Pixar Luxo Jr. is completed. The short film, John Lasseter’s directorial debut, is unveiled in August at SIGGRAPH and then screened for general audiences at Los Angeles-area theaters in November. Luxo Jr. will be the first three-dimensional computer animated film to be nominated for the Best Animated Short Film Oscar®. 1986 1987 Red’s Dream is completed. Its rain effect and complexity of lighting pose new technological challenges for the team and allow a study in creating mood and atmosphere. A portion of the film is rendered entirely on the Pixar Image Computer. Also directed by John Lasseter, the short film has its premiere in July at SIGGRAPH. 1987 1988 Tin Toy is completed. A partially completed version is screened for SIGGRAPH audiences in August, and the film receives its official premiere later that year at the Ottawa International Film Fest. Tin Toy will be the first computer animated film to receive an Academy Award® when it is named Best Animated Short Film of 1988. Pixar’s new animation system, Menv (short for "modeling environment"), comes online. 2000 2001 Monsters, Inc.

is released in theaters on November 2, accompanied by For the Birds. Monsters, Inc. reaches over $100 million in domestic box-office in just 9 days—faster than any animated film in history. It will receive two Academy Award® nominations, including Best Song; Randy Newman will take home the Oscar® for "If I Didn't Have You," from the Monsters, Inc. soundtrack. Rob Cook, Loren Carpenter and Ed Catmull receive an Academy Award of Merit® for Significant Advances in the Field of Motion Picture Rendering. Pixar now numbers over 600 employees. Co-founder Ed Catmull is named Pixar's President. 2001 2002 Mike's New Car, the first-ever Pixar short featuring characters from another Pixar film, premieres on September 17. It is featured as part of the Monster, Inc. DVD and VHS release. The short will receive an Academy Award® nomination for Best Animated Short Film. "a bug's land" attraction opens on October 7 at Disney California Adventure Park. 2002 2003 Finding Nemo is released in theaters on May 30, accompanied by a remastered version of Knick Knack.

Finding Nemo breaks opening weekend box-office records domestically for an animated feature. Finding Nemo will be nominated for four Academy Awards® and win the Oscar® for Best Animated Feature. Boundin' premieres and will be nominated for the Academy Award® as Best Animated Short Film. Brave is released in theaters on June 22, accompanied bythe short La Luna. Brave is nominated and wins the Academy Award® for Best Animated Feature Film . Partysaurus Rex, Time Travel Mater, and The Legend of Mor'du are all released. 2012 2013 Monsters University is released in theaters on June 21, accompanied by the short The Blue Umbrella. ABC Televised special Toy Story Of Terror and Tales From Radiator Springs (Hiccups, Spinning, Bugged), are all released. 2013 Toy Story That Time Forgot, Pixar's Holiday TV special, aired on December 2, 2014 on ABC. 2014 2015 After premiering at the 68th Cannes Film Festival in May, Inside Out was released in North America on June 19, 2015, accompanied by the short film LAVA.

Inside Out went on to receive several awards, including an Academy Award®, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, Critics' Choice Award, Annie Award, and Satellite Award for Best Animated Feature. 2015-1 2015 (cont.) The Good Dinosaur premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood on November 17, 2015. It was accompanied by the short film Sanjay's Super Team. 2015-2 2016 Finding Dory premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on June 8, 2016, and was released in the United States on June 17, 2016. Finding Dory is ranked as the highest-grossing animated debut of all time. It was accompanied by the Short Film Piper. 2016 Toy Story | Pixar Wiki | Fandom powered by Wikia "Hang on for the comedy that goes to infinity and beyond!" —Tagline Toy Story is Pixar 's first full feature film. It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures in theatres in the U.S. on November 22, 1995 .

It was written by John Lasseter , Pete Docter , Joss Whedon , Andrew Stanton , Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow , and was directed by Lasseter as well. The film's music was written by Randy Newman . Toy Story is also the first full-length theatrically-released feature film to be made entirely with computer generated imagery (CGI). Thanks to the enormous marketing power of Disney/Pixar's production partner, the film was so successful that it swarmed a sequel, Toy Story 2 which was released in theatres November 24, 1999 . Eleven years later, Toy Story received a second sequel, Toy Story 3 which was also released in theatres June 18, 2010 . Both sequels were hits and garnered critical acclaim similar to the first. Leading up to the premiere of Toy Story 3, as part of its promotion, Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were re-released in theatres as a double feature in 3-D on October 2, 2009 , ten years after the release of Toy Story 2. So Toy Story 3 was released in 3-D.

