#99 "Toy Story"

I've made it my mission to journey through the tenth anniversary edition of the American Film Institute's Top 100 Films.  It's been a while since I've looked at the list, and you could imagine my joy when I saw that "Toy Story", one of my favorite Disney films, was on the list!  Honestly, I could ramble on forever as to why I love this movie, purely on the cast or the details that are prevalent in all Disney/Pixar animations, but I think the themes that the movie deals with (jealousy and acceptance) are what make this such an iconic children's film.

Cast

Tim Allen (left) and Tom Hanks with Buzz and Woody at the Toy Story 3 premiere

The cast of "Toy Story" is probably one of the best casts of an animated feature, in my personal top 3 along with "The Lion King" and "Aladdin".  Tom Hanks and Tim Allen make an incredible pair, and while most of the banter between them comes from the writing, they way they deliver their lines is perfection.  Hanks has a dry wit and sarcasm that pairs well with the over the top 'soldier man' that Allen delivers.

The rest of the cast is star studded with John Ratzenberger (a frequent Disney/Pixar collaborator) as Hamm the piggy bank, the king of mean Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, R Lee Ermey as Sergeant, and Laurie Metcalf as Andy's mother.

"Toy Story" was created by writer/director John Lasseter, who also directed "Cars" and "A Bug's Life", along with Pete Docter, who also worked on "Up" and "WALL-E".  Joss Whedon, of "Buffy" and "The Avengers" fame, was one of the script writers (I didn't know that before!).

Animation

The animation team on "Toy Story" were extremely detailed in their work, laying different items in the background as little Easter Eggs for fans to find.  This continued through many Disney/Pixar films.  For example, all the cars have license plates dated "Nov 95" because of the film's release date.  The carpet in Sid's house is based on the carpet from the hotel in "The Shining".  Several products and companies in the film are based on the animators and their colleagues.

I always love researching the production of computer animated figures because they always have the most ridiculous stories and methods of creation, rather like sound production and the weird household items to make certain sounds.  An interesting fact I found when looking into "Toy Story" is about how the animators created the movement of Sergeant and the toy soldiers.  Apparently, they glued shoes to planks of wood and moved themselves around as reference for how the toys would move!

Music

The film's soundtrack was created by Randy Newman, who created one of the most memorable songs of my childhood with "You've Got a Friend in Me".  He's also worked on the scores for "Seabiscuit" (2003), "Leatherheads" (2008), and "The Princess and the Frog" (2009), as well as the two following "Toy Story" sequels.

Overall

"Toy Story" had a huge impact on my childhood.  It came out in 1995, and I can just barely remember seeing it in theaters, but the thing I remember most is keeping a close eye on my toys whenever I left the room to make sure they hadn't moved and I remember making sure to give love to all my toys so none of them ever got jealous of the others.  It ignited my imagination as a child, which is what all the best kids' movies are supposed to do, right?  Along with "The Lion King", I wore out my VHS tape of this film, watching it nearly on repeat growing up, and I must say I feel a bit of pride that "Toy Story" made the list of AFI's Top 100.

*****/5

Have you seen "Toy Story"? What did you think? Let me know in the comments below!