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Toy Story Voice Stars: Tom Hanks and Tim Allen Animation: Disney BBFC Certificate: PG Opened: July 1996 |
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Over the past few years, computer generated effects have reached a new level of realism, and have been used to create eye-popping sequences in big-budget blockbusters such as Terminator 2 : Judgement Day and Jurassic Park. However, they have just been taken to a new level altogether, and not due to technological advances, but thanks to a liberal showering of good old Disney magic. This is the first ever full-length computer generated feature, and manages to both avoid being gimmicky and to match up to its Disney stable-mates. The idea of the film is that, when they are no longer under their owner's watchful eye, toys have a life of their own. Luckily, six-year old Andy has a vast array of playthings populating his room, including his favourite : Woody the cowboy doll. However, on Andy's birthday, a new colleague arrives, Buzz Lightyear. Technically far superior to the others, Buzz soon manages to win Andy's heart (and the friendship of the toys, except Woody) with his CD-quality speech, ability to fly and laser-beam, and builds up a strong rivalry with Woody. It soon becomes clear that the bedroom ain't big enough for the both of them. John Lasseter's film is full of brilliant touches : the dinosaur who just isn't scary, the Mr. Potato Head who loses various facial features around the room, the tape recorder used as a microphone for the toys' meetings, the bucket of toy soldiers who carry out reconnaissance sorties and walk with their feet still attached to the plastic bases, the list is endless. The characterisation is superb, and the voices are up there with Robin Williams' genie, with Tom Hanks erratically-voiced Woody contrasting wonderfully with Tim Allen's calm, cool and collected Buzz. The characters are gleefully far from being sweet and perfect. They express imperfect emotions such as anger and jealousy, the latter of which leads to Woody pushing Buzz into the outside world for their excellent adventure. The animation, too, is absolutely stunning. Toys were the perfect choice for this venture, as the computer graphics give the characters a wonderful plastic look. Rockets leave realistic trails of smoke, all of the surfaces are wonderfully textured, light reflects perfectly off faces. Everything appears to act and react perfectly, from the shadows cast by every single object, to playing cards fluttering to the ground. In fact, the only thing that the PIXAR studios have been unable to perfectly create is human skin, and thankfully the people are often just seen as pairs of feet, shuffling past in a toy's-eye view. As with many Disney creations, this is unlike many children's films in that parents are not dragged along to endure one and a half hours of sickly sweet McCauley Culkin clones being annoying. This is the kind of film that will have adults dragging the kids to see for a third time to enjoy all the jokes and references that pass right over the heads of their children, who just lap up the thrilling cartoon antics. It is almost as if this film is wasted on young children, even though they too are sure to adore this, one of the most original, inventive, funny and downright enjoyable films for a long time. Reviewed by: Tom Whitaker
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