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| Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 3
| For years one of the more interesting aspects of the annual tournees of animation was to see the developments in computer animation. An early example--early meaning 1986--from Pixar was "Luxo, Jr." in which metal lamps behaved in human ways. Pixar started life in 1979 as a division of Lucasfilm but became an independent company in 1986. The Luxo lamps were ideal for early attempts at computer animation since they were articulated collections of rigid pieces. Certainly in computer animation rigid body movement is easier to describe to a program than is the movement of something soft and pliable. In fact, Pixar has done a lot of showing toys and other inanimate objects coming to life since if they come off too rigid it can look like part of the characterization. With that in mind it is not difficult to understand why their first feature film is a story in which toys are the main characters and humans play a relatively small role and are not the center of attention. Different animation techniques have different advantages, but TOY STORY is certainly a milestone in computer animation. Pixar still has to prove that their animation techniques are more versatile than Will Vinton's clay animation or the Puppetoons of the 1940s and 1950s. In fact, their style is very like the results of Puppetoon animation. There is nothing wrong with what they do here, but they need to be thinking about how to get more variety in their themes, particularly if they want to be more than hi-tech Puppetoons.
That said, the film is certainly as watchable for the adults in the audience as for the children. We are not talking Merchant-Ivory level here but the adults should appreciate most of what is aimed at the kids and there is some intelligence in the humor (including a very nice bit about the origin of religions--hot stuff for a Disney family film). The story deals with a collection of toys owned by young Andy. What Andy does not know is that when he is not watching, the toys come to life and live lives of their own (a very familiar fantasy theme). Andy's current favorite is Sheriff Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), but he has just gotten a new toy, Buzz Lightyear, Space Hero (Tim Allen). Woody is not happy about being displaced as Andy's favorite for reasons never made clear-perhaps it's job security. And it does not help that Buzz is not quite bright enough to realize that he is not the real thing. The rivalry is watched by the community of toys including tyrannosaurus Rex (ironically voiced by Wallace Shawn), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), and Bo Peep (Annie Potts). Just how Bo Peep got into this collection of Andy's toys is anybody's guess, but she adds a love interest for Woody. Eventually the rivalry will get out of hand and will have the two racing to return home first from the outside world and then from the house of the neighbor boy Sid, a budding sociopath with an impressive imagination when it comes to mutilating toys. One rather nice touch here is that Disney animations nearly always equate beauty with goodness and ugliness with evil, but it is not necessarily true here.
The animation technique used here is extremely good. The attention to details like reflective surfaces and the play of light and shadow get better and better with succeeding Pixar productions. Surface texture still seems to be a problem. Pixar does a sort of semi-gloss surface very nicely, which may be one reason they do so much with plastic toys. But the detail and texture they would need to do realistically a man's arm with hair, for example, is not really there any place.
Pixar has made a charming movie carrying their current plot concepts and animation techniques to what appears to be about the limit. TOY STORY is a lot of fun. Now the important question for Pixar is what do they do next. This one gets a high +1 on the -4 to +4 scale. (And special kudos to the Supervising Layout Artist.)
By : Mark R. Leeper
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| | Source: rec.art.movies.reviews newsgroup | | Rating: 4
| Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Jim Varney, Annie Potts, and others Director: John Lasseter Producers: Ralph Guggenheim and Bonnie Arnold Screenplay: Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow Music: Randy Newman U.S. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures
Ever wonder how toys apparently get from one place to another with no human help? TOY STORY, Disney's first feature-length foray into computer animation, postulates that they do it all by themselves. Toys have their own magical world which comes to life any time the lights are out or people aren't around. Any who doubt this should take a look a t TOY STORY. You'll never again feel quite the same way about Mr. Pota to Head, Monkeys in a Barrel, or Slinkies.
Of course, the visual aspect is the centerpiece of TOY STORY. T he computer-generated effects are a marvel. Rich in unexpected detail ( the grain of a wood floor, fingerprints and chipped paint on a door, reflections in polished surfaces, and so on), this colorful and brilliantly-rendered aspect of the film would alone be worth the price of admission. It's something of a bonus that the characters, dialogue, and story provide entertainment value of their own.
TOY STORY is a buddy movie/adventure tale with an understated lesson about the value of friendship. Parents might also be able to use some of what transpires to encourage their offspring to put away toys after playtime. While the screenplay isn't a marvel of originality, it is capable of holding the attention--light, undemanding fun that n ever gets too immature or syrupy. There's also quite a bit of intelligent wit that will go above the heads of younger viewers--that stuff's for Mom and Dad.
The two main characters are toys: cowboy Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), the old-time favorite, and space ranger Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen), the battery-operated newcomer. The supporting cast includes a dinosaur (voice of Wallace Shawn), Mr. Potato Head (voice of Don Rickles), a piggy bank (voice of John Ratzenberger), a slinkie (voice of Jim Varney), Little Bo Peep (voice of Annie Potts), and an army of tiny plastic soldiers who scout out the new arrivals on birthdays and Christmas. The humans who appear in TOY STORY are intentionally rendered to look artificial. In this movie, people are "unreal"; all the vividness and multi-dimensionality is saved for the toys. But that's a typical convention of animation.
TOY STORY opens with Buzz's arrival. Woody is upset that this high-tech neophyte has usurped his rightful place on the bedspread an d in his six-year old owner's play time. The disgruntled cowboy comes up with a plan to eliminate Buzz, but it backfires, and soon the two rivals are out in the real world, forced to help each other in their struggle to escape the clutches of a toy-torturing juvenile delinquent.
How does TOY STORY compare to Disney's more conventional animated features? They're really very different types of productions. This film is less artistic and more technologically impressive. Despite a few Randy Newman songs, it's not really a musical. Of course, the target audience is the same, and everything from Disney embraces "family values", but it's difficult--and unfair--to make an effective contrast of the two film making styles.
The one big negative about TOY STORY involves Disney's overcommercialization. Already, Woody and Buzz dolls line store shelves. Burger King is coming out with figurines. It won't be long before the movie is drowned in hype. So, from the perspective of pure entertainment, it's a good idea to see TOY STORY before the deluge of promotions becomes so excessive that it turns off every adult. Frankly, the movie deserves a less ignominious fate than the marketing overkill which will surely overcome it.
By : James Berardinelli
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