Toy Story

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 2018. It might also be released in 3-D.

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 tox 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 is Buzz is still depressed that he's only a toy. Woody tries to convince him that being a toy and 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
Main Article See: Toy Story Cast Credits
 * Tom Hanks: Woody
 * Tim Allen: Buzz Lightyear
 * Don Rickles: Mr. Potato Head
 * Jim Varney: Slinky Dog
 * Wallace Shawn: Rex
 * John Ratzenberger: Hamm
 * Annie Potts: Bo Peep
 * John Morris: Andy Davis
 * Erik von Detten: Sid Phillips
 * R. Lee Ermey: Sarge
 * Sarah Freeman: Hannah Phillips
 * Laurie Metcalf: Ms. Davis
 * Joe Ranft: Lenny
 * Jeff Pidgeon: Aliens/Mr. Spell/Robot
 * Jack Angel: Mr. Shark/Rocky Gibraltar
 * Debi Derryberry: Aliens/Pizza Planet Intercom
 * Penn Jillette: TV Announcer
 * Mickie McGowan: Mrs. Phillips

Production
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.

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
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 on June 16, 2017.

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.

Featurettes
From the Special Edition DVD