A third sequel, Toy Story 4 , has also been announced, set for 2017 and now has been moved to 2019 . It might also be released in 3-D. Contents [ show ] Story Set in a world where toys come alive, the plot of Toy Story focuses on the toys of a little boy named Andy Davis and centers on his favorite toy, a pull-string cowboy doll named Woody , worrying about replaced by Andy's newest toy, a space ranger named Buzz Lightyear . When Woody and Buzz are suddenly trapped in the house of Andy's toy-killing neighbor Sid Phillips and his vicious dog Scud , they must work together to escape if they ever want to return to Andy's house . Plot The film begins with a six-year-old boy named Andy Davis playing with his toys, such as a Mr. Potato Head toy, a plastic dinosaur toy named Rex , and his favorite toy, Woody , a cowboy doll. He takes Woody into the living room and plays with him some more, with a short interruption talking to his mom about his birthday party later that day and the upcoming move to a new house. After playing with Woody, Andy starts helping his mother by carrying his baby sister Molly to her.

While he's away, all of the toys come to life. The party makes all the toys extremely nervous, wondering if Andy will get a toy that will replace them. Woody sends the small green soldiers led by Sarge downstairs to spy on the party. At the end of the party, Ms. Davis pulls out a surprise gift from behind her, which turns out to be a Buzz Lightyear action figure in spaceship packaging. Andy and his friends run upstairs to open him and in his hurry Andy knocks Woody off the bed. They quickly leave, and the other toys welcome the newcomer. Buzz, however, doesn't seem to be aware that he is a piece of plastic, believing himself to be the actual Buzz Lightyear on a mission to save the universe from Evil Emperor Zurg . The other toys take to him immediately, being impressed by his many features. Only Woody is unconvinced, showing jealousy towards Buzz, who might replace him as Andy's favorite toy. As time passes, Andy replaces many of his cowboy themed room decorations with space ones causing Woody's resentment to rise while Buzz attempts to fix his 'damaged spaceship' (in reality, a piece of the packaging had been torn). Sometime later, Ms.

Davis takes Andy and Molly on a trip to the space-themed Pizza Planet restaurant. Andy asks if he can bring any toys, and she agrees to let him take one. Woody, knowing Andy will choose Buzz, plans to trap him in a gap behind Andy's desk by using RC so Andy won't find him and will have to take Woody instead. However the plan goes badly wrong and instead knocks him out the window by accident. When the other toys, including Mr. Potato Head learn of Woody's actions, most of them think Woody tried to kill Buzz out of jealousy. They then try to attack him, but Woody is rescued when Andy, unable to find Buzz, takes Woody on the trip instead. At a stop at a Dinoco gas station to refuel the car, Woody (after pondering how he's going to convince the toys that the whole thing was an accident) finds that Buzz grabbed ahold of the family's minivan and is with them. After a conversation, the two toys begin to fight, knocking each other out of the minivan, and are left behind when it drives away. Woody convinces Buzz to hitch a lift on a Pizza Planet truck in order to return to Andy.

Woody finds Andy there, but Buzz, still thinking he's a real space ranger and believes that Pizza Planet is a spaceport, climbs into a toy crane game, thinking that it's a spaceship that will take him to Emperor Zurg's location. Woody goes in after him, but the two eventually are found by Sid Phillips , who lives next door to Andy and is known to torture and destroy toys just for fun. Left alone in Sid's room , Woody and Buzz come upon a group of mis-matched toys , the results of Sid's many "experiments". Woody and Buzz react in fear, thinking that the mis-matched toys are cannibals. Meanwhile, at Andy's house , the toys continue to look for Buzz in the bushes. But when Andy and his mother come home, Andy notices that Woody's gone. The other toys wonder what has become of the two. Some are worried for both Buzz and Woody, while others express their hope that Woody has met a bad end. The next day, at Sid's house, Woody and Buzz, having been mistreated by Sid (Sid burned Woody's forehead with a magnifying glass), try to escape, only to run into Sid's crazy Bull Terrier Scud .

Eventually getting out of Sid's room, Buzz comes upon a TV where he sees a commercial for the Buzz Lightyear line of toys. Watching it, he realizes that Woody was right about him: he was a toy this whole time, not a real space ranger. However, in denial (and one last desperate attempt to prove he's not a toy), Buzz tries to fly out of a window by jumping off the guardrail of the stairs on the second floor to prove that he can fly, only to fall to the floor, losing his right arm in the process. He is found by Sid's little sister Hannah , who takes him away to put him in her tea party. Woody finally finds Buzz in Hannah's room, dressed as "Mrs. Nesbit" and attending a tea party. While Woody formulates a plan of escape, Buzz is too depressed to care. When Woody throws a string of Christmas tree lights across the way to the toys in Andy's room, Buzz refuses to back him up; Woody tries to use Buzz's detached arm in a desperate attempt to convince Andy's toys that Buzz is with him, but when they see through this act, they take it as evidence that Woody truly did murder Buzz and leave him in disgust.

