#83 Toy Story - the words "modern classic" come to mind

1995. Dir. John Lasseter, starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn.

Writers John Lasseter and Pete Docter must have been really interesting kids to come up with a movie chock full of what kids probably think of in their imaginations...when there are no humans around toys come to life and interact with each other.

But in this story the toys long for partners (Mr. Potato Head really wants a Mrs. Potato Head) and they worry about being replaced...not to mention being destroyed by the crazy kid next door whose life mission, it would seem, is to blow up any toy he gets into his grubby little hands..hmm...maybe it's not a kid's imagination but adults worrying about real grown-up issues like life partners and being deemed obsolete because of younger models or newer technology (Woody getting the boot in place of Buzz Lightyear) and violence in kids.

The animation done by Pixar is just awesome! You know it's a cartoon because the human characters are not drawn too realistically. The toys however, those are rendered with such a skillful eye you would think that your own piggy bank and Mr. Potato Head had come to life!

I loved the reconnaissance mission that the bucket of soldiers did to find out what new toys were being opened. And the line regarding the kid who bought sheets as a gift was hilarious!

I'm sure I have more to say about this movie but it's not coming to me...oh wait, I DO remember one last thing...why does Disney think it a good idea to sell the shaved doll head on the spider legs at their stores? SO scary!

See it again? Yes
Own it? Well, ToysRUs is having a buy one get one half off sale of Blu-Ray editions...why the hell not?

#83 Toy Story: Made in Taiwan

1995. Dir. John Lasseter, starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn.

Seen it before? No.

Level one idea: Children's toys are alive, and have their own adventures when nobody's looking. Level two idea: they are anxious about being replaced by newer and more interesting toys. Level three: They execute reconnaissance missions during birthday parties, Christmas, etc. to check out new toys. When one kid's Woody doll (voice of Tom Hanks) gets superseded by a Buzz Lightyear doll (voice of Tim Allen), Woody has to cope with his inadequacy.

This was a groundbreaking movie, and it ushered in a whole new era of 3-D computer animated movies. This movie came out one year after Lion King and represents a sort of changing of the guard. Disney's increasingly ridiculous 2-D animated films were getting dragged down by crappy songs, marketing-driven characters, and poor storytelling. Eventually they discontinued them because they thought traditional cel animation was obsolete. Well, no, you idiots, it's not - people weren't flocking to the PIXAR movies because they were computer rendered, it's because they were good movies, with good stories.

Of course Disney did market the crap out of this one; it almost diverges into "toy commercial" land in some parts - Woody says to Buzz Lightyear: "You're a cool toy!" grrr. kill.

Position on the list: 159
A-113: The minivan's license plate. Also they were playing "Hakuna Matata" on the stereo. grrr. kill.