Review Recall: Toy Story

Review Recall: Toy Story

We’re staying in the nineties for the third review recall in a row. I promise we’ll get out of the decade soon, but no quite yet. We are travelling forward a year to 1995 where an animated film came out by Disney and a then unknown studio called Pixar. The film in question is obviously Toy Story. 

The Story: Andy loves all his toys, but it’s no secret that Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) is his favourite. What Andy doesn’t know is that when he is away, the toys come out to play, literally. On top of being Andy’s favourite, Woody also acts as leader to the other toys, comforting them that nobody will be replaced. 

That is until Andy gets a new toy, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). Buzz is an impressive toy to say the least and quickly wins the affections of the other toys and Andy himself, leaving Woody jealous. However, Buzz has one flaw, he doesn’t realize he is a toy. 

All this affection causes Woody to snap and formulates a plan to get rid of Buzz. However, things go awry and Buzz ends up outside. Woody is sent to retrieve Buzz. The unlikely partners are forced to work together to get back home or never see their friends or Andy again. 

The Film: I will state from the off that Toy Story is my favourite movie of all time, so of course I’m going to be biased.  Then again, my blog, my rules so Ha Ha. That being said Toy Story has definitely revolutionised animated films as we see them. The visuals of Toy Story are certainly impressive and undated even sixteen years later. 

However, the visuals no matter how impressive aren’t the best thing about Toy Story. Behind the superb looks of the film lies a superbly crafted and heart warming tale about friendship and loyalty. John Lassater and his team has made the ultimate ‘buddy love’ movie where two characters will learn to survive and become better friends for it. 

Not only is it a well structured story the film has heart in abundance. Every character cackles with its own unique personality. The only downside to Toy Story is its runtime. At less than 80 minutes, this film fan would have loved to see Woody and Buzz get into and out of more miniature hi-jinks. 

The Performances: Admittedly, it is hard to evaluate the performance of the actors since they are never seen on screen. But the voice performances are something to definitely behold. Pixar have the knack of not necessarily finding the biggest names, but pick voices that completely fit the characters they are playing.

This is certainly the case in Toy Story. From Hanks’ loyal but jealous sheriff Woody to the wickedly witty John Ratzenberger as Hamm and the seriously sarcastic Mr Potato Head, voiced by Don Rickles, everybody is so immersed in their character that it’s hard to see them playing anyone else. 

           However, it is definitely Tim Allen who steals the show as space ranger Buzz Lightyear. Allen’s comically macho voice fits Buzz to a tee making everything the delusional space man says hilarious. This might be down to the fact that Buzz is one of the greatest fictional characters ever crafted, but being voiced by Tim Allen definitely helps rather than hinders. 

The     Verdict: One of the greatest animated films of all time? Definitely. One of the greatest FILMS of all time? Definitely. John Lassater and the Pixar team create a film with as much heart as visual prowess and gave a generation a reason to double check their rooms, just to see if anything had moved. 10/10.

 Th     

         tThanks for reading. 

          Follow me on Twitter @glamgrunge. Add me on facebook. Until next time, Go to the Movies. 

          Daniel Morris