The Mutant Toys then return and swarm over Buzz, and Woody finds that they have repaired him and reconnected his arm. However, before Woody can make friends with them, Sid returns with his new acquisition: a firework rocket. He decides to blow up Woody with it, but cannot find him as Woody hides in a milkcrate. Sid then decides to blow up Buzz instead but is stymied by rainfall. He unknowingly traps Woody in the crate by putting a heavy toolbox on top, a plans to go ahead in the morning. Overnight, Woody tries get Buzz to help him escape. However, Buzz is still depressed that he's only a toy. Woody tries to convince him that being a toy is much better than being a Space Ranger, and Andy still thinks he's the best thing in world. Buzz doesn't know why Andy would want him, and Woody explains while coming to terms with his own feelings of resentment: "Why would Andy want you?! Look at you! You're a Buzz Lightyear. Any other toy would give up his moving parts just to be you. You've got wings, you glow in the dark, you talk, your helmet does that... that whoosh thing. You are a COOL toy...

as a matter of fact you're too cool. I mean -- I mean what chance does a toy like me have against a Buzz Lightyear action figure?" As Woody sadly states that he should be the one taped to Sid's rocket, Buzz looks at his boot where Andy has signed his name, helping his realize how much Andy loves him and how being a toy isn't too bad. The two try to escape (although Buzz accidentally knocks the toolbox on Woody when trying to get the milkcrate off of him). Unfortunately, Sid wakes up and takes Buzz out to blow him up, leaving Woody alone in the room. Even worse, Andy and his family are getting ready to move, with Andy depressed over having seemingly lost Woody and Buzz having only been able to find Buzz's cardboard spaceship and his cowboy hat. Woody calls out to the Mutant Toys to tell them a plan to escape. After a daring escape through the house and past Scud, Woody and the mutants end up in the yard with Sid. They decide to break the rules and they allow Sid to see that they can move on their own.

Woody even speaks to him through his voicebox, telling him that his toys are sick of being tortured, then with his own voice tells him (in a sinister way) to play nice. This freaks Sid out and he runs into the house screaming, where his sister frightens him with her new doll Sally (a possible replacement for her original doll Janie , which was destroyed by Sid). Now freed from Sid, Woody and Buzz try to catch Andy's moving van just as it is pulling away from the house. After saying farewell to the Mutant Toys, a harrowing chase follows, with Scud chasing them and Andy's toys not helping, since they still think that Woody intentionally got rid of both Buzz and RC. Luckily, Woody and Buzz get rid of Scud and the other toys finally see that Woody was telling the truth and realized their mistake. Eventually, with the help of RC, Andy's remote control car, and strategic use of Sid's rocket, Woody and Buzz return to Andy, whose mom assumes they were in the car all along. At Christmas in Andy's new house , we see a scene similar to the birthday party, with the toys less worried about the new ones. Mr.

Potato Head is pleased to find out that Molly has been given a new Mrs. Potato Head . When discussing being replaced by a new toy (like Woody was almost replaced by Buzz), Woody poses the question to Buzz, "What could Andy possibly get that is worse than you?" The answer comes in the form of Andy's first present, a puppy (which makes Woody and Buzz feel quite uneasy). Voice Cast Production The film's working logo, seen on the teaser trailer. [4] Toy Story began its life as an extension of Pixar's short Tin Toy , which featured Tinny , a mechanical drummer who tries to find his way in a baby's play room. The original plot called for Tinny to butt heads with a ventriloquist's dummy. Ultimately, Tinny was found to be too immobile for the storyline and he was developed as a "space toy", first named Lunar Larry. His character was eventually renamed Buzz Lightyear , in honor of American Naval aviator and NASA Apollo astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. The ventriloquist's dummy gradually evolved into a pull-string cowboy doll named Woody, in honor of Western actor Woody Strode.

Woody's character was gradually made more edgy during production, at the suggestion of Jeffrey Katzenberg, head of Disney. Pixar knew this was the wrong decision, but went ahead and complied with the requested script changes. Even Tom Hanks, Woody's voice actor, expressed his disapproval with the changes to Woody's character, going as far as shouting "This guy is a jerk!" in the middle of delivering one of his lines for the story reel. On November 19, 1993, a day that was later known at Pixar as "Black Friday," Pixar screened a mock-up of the film to Disney, who had agreed to own and distribute the film. The executives' reaction was overwhelmingly negative, and further work on Toy Story was shut down until writers had written with an acceptable script. Foreshadowing would become common in later Pixar films during production meltdowns, John Lasseter and the writers worked for months on a to rewrite the script before Disney approved further work on voice and animation. The shutdown had been terrifying for Pixar, but it ultimately showed both parties to trust the storytelling talents of the Pixar writers, and let Disney handle most corporate and marketing matters.

Woody's final character was redefined as the the benevolent, wise, and popular leader of Andy's toys instead of their tyrannical boss, but he maintained a lot of pride in being Andy's favorite toy. The original "support group" style discussion was replaced with a less juvenile and awkward staff meeting, to further emphasize the toys' approval of Woody's leadership and make it clear to Disney that Pixar had done much to improve his image. Buzz's character was also tweaked a little bit as well. Pixar altered his lines to make him seem more deluded and convinced that he is an actual Space Ranger. This allowed for more gags and comedic opportunities than was possible with the previous script and allowed buddy-comedy style interactions for the first time. Reception Critical Response Toy Story has received universal critical acclaim since its release in 1995. It holds a rare 100% Certified Fresh rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes and 92/100 on Metacritic. Time named it the 8th best film of 1995. In 2003 it was ranked 'the greatest animated movie of all time' by the Online Film Critics Society.

