Histoire de jouets

Y'know, I always suspected that my toys were coming to life when I wasn't looking!

In Andy's Room, his toys lead lives of noisy desperation come every birthday and Christmas - no one wants to be one-upped by a new addition to the toy box. Nominally led by Cowboy Woody (there's a Brokeback joke in there just waiting to happen), Mr. Potato Head, Rex the Dinosaur, Ham the piggybank, Bo Peep, Slinky the dog and a smattering of other playthings go about their toy business of playing checkers, hanging with the hometoys and "plastic corrosion awareness meetings," until Andy's birthday party, when they gather expectantly around a transistor radio, listening to the reports of their toy soldier troops "in the field" (downstairs watching Andy's gift-opening), hoping that no gift will be exciting enough to cause Andy to neglect *them.* There is. His name is Buzz Lightyear, Space Ranger.

Directed by Pixar mainstay John Lasseter, with the voice talents of Tom Hanks (as Woody), Don Rickles, John Ratzenberger (forever Cliff from *Cheers*), R. Lee Ermey, Annie Potts, Jim Varney and Tim Allen (as Buzz), *Toy Story* is that *rara avis* that succeeds on all levels – in its animation, storyline, character development, its messages of friendship and self-realization and, most importantly, its entertainment value. The fact that this is a cartoon (or animated feature – just what DO we call this new wave of computer-generated movies?) is incidental. Which makes the slightly dodgy animation (of the "real people") irrelevant - it gets the point across with or without the technological finesse.

The "Disney Movie" has become synonymous with maudlin messages, redneck fundamentalism, anachronistic family values, boneheaded parents, smart-mouthing youngsters, too-hip-to-be-smart teens and insufferable pets. Though Disney's tyrannical umbrella overarches this film's production studio, Pixar Animation, *Toy Story* somehow avoided all trace of Disney's craven hand, which is doubly surprising, considering this is Pixar's first feature length film, after years of experimentation. Right outa the gate and right outa the field.

Sure, there are "messages," but they are heartfelt, rather than maudlin (Woody tells Buzz during Buzz's greatest depression that it matters not what Buzz thinks of himself, what makes him important is what his owner, Andy, thinks of him); there are emotional segments, which are truly heartbreaking, rather than cheesy (when Buzz's escape attempt lands him with a broken arm, proving he is Not A Flying Toy, the lyric, "Clearly I will go sailing no more," launches a thousand hankies); and the portrayal of Andy's family was Pixar's triumphal achievement. Boldly contravening Disney's *idée fixe* of the 1950's nuclear family and Norman Rockwell fantasies, one of the many incarnations of a modern-day family is presented: a single mother with two kids, who are neither geniuses nor monsters, just normal children; happy to visit Pizza Planet and disappointed when favorite toys are lost.

Buzz – who believes he is a real life space ranger on a mission to save the universe - become Andy's favorite toy over Woody. The funny thing is: though Buzz believes he is real, he still adheres to toy protocol of "playing inert" when humans are in the area. (Maybe it's instinct?) When he mentions saving a toy from Sid, the vicious boy next door, how does he propose to do it if he is to adhere to the inert protocol? Buzz's ingenuousness regarding his role as a toy infuriates Woody to the point of attempted toy-assassination. Through a concatenation of accidents, both he and Buzz become lost and must use teamwork, trust and ingenuity to beat their path back to Andy, which finds them ensconced in scorchingly funny vignettes (Buzz fastening himself in an over-sized seatbelt; both falling in with green, three-eyed aliens; Buzz hyperventilating as "Mrs. Nesbitt"). During a climactic rocket ride, the callback line, "This is not flying - this is falling with style," simply seals this movie's greatness.

At least I now have a plausible explanation as to why my toys always got lost: after going about their toy business, they would just go inert anywhere they happened to be, instead of paying attention to their master's infallible toy filing system….

Andy's toys live a reasonable life of fun and peace, their only worries are birthdays and Christmases, when new toys could easily replace those already there. One such birthday Andy's top toy, Woody the cowboy, finds himself in direct competition with Andy's new Buzz Lightyear doll. When rivalries boil over Woody tries to hide Buzz down the side of the bed but accidentally pushes him out the window, the other tops expel Woody, and he leaves with no choice but to find Buzz and return him to the house. But with only two days before Andy moves house, time is of the essence.

Given how often the same mix of animation, wit, jokes and kids humour has been used since Toy Story (Ice Age, Monsters Inc, Bugs Life) it is easy to forget how refreshing it was when it first came out. I have just watched it again and it is dating a little in comparison to more recent twists on the formula. It seems each one has to be sharper and have more references etc in the background. However it is still very funny and deserves praise for being the first of a successful formula.

The plot is simple but effective and actually has genuine drama and excitement to it. The main story is fun but the degree of character development is what really shores it up. The conflict between Buzz and Woody is taken deeper than this and, when confronted by the truth of his status as a toy, Buzz's turmoil is very real as opposed to him being a cartoon character and nothing more. Despite the two strong leads there is a real depth in the support cast. They may not actually have that many lines, but they have all the funniest lines. Most of the `adult' wit comes from the Potato Head, dinosaur, the pig and slinky dog. They are funny and are very well used. In fact the majority of this humour and plot will go right over kids heads.

Looking back on it, I do feel a cynical edge on it in so much as this film must really have helped sales of the toy companies in the film. It's hard not to see the marketing department standing behind this film rubbing their hands. However the actual product is so wonderfully fun that I forgot this quickly. The voice work is excellent and the characters match the actors. Hanks is good as Woody and Allen has a good B-movie type voice for Buzz. Varney, Ratzenberger, Ermey (doing his usual), Rickles and others are all really good in the support roles and, probably, come out as the favourite characters for adults.

Overall this is a classic film that will appeal to adults as much as to kids (if not more). A good plot and a really sharp script make the already short running time fly by. The only downside is that your kids will want you to go out and buy the damn things!

Though I am not a big fan of computer animation,I have to give the folks at Pixar credit.This brand of animation is nothing short of brilliant.The attention to detail,such as eye and body movement is quite remarkable.Computers allow them to make their characters as close to human like as possible,something we have never seen in traditional hand drawn animation,though the latter will always be the closest to my heart.Combine this excellence with a genuinely good story idea and a top notch voice cast and the result is good family entertainment.It's obvious that the people at Pixar are not only caring perfectionists when it comes to film making,but they care about our kids,something rarely seen today.Highly recommended for any home library.

This is a very clever animated story that was a big hit, and justifiably so. It had a terrific sequel and if a third film came out, that would probably be a hit, too.

When this came out, computer technology just was beginning to strut its stuff. Man, this looked awesome. Now, it's routine because animation, which took a giant leap with this movie, has made a lot more giant strides.

The humor in here, however, is what made this so popular. There are tons of funny lines, issued by characters voiced by Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim Varney, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn and John Ratzenberger, among others. As good as Hanks is as "Woody" and Allen as "Buzz Armstrong," I think the supporting characters just about stole the show: Mr. Potato Head, Slinky, Rex the dinosaur, etc.

Multiple viewings don't diminish the entertainment, either. There are so many things to catch, audibly and visually, that you always seem to discover something new. The colors in here are beautiful, too. This is a guaranteed "winner" as is the sequel.

This is as close to perfection as any animated film has come, entertained parents on a equal plane with their children, and set the bar to the top of the animation film industry. No film has yet come close to Toy Story in legitimizing animation as a film art on the level of movies with live actors. Great comedies are hard to come by - Toy Story strikes gold on that basis alone, but is so much more. One of the Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time, and currently resides on my "Top 10 Greatest Comedy Films (1960-Present)" list.