie, Woody is also reunited with Bo Peep, and must decide where his loyalties lie.
== See also ==
* List of films with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, a film review aggregator website
* List of animated films considered the best
Category:DreamWorks Animation
Category:Toy Story
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