More recently, famous movie director Terry Gilliam praised the film and said it's "a work of genius. It got people to understand what toys are about. They're true to their own character. And that's just brilliant. It's got a shot that's always stuck with me, when Buzz Lightyear discovers he's a toy. He's sitting on this landing at the top of the staircase and the camera pulls back and he's this tiny little figure. He was this guy with a massive ego two seconds before... and it's stunning. I'd put that as one of my top ten films, period." Box Office Results Toy Story was the number one movie of the year in 1995 (beating Batman Forever and Apollo 13), according to Box Office Mojo . It opened the day before Thanksgiving and made almost $10 million on Wednesday and Thursday, plus another $29 million over the weekend. It was the number one film for its first 3 weekends, and then again the last weekend of December. During its theatrical run it grossed $191.8 million domestically and $362 million worldwide. At the time it was the third highest-grossing animated film, behind The Lion King and Aladdin.

Rating Although this movie was rated G in the United States, it was rated PG in the United Kingdom most likely due to Sid's violence and the ordeal with the mutant toys in his bedroom. Attached Short Film Theatrical and video releases of this film include Tin Toy , Pixar's short film released in 1988. Sequels and Spin-offs Sequels Four years later, Toy Story was followed by a sequel titled Toy Story 2 which was released in theaters on November 24, 1999 . Eleven more later, Toy Story was followed by a second sequel titled Toy Story 3 which was released in theatres and 3D on June 18, 2010 . Tom Hanks , Tim Allen , Wallace Shawn , John Ratzenberger , Don Rickles , John Morris , Laurie Metcalf , R. Lee Ermey and Jeff Pidgeon reprise their roles of their characters in both sequels. Annie Potts and Jim Varney also reprised their roles of Bo Peep and Slinky Dog in TS2, although in TS3, Bo was written out of the story (although she made a brief cameo during opening of TS3).

As for Slinky Dog, because of Jim Varney's death one year after the release of TS2, he was voiced by Blake Clark in TS3. It was announced in November 2014 that Pixar is working on a third sequel, Toy Story 4 , set to be released in theaters in the Summer of 2019. Toy Story 2 focuses on Woody being stolen a greedy toy collector (voiced by Wayne Knight ) who plans to sell him to a toy museum in Japan and Buzz, Rex, Hamm, Mr. Potato Head and Slinky Dog go on a mission to save him. Toy Story 3 focuses on Andy growing up and Woody, Buzz and the rest of his remaining toys accidentally donated to a Day Care Centre where they meet some not so friendly toys . Toy Story 4 will be a love story and open a new chapter for Woody, Buzz and their friends. Spin-Offs One year after Toy Story was released, there were ABC shorts called Toy Story Treats .

In 2000 , Pixar released a Buzz Lightyear TV Show titled Buzz Lightyear of Star Command (2-D animated spin-off TV series) which aired 2000- 2001 and a movie called Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins (2-D animated spin-off movie of Toy Story) released direct-to-video 2000. In 2011 and 2012 , Pixar released three shorts film that follow the events of TS3 titled Toy Story Toons . The first one titled Hawaiian Vacation was released in theatres and 3D June 24, 2011 with Cars 2 . The second one, Small Fry was released in thaetres November 23, 2011 with The Muppets . The third one, Partysaurus Rex was released in theaters and 3D September 14, 2012 with the 3D-re-release of Finding Nemo . Plus Woody , Buzz , Rex and Mr. Potato Head have recently appeared in two television specials titled Toy Story of Terror and Toy Story That Time Forgot .

Merchandise See Merchandise Promotion Toy Story had a large promotion prior to its release, leading to numerous tie-ins with the movie, including images on food packaging. A variety of merchandise was released during the film's theatrical run and its initial VHS release including toys, clothing, and shoes, among other things. When an action figure for Buzz Lightyear and Sheriff Woody was created it was initially ignored by retailers. However, after over 250,000 figures were sold for each character prior to the movie's release, demand continued to expand, eventually reaching over 25 million units sold by 2007. Gallery A Report on Toy Story, a 1995 Motion Picture by John Lasseter | Kibin A Report on Toy Story, a 1995 Motion Picture by John Lasseter Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here Pages: 2 This preview is partially blurred. Sign up to view the full document. Sign Up & Access Essays Already a member? Login here End of preview Upgrade to view the full document This is an unformatted preview.

