Toy Story (1995)
Director: John Lasseter
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios / Disney
Re-Release: October 2nd 2009
“Still infinitely phenomenal”
Almost 15 years after its initial cinema release, Pixar’s first film “Toy Story” vaults back onto screens in 3d, a mere week before the release of Pixar’s tenth film, the superb “Up”. From George Lucas’ pet division at Lucasfilm to the company which, upon stock market floatation, made Apple’s Steve Jobs a billionaire, and which has taken in over $2.4 billion in ticket sales over the years. Spearheaded by a former animator on “The Fox and the Hound”, let go by Disney for his radical ideas, “Toy Story” director John Lasseter now runs the entire Disney creative division. Such an astounding rise for both Lasseter and Pixar is not entirely down to the advent of computer animation, but rather it’s Pixar’s philosophy that “the story is king” that ensures that the experimental studio can deliver gem after gem.
For those of you have never seen Toy Story, Sheriff Woody Pride (Tom Hanks), a cowboy doll, is left reeling at the arrival of owner Andy’s birthday present, Space Ranger toy “Buzz Lightyear” (Tim Allen), who believes he is, in fact, a real space ranger. The film chronicles Woody’s jealousy toward Andy’s new favourite toy, ultimately telling a highly moralistic story of devout friendship. With a cast of superbly entertaining supporting characters coupeld with a highly memorable score from Randy Newman, Toy Story truly is one of the greatest films of the 1990s. It’s re-release in 3d provides the perfect excuse to go and see the film once again, or indeed for the first time.
However, 3D, as a device, is still, much like computer animation was prior to Toy Story’s debut, considered a gimmick. Then again, many in the audience of The Jazz Singer, arguably the first “talkie” to herald the mainstream transition from silent to sound cinema in 1927, thought it’s “gimmick” would never catch on. While 3D has yet to really prove itself outside being a vehicle for cult pulp horror franchises, Disney seem to denote it as the “next big thing” in cinema, despite 3d cinema having it’s experimental origins in 1915. However, it has yet to fully win over it’s audience in the manner that Toy Story did in 1995. Toy Story’s success spearheaded a revoltion in animation which has seen traditional animation fall completely by the wayside in mainstream demand. This ultimately lead to the box office failures of films such as Disney’s own “Brother Bear” and “The Incredibles” director Brad Bird’s wonderful “The Iron Giant”. While Pixar has arguably never made a bad film (Hey, Cars had Jeremy Clarkson AND Michael Schumacher, ok!?), the same cannot be said for other studios in the market, and for every WALL-E, there’s a “Flushed Away”.
The 3d is entriely superfluous and is secondary to the absolute masterclass in storytelling that Toy Story, irrespective of it’s age, always will be. Much in the same manner as Coraline, the 3d aspect is completely non-essential with such a strong foundation in story and character. You will most likey never have the chance to see Toy Story in the cinema again, therefore you owe it to yourself to go and relive your childhood. Toy Story truly stands up to multiple viewings and, regardless of 3d, the cinema is the best place to experience true cinematic greatness. I assure you, this is truly lightyears away from being “just a kids film”.
No Comments Yet
No comments yet.
Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI
Leave a comment
