TOY
STORY (Nov 1995) Director: John Lasseter.
Writers: John
Lasseter, Peter Docter, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft, Joss Whedon,
Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim Varney, R. Lee Ermey,
Annie Potts, Wallace Shawn, John Morris, Erik von Detten.
Y'know,
I always suspected my toys were coming to life when I
wasn't looking!
In
TOY STORY, young Andy's 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. Led by Cowboy
Woody (there's a BROKEBACK joke 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 toyish business of playing checkers, hanging around Andy's room, 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 "To Infinity and Beyond!"), TOY STORY
is that rara avis that succeeds on all levels - animation, storyline, character development, messages
of friendship and self-realization and, most importantly,
entertainment value. The fact this is a cartoon
(the "first ever computer-animated feature" - just what DO we call this new wave
of 3D cartoons?) is incidental. The slightly dodgy animation of the "real people" is
irrelevant; TOY STORY gets the point across with or without
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. It becomes doubly surprising when we consider
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
is Pixar's triumphal achievement - boldly contravening
Disney's idée fixé of the 1950's nuclear family
and Norman Rockwell fantasies, one of the many incarnations
of a modern 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 - becomes Andy's favorite toy over
Woody. The amusing thing is: though Buzz believes he is real,
he still adheres to toy protocol of "playing inert"
when humans are in the area. When he mentions saving a toy
from Sid, the vicious boy next door, how does he propose
to do it while adhering to the inert protocol?
Buzz's
ingenuousness regarding his toy role 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 oversized seatbelt; Buzz and Woody falling
in with green, three-eyed alien toys who regard them as gods; Buzz hyperventilating
as "Mrs. Nesbitt"). During a climactic rocket
ride, the callback line, "This is not flying - this
is falling with style," 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….
TOY
STORY (Nov 1995) Director: John Lasseter.
Writers: John
Lasseter, Peter Docter, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranft, Joss Whedon,
Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Jim Varney, R. Lee Ermey,
Annie Potts, Wallace Shawn, John Morris, Erik von Detten.