Sign up to view the full document End of preview Upgrade to view the full document Toy Story is the groundbreaking 1995 motion picture developed by Disney and Pixar and directed by John Lasseter The film was so revolutionary not only because it was the first feature length animation to be created completely by CGI Computer Generated Imagery but also the film was more rounded in all respects The characters not only looked more sophisticated and three-dimensional but their personalities were also more human and fewer cartoons like The film uses a constructed text in order to put across a theme of two very different characters learning to work together beyond their rivalries to rise above a common enemy and work towards a common goal The film uses characters and imagery very cleverly to portray this theme The music used in the film is also different to other Disney features Rather than the characters bursting into song themselves as in Aladdin or Hercules the songs are played and sung by an outside person Randy Newman and reflect the mood and emotions of the characters in a particular scene For example the title sequence song Friend in Me when Woody and Andy are playing together and the scene where Andys room has been made over to a Buzz Light-year theme Strange Things where the song reflects Woodys confusion and fear not only about the change in his surroundings but also the change in

 his friends and his own character and self-confidence The attention to the smallest detail for example the reflections in Buzzs visor give the film even more realism and depth The use of unusual and imaginative camera angles made possible by the use of CGI also adds to the texture and pace of the film The film is then set against the background of toys Woody voiced by Tom Hanks is the favorite toy of a little boy called Andy However on Andys birthday he receives a new toy Buzz Light-year voiced by Tim Allen This leads to a massive @Kibin is a lifesaver for my essay right now!!

- Sandra Slivka, student @ UC Berkeley Wow, this is the best essay help I've ever received! - Camvu Pham, student @ U of M If I'd known about @Kibin in college, I would have gotten much more sleep - Jen Soust, alumni @ UCLA Toon Story: John Lasseter's Animated Life Toon Story: John Lasseter's Animated Life by Mike Lyons John Lasseter. Photo courtesy of Disney. It was late 1995 and Toy Story was the big story. The film was ruling the box-office, critics were tossing out four star reviews like confetti and animation historians were dubbing the film's director, John Lasseter, the "Walt Disney of computer animation." Lasseter knew he had done well, but wasn't sure just how well, until he and his family were returning from a vacation at Walt Disney World. "We stopped and changed planes at the Dallas-Fort Worth airport," he remembers. "Getting off the plane, my son said, `Daddy! Daddy!

Look!' And there was a little boy, about four years old, with his mom, clearly waiting for his dad, he was so excited...and he was holding a Woody doll. It all came home at that point. I realized how these films really touch people." With Toy Story, we were not only introduced to the amiable pull-string cowboy doll, Woody, the supercharged Buzz Lightyear action figure, and such familiar faces as Mr. Potato Head, Slinky-Dog and green Army men, but we also got a true milestone - the first all-computer animated feature. The Story Supreme Best of all, Toy Story wasn't just all about the technology; it was a solid story with memorable characters, that just happened to be told with computer imagery. As one of the pioneers of the medium, as well as vice president of creative development for Pixar Animation Studio, co-producer of Toy Story with Disney, this is what John Lasseter strives for over any photo-realistic effect that computers can provide. "You cannot base a whole movie on just the imagery alone," he says.

"It has to be the story and the characters." Audiences liked these elements of Toy Story so much, that the film went on to generate over $350 million in ticket sales and also brought a Special Achievement Oscar to Lasseter. The Walt Disney studio liked Toy Story too, so much so that, last year, Disney and Pixar signed an agreement to produce jointly five movies over the next ten years. The first of these is A Bug's Life, a re-telling of "The Grasshopper and the Ants" fable for a new generation. The film hits theaters this month, as the second of this fall's computer animated "insect epics." The first was last month's Antz from chief competitor DreamWorks, SKG. Toy Story. � Disney. All Rights Reserved. Getting An Early Start Audiences may be just beginning to latch on to computer animation, but for Lasseter, it's like an old friend, with roots that go back to childhood. "I loved cartoons," admits Lasseter.

"I would get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday, get my bowl of cereal and watch cartoons from when they started until `Bowling for Dollars' came on." Coupled with this was the fact that Lasseter's love for artistic creation was fueled by his high-school art teacher mom. "She would bring home extra paint, paper and markers," adds Lasseter. "So, I was constantly doing little art projects." Years later, while a high school student himself, Lasseter discovered Bob Thomas' book, The Art of Animation, which took a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Sleeping Beauty. "I realized that people make cartoons for a living. It had never dawned on me that you could do this as a career." Lasseter began corresponding with the Disney studio and during his high- school senior year, they sent him a letter stating that they were initiating a character animation program with the California Institute of the Arts (Cal Arts). Lasseter enrolled and spent four years learning the craft from Disney's masters of the medium. A Disney Beginning In 1982, the young artist was hired at the Disney studio as an animator. A dream job? Yes, but for Lasseter, something was missing.

"I was always feeling that animation had reached a plateau with 101 Dalmatians," he says. "Somehow, I felt that the films after that, while they had wonderful moments and characters, overall, they were just the same old thing." Lasseter knew that animation needed something to help it rise to another level. Then, he heard about a film that the Disney studio was producing using the nascent technology of computer animation. It was called Tron. Lasseter was able to get an early glimpse of the film's "light cycle" sequence and says, "It absolutely blew me away! A little door in my mind opened up. I looked at it and said, `This is it! This is the future!'" Lasseter talked the Disney studio into letting him do a thirty-second test that combined hand drawn animation with computer backgrounds. "It was exciting," says Lasseter, "but at the time, Disney was only interested in computers if it could make what they were doing cheaper and faster. I said, `Look at the advancement in the art form. Look at the beauty of it.' But, they just weren't interested." Luxo Jr. © Pixar.

