Pixar Month - Toy Story (1995)

         Hey guys, Chuck here, and welcome to the first review of Pixar Month. All throughout the month of February, I'll be taking a look at a few of my personal favorite films from Pixar Animation Studios, and we'll wrap up the month with my review of Pixar's latest film: Soul. Now, I won't be reviewing every Pixar movie, because for one thing, I haven't seen every Pixar movie ever made, and not only that, there's so many movies from Pixar and so few days in February. So, let's start Pixar Month off with the first full-length feature from Pixar: Toy Story. 

        So, in the world of Toy Story, toys come to life when humans aren't around. So, for example, when a child leaves the room, the toys come to life and interact with each other. The particular group of toys we focus on are the toys belonging to a kid named Andy. The toys include Hamm the piggy bank, Rex the dinosaur, a bucket of green army men, Slinky dog, a Bo Peep lamp, Mr. Potato Head, an RC car, and Andy's personal favorite: Woody the cowboy. There are a bunch of other toys as well, but I'm just mentioning the main ones. So, after we see Andy playing a scenario where Potato Head is a bandit named One-Eyed Bart, and the day is saved by Woody, who's the sheriff, and we learn that Andy's birthday party is happening this particular day. After Andy leaves the room with his infant sister, Molly, Woody and the other toys come to life, and after a series of funny encounters with each other, hold a staff meeting, discussing the upcoming move to a new house, and the birthday party being moved up because of it. 

          Woody dispatches Sarge and the green army men to head downstairs with a baby monitor and report on the birthday presents Andy gets. Among the presents includes a lunch box, bed sheets, and the board game Battleship. After some issues with the baby monitor in Andy's room, the toys learn that Andy and his friends are heading upstairs, which prompts the toys to return to their places. After a bit of playing with a mysterious new toy, Andy and his friends head back downstairs, and the toys are curious about the new addition to Andy's group of toys. Woody heads up onto the bed, and sees Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut action figure who's story is that he's a Space Ranger, a member of the Space Ranger Corps, fighting an intergalactic conflict against Emperor Zurg. While Woody is unswayed, the other toys are impressed by Buzz. 

       As the weeks go on, Andy begins playing more with Buzz than with Woody, replacing the bedding and posters in his room from Woody-themed ones to Buzz-themed ones. Woody grows increasingly jealous of Buzz becoming Andy's new favorite, but an argument between Woody and Buzz is interrupted by Sid, a neighbor kid who tortures toys for fun. That evening, Andy's mom tells Andy that they're heading to a restaurant called Pizza Planet, and Andy can bring just one toy. After asking if he'll get picked to go, and the Magic 8-ball telling him "Don't count on it," Woody makes a plan to get rid of Buzz, only to become ostracized by the other toys for doing so. Andy grabs Woody, unable to find Buzz, and heads to Pizza Planet. Buzz emerges from the bushes he fell into, and furious at Woody, grabs onto the rear bumper of the minivan. At a gas station stop, Buzz confronts and attacks Woody, knocking both out of the minivan and leaving both behind at the gas station. Woody convinces Buzz to hop into a Pizza Planet truck, which heads to Pizza Planet. Inside of the Pizza Planet, there are a bunch of sci-fi themed arcade games, and Woody tries to get Buzz to hop into Molly's stroller, but Buzz spots a claw machine arcade game, and hops inside of it. Woody follows suit, trying to get Buzz back to Andy. However, Buzz and Woody are won from the machine by Sid, along with one of the squeeze-toy aliens that were the main prize in the machine. 

       Arriving at Sid's house, Woody and Buzz see Sid give the squeeze-toy alien to his dog, Scud, and head upstairs with a doll belonging to his sister, Hannah, replacing the doll's head with a pteranodon head. Woody then runs afoul of Sid's mutant toys, and he and Buzz take cover for the night. The next day, Woody is messed with by Sid, and Woody and Buzz try to escape, but Buzz sees a TV commercial for Buzz Lightyear toys. Attempting to fly out of the window, Buzz lands on the ground below, losing an arm in the process. Breaking down from an identity crisis, Woody attempts to get Buzz back to Andy's house, but Potato Head is unconvinced by Woody's sincerity, and leaves them behind in Sid's room. Sid then returns and duct tapes a rocket to Buzz's back. Overnight, Woody convinces Buzz that being a toy is better than being a Space Ranger, and Andy loves Buzz for being a toy he can play with. 

         Finally convinced, Buzz helps Woody escape, so that the two of them can get back to Andy's before the move, which is that day. Sid wakes up, and heads to his backyard to light up the rocket on Buzz's back. Woody, along with the mutant toys, attack Sid, scaring him off, and Woody and Buzz get to the moving truck, only to be attacked by Scud, with Buzz jumping onto Scud to save Woody. Woody then gets into the truck, and grabs RC to save Buzz, and is attacked by the rest of Andy's toys, who toss him out onto the street. Woody is picked up by Buzz, who shook off Scud, and the two catch up with the truck, but RC's batteries start to run out. Slinky tries to help, but gets too outstretched and let's go. Woody lights the fuse on the rocket, and the two fly towards the truck dropping RC inside, and Buzz detatches from the rocket, allowing them to glide safely away before the rocket explodes. Woody and Buzz land in the minivan, and Andy is happy to see them both. Some time passes, and it's now Christmas in the new house. Molly gets a Mrs. Potato Head for Christmas, Woody and Buzz are now best friends , wondering what Andy will get for Christmas, only to overhear that it's a puppy. 

          Toy Story is a groundbreaker in many ways. For instance, it was Pixar's first full-length feature film, and the first full-length animated feature film to be entirely produced in computer animation. Even after twenty-five years worth of advancement in computer animation, the animation in this first Toy Story still holds up.  The voice cast, which includes the likes of Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz, Annie Potts as Bo Peep, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, Wallace Shawn as Rex, and so on, are all terrific and do a great job bringing these timeless, iconic characters to life. The story is very easy to follow, and definitely holds up after all these years. Overall, Toy Story is a great movie that still holds up. I enjoyed it as a kid, and I enjoy it still today. Therefore, I'm giving Toy Story a rating of 5/5. This is Chuck signing off. Stay tuned, as Pixar Month continues with my next review: A Bug's Life.