The Birth of Pixar The studio may not have been interested, but Lasseter still had an incredible thirst for this burgeoning medium, which led him to Lucasfilm Ltd., where Edwin Catmull, now Pixar's vice president and chief technology officer, was starting up a computer division. In 1986, Steve Jobs, co-founder and chairman of Apple Computer, Inc., purchased the computer division of Lucasfilm and incorporated it as an independent company, under the name Pixar, where he now serves as chairman and chief executive officer. Over the next decade, the Pixar studio, located in Point Richmond, California, would lead the computer animation industry both technically and aesthetically. Lasseter directed the studio's first short film, 1986's Luxo, Jr, which starred a desk lamp and its precocious child. Two years later, another of the studio's shorts, Tin Toy, also directed by Lasseter, would tell the tale of a destructive baby and a nervous wind-up toy. The short subject would make history as the first computer animated film ever to win an Academy Award.

The short subject sprang from Lasseter's love for toys (he still has his entire Hot Wheels car collection from childhood), which was taken to greater heights with Toy Story. A Bug's Life. © Disney Enterprises, Inc./Pixar Animation Studios. All Rights Reserved. A Bug's Life Now, both Pixar and Disney hope that computer generated lightening indeed strikes twice with A Bug's Life. In the film, a misfit ant named Flik (voiced by News Radio's Dave Foley) tries to save his colony from a group of greedy grasshoppers, led by the villainous Hopper (Kevin Spacey). Flik recruits a group of insects he thinks are mercenaries, but instead turn out to be inept performers from a flea circus. "Part of what makes a great movie is character growth," says Lasseter, who co-directs A Bug's Life with Andrew Stanton. "With Flik, he grows quite a bit, but more importantly, everyone around him, because of his influence, also grows a tremendous amount. In your own life, you don't realize all the people that you come in contact with - your friends, your loved ones - how much you affect them.

It's a really apt emotional core to the film that fits with everyone's everyday lives." Flik, star of A Bug's Life is described as "an original thinker out-of-step with the rest of the more traditionally-minded bugs." Sound like someone we know? © Disney Enterprises, Inc./Pixar Animation Studios. All Rights Reserved. In addition to Spacey and Foley, Bug's Life also features a stellar voice cast that includes Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the ant Princess Atta, Denis Leary as Francis, a male lady bug with a "chip on his wing," Jonathan Harris (Dr. Smith from Lost in Space) as Manny, the praying mantis magician, the late Roddy McDowall as the ant Mr. Soil, and Phyllis Diller as the Queen of the ant colony. There is another member of the cast that many outside animation circles may not recognize. Joe Ranft, a veteran Disney story man, provides the voice of Heimlich, the always-hungry caterpillar. During the early days of production on Bug's Life, Ranft provided the voice for Heimlich on the film's temporary soundtrack.

Lasseter remembers, "In creating the character Heimlich, Joe, who is just a very funny person, did this hilarious, high-pitched, German, mama's boy voice. We were just cracking up." While casting the voices, the filmmakers searched for another, "permanent" Heimlich, but none seemed to match Ranft's performance. Then, Lasseter brought a rough-cut, "story reel" home to show his wife and five sons. "Every time Joe said Heimlich's line, my wife giggled," he says. That's all it took, Lasseter told Ranft the next day that he had the part. © Disney Enterprises, Inc./Pixar Animation Studios. All Rights Reserved. Next? As a follow-up to A Bug's Life, Disney and Pixar will release Toy Story 2 next year. In the sequel, Woody is stolen by an overzeleaous toy collector and Buzz and the other playthings must venture out to save their friend. Lasseter, who will serve as the film's executive producer with animators Ash Brannon and Colin Brady directing, says he had no qualms with handing his characters over to other people.

"They are my `babies,' but they are also our `babies.' Everybody helps create these characters and films. They're in very capable hands." Lasseter is now watching another "off-spring" grow up, as A Bug's Life enters theaters. "I always equate it to having a child and then raising it," he says. "At a certain point, your son or daughter graduates from high school and goes to college. You give them to the world and hope that you did okay. That's very much like these movies. When we get to the release date, we realize that the movie doesn't belong to us any more. It belongs to the world and you just hope that you did okay." No doubt "proud parent" Lasseter will be hoping for a strong showing at the box office, a warm reception from critics and, most importantly, a child somewhere hugging a Flik doll. Mike Lyons is a Long Island-based freelance writer, who has written over 100 articles on film and animation. His work has appeared in Cinefantastique, Animato! and The Disney Magazine. Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.

Toy Story - PIXAR PIXAR Journal Toy Story (1995) Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and directed by John Lasseter. Toy Story was the first feature-length computer-animated film and the first film created by Pixar. It set a benchmark in terms of animation to which other film companies have since aspired. When the first Pixar feature, Toy Story, was released in 1995, the animated genre saw a new age dawn. Not only did it introduce the world to computer-generated animation; but also showed the capacity for humanity and emotion that director John Lasseter and the rest of the team brought to the animated film. Toy Story was technically at the top of its game, while also illustrating some very familiar thematic throughlines that included the rivalry between Woody and Buzz Lightyear, the buddy comedy, the fear that we all have of becoming obsolete, and of course the very idea of toys having a life of their own. The result was a huge success and created the cinematic superpower known as Pixar along the way. Woody’s anguish is the film. It is its purpose and its essence.

ToY Story Analysis - Woody and Buzz The world that Toy Story inhabits, where toys have secret lives unbeknownst to their owners, is quite marvelous. The film is not simply about about anthropomorphic, plastic toys. The film delves deep into the existential nature of toys. The wondrous thing about the film is that the toys want to be played with, and want to love and be loved by their owner. The desire to be owned and to be the object of play is so foreign to human experience that its application in Toy Story is brilliant. Everything that Andy’s toys think about and desire revolves around being played with and remaining relevant. Playtime is a thing to revel in. Selection for bedtime and trips away from home are special treats. Birthdays and Christmas are wrought with anxiety for fear of being replaced. Moving brings on the stresses of being lost. These are not the general concerns of everyday people. We can only relate to the desires of toys by way of metaphor. The genius of the story and the film is that it establishes its world so convincingly and adheres to its own dynamics so skillfully that identifying with the concerns and struggles of toys becomes not just possible but inevitable.

The synopsis for the film is not, in fact, “What if your childhood toys had a life of their own?” But, truly, it is, “What if your toys wanted nothing more than for you to play with them?” That is it. The difference between the two is distinct and serious. One is a speculative fantasy, the other is an empathetic exploration. The basis of the film is the former, but its substance hinges on the latter. It is what makes Toy Story, Toy Story, and, generally, what makes Pixar, Pixar. During the scene at the Dinoco gas station, Woody becomes exacerbated by Buzz: “I’m lost, Andy is gone, they’re going to move from their house in two days, and it’s all your fault!” From here the adventure begins. Woody’s only goal is to get back to Andy, his owner. At this moment, though, we see Buzz for the foil he is. In full spaceman-mode, he looks out onto the moon and soliloquizes: “Right now, poised at the edge of the galaxy, Emperor Zurg has been secretly building a weapon with the destructive capacity to annihilate an entire planet.

I alone have information that reveals this weapon’s only weakness.” Yet the journey ahead for Buzz is not a cosmic adventure but a heart-wrenching exploration. Buzz’s arrival at Andy’s birthday party is the precise contrast the film needs to the world it depicts. Buzz is a toy who doesn’t care (or know) that he is a toy. His values are not the same as Woody’s and the others. Does he care if he gets played with? No. Does it matter if Andy marks him with permanent ink? Not really. His presence is counter to everything the toys know. He and Woody are beautifully and diametrically opposed. More incisive, though, may be the arcs that both Woody and Buzz take. How they intersect and diverge is where the the depth of the film is found. There are two moments of epiphany for Buzz. The first with his detached arm lying next to him on the red tile below Sid’s stair. The second with a rocket strapped to his back while Woody extolls upon the virtues of a “Buzz Lightyear” and confessing how much Buzz means to Andy. The first is more dramatic, with Randy Newman’s soundtrack softly and sadly intoning over Buzz’s fall.

The second is more subtle — a moment of recognition and acceptance. It happens in an instance. Buzz’s growth must to be two-fold. Of course he needs to identify that he is in fact not a space ranger, but he also needs to identify his own value. Accepting who he is and who loves him, pushes him to stand up. Woody’s own crisis, though, is the heart of the film. At the moment we find him lost and alone at the Dinoco gas station, his world has been turned upside down. Buzz’s arrival in Andy’s room has displaced his whole sense of self. He is no longer the favourite or the leader. There he berates Buzz, “If you hadn’t shown up in your stupid, little cardboard spaceship and taken away everything that was important to me…” Everything Woody has held onto is crumbling before his eyes. The film, then, becomes a story about self-discovery and personal growth for Woody. He has to imagine a world larger than the one he has been inhabiting. He has to understand that the life he has led has changed and is not returning.

For many of us in the audience we recognize these scenarios from our own lives and look fondly not at the moments before these crises when the world was enchanting, but at the crises themselves for the maturity and blossoming they brought. Woody and Buzz’s parallel and perpendicular paths thematically richen the story, but also sensibly tie the two of them together. Their struggles of self inextricably bind them, and by the film’s end, their banding together to escape Sid’s house and return to Andy does not feel cheap or unearned. Instead, because of their shared paths, we can root for them during their bold escape and and enjoy their happy ending. The story, up until that point, did everything flawlessly to merit its ending. In summary, Toy Story did a marvelous job of setting a standard by which all Pixar films can be judged. It’s originality in story concept, character conceits, and thematics lightly tread out a path in the grass. For the films to come, following that path will require keen awareness of its switches and turns, an understanding of its landscape and hazards, and a memory of the course already taken.

Create a free website 1995 Animation Movies 1995 Animation Movies 81 mins G100% The art of animation goes "to infinity and beyond" as Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios, a Northern California-based pioneer in computer graphics, join creative forces on the infinitely entertaining "Toy Story," the first full-length animated feature to be created entirely by artists using computer tools and technology. Four years in the making, this delightfully irreverent new comedy-adventure combines an imaginative story and great characters with the visual excitement of 3-D computer-generated animation. Conceived and directed by John Lasseter, a former Disney animator whose innovative work with Pixar includes the 1989 Oscar-winning short, "Tin Toy," this film represents a major milestone in animated moviemaking with its groundbreaking graphic style adding to the believability of a world where toys have a life of their own. With a cast of top vocal talent headed by Tom Hanks and Tim Allen plus three entertaining new songs and an inspired score by renowned composer/performer Randy Newman, the fantasy takes flight and provides extraordinary delights for moviegoers of all ages.

81 mins G56% "Pocahontas" is set in 1607, just as a new age of exploration has begun. A group of British adventurers led by the greedy governor of the Virginia Company, John Ratcliffe, and including a fearless soldier named John Smith, have set sail for the New World aboard The Susan Constant, seeking gold and other treasures. Meanwhile, in Virginia, a beautiful young Native American woman named Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, ponders her path in life and dreams about what lies "just around the riverbend." Should she marry Kocoum, the stern warrior her father has chosen for her, or does destiny have something else planned for her? She turns to her forest friends -- Meeko, a mischievous raccoon, a feisty hummingbird named Flit and Grandmother Willow, a 400-year-old mystical spirit residing in an ancient tree -- for friendship and advice. Upon their arrival, the British settlers begin digging up the countryside in a frenzied and naive quest for gold. Charged with protecting the colony, John Smith scouts the area and meets Pocahontas.

Despite their initial apprehensions and conflicts, they are attracted to one another and she introduces him to a world unlike any he has ever known. Pocahontas teaches him that every rock, tree and creature has a living spirit and explains how the Indians are able to "paint with all the colors of the wind." As their friendship blossoms, relations between the British and the Indians continue to deteriorate with fear and hatred mounting daily. When Smith is captured by Powhatan and set to be executed, Pocahontas bravely places her own life on the line by declaring that he must kill her first. Smith reciprocates the sacrifice by saving Powhatan's life from a British bullet, but is wounded in the process. In a powerful and moving finale, he and Pocahontas must part, knowing that their spirits will be forever joined on a path that never ends. 78 mins G53% It's the last day of school, and Max wants to catch the eye of Roxanne, one of the more attractive girls in school. But how can you be cool when your dad's Goofy? Stage an impromptu concert at the final assembly, that's how!

Or at least it sounded good until Principal Mazer found out. Goofy finds out about his son's antics (sort of), and decides a fishing trip, like his dad took him on, is the solution. Of course, he doesn't know that Max finally lands a date with Roxanne for a party thrown by the class valedictorian. Through the movie, Goofy tries to bring Max out of his shell, while Max resents being taken away, and lying to Roxanne about the trip (he tells her he & his dad will be appearing on TV at the PowerLine concert in LA). Will Max sink or swim? Will Goofy goof up his son's first shot at romance? Will Bigfoot step back? And what about those nuns? 111 mins G Shizuku lives a simple life, dominated by her love for stories and writing. One day she notices that all the library books she has have been previously checked out by the same person: 'Seiji Amasawa'. Curious as to who he is, Shizuku meets a boy her age whom she finds infuriating, but discovers to her shock that he is her 'Prince of Books'.

As she grows closer to him, she realises that he merely read all those books to bring himself closer to her. The boy Seiji aspires to be a violin maker in Italy, and it is his dreams that make Shizuku realise that she has no clear path for her life. Knowing that her strength lies in writing, she tests her talents by writing a story about Baron, a cat statuette belonging to Seiji's grandfather March 10th, 1995 121 mins Shiro Lhadatt joins the Royal Space Force only because his low grades bar him from the air force; he encounters ridicule from manipulative leaders and shares apathy with his fellow co-workers. A chance encounter with devout young Riquinni spurs him towards his destiny—to become the first man in space. 45 mins Unrated Alice is tired of sitting with her sister by the brook with nothing to do when suddenly out of nowhere a curious white rabbit, with clothes and a pocket watch, appears. The rabbit seems to be in a hurry and Alice decides to follow it burning with curiosity.

Alice follows the white rabbit into his hole and soon finds herself falling down what seems like an endless tunnel; the entrance to Wonderland, a place where everything is nonsense and every creature seems to have lost its marbles. Alice joins the Mad Hatter and the March Hare for a mad tea party and later attends the trail of Jack, accused of stealing some tarts made by the wicked and temperamental Queen of Hearts. Written by Frederick Irizarry

Question: Directed by John Lasseter, what was, in 1995, the first film to be entirely computer-generated?
Answer: Toy Story