Are You a True Toy Story Fan?

Toy Story: The First Computer-Animated Feature Film

Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter.
It was the first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film from Pixar.
The plot focuses on the relationship between Woody, an old-fashioned pull-string cowboy doll, and Buzz Lightyear, a modern space cadet action figure.
The film was written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow from a story by Lasseter, Stanton, Pete Docter, and Joe Ranft.
The film features the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, and Erik von Detten.
Toy Story premiered on November 19, 1995, and was released in theaters in North America on November 22 of that year.
The film grossed over $373 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of 1995.
Toy Story received critical acclaim and holds a 100% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The film received three Academy Award nominations and won a non-competitive Special Achievement Academy Award.
In 2005, Toy Story was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.
The success of Toy Story launched a multimedia franchise and a series of three sequels, starting with Toy Story 2 (1999).
A spin-off, Lightyear, was released in 2022, with Chris Evans voicing the in-universe human Buzz Lightyear who inspired the action figure toyline in the Toy Story films.The Making of Toy Story
Toy Story's script writers attended a seminar by Robert McKee, who inspired them to make the main character interesting by how they react to obstacles.
Disney appointed Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, and Joss Whedon to help develop the script, with the latter transforming Buzz Lightyear's character into an action figure who doesn't know he's a toy.
Billy Crystal was approached to play Buzz but turned it down, and Tom Hanks was always the first choice for the role of Woody.
Disney was initially unimpressed with Pixar's plot and wanted the characters to have more adult references, leading to a complete rewrite of the script.
Woody was transformed from a tyrant to a wise leader, and Buzz's character was changed to make it clear he doesn't know he's a toy.
Toy Story required 800,000 machine hours and 114,240 frames of animation, and each character was created out of clay or modeled from a computer-drawn diagram before being animated.
The film's soundtrack was composed by Randy Newman and featured three original songs, including "You've Got a Friend in Me."
The film was edited up until the September 1995 deadline, with a scene removed showing Sid violently torturing Buzz and Woody.
The film received encouraging responses from test screenings, leading to a United States release date of November 1995.
Steve Jobs lacked confidence in the film during production and had been exploring the possibility of selling Pixar to other companies, but became increasingly passionate about the film as it progressed.
The film resonated deeply with audiences and was preceded by either the Roger Rabbit short Roller Coaster Rabbit or the early Pixar short The Adventures of André and Wally B.
Toy Story had a significant impact on the animation industry and paved the way for future computer-animated films.Marketing, 3-D re-release, home media, box office, critical response, and accolades of Toy Story are detailed in this text.
Toy Story was marketed with $20 million spent by Disney for advertising and several advertisers paying $125 million in promotions for the film.
The film was slow to gain traction with toy companies, but Thinkway Toys licensed the toy rights for Toy Story characters.
Toy Story was re-released in Disney Digital 3-D in 2009, after the film's original release in 1995.
The film was released on VHS and LaserDisc in 1996, with over 21.5 million VHS copies sold during the first year.
Toy Story was released on DVD for the first time in 2000, with a 2-disc "10th Anniversary Edition" released in 2005.
The film earned more than $350 million worldwide, grossing $39.1 million in its first five days of domestic release.
Toy Story has an approval rating of 100% on Rotten Tomatoes and a score of 95 out of 100 on Metacritic.
Critics praised the film's 3D animation, voice cast, and ability to appeal to various age groups.
Toy Story was ranked eighth in TIME's list of the "Best 10 films of 1995" and named one of the "25 All-TIME Best Animated Films" in 2011.
The film won several awards, including a Special Achievement Academy Award in 1996 for "the first feature-length computer-animated film."Toy Story: Impact, Legacy, and Sequels
Toy Story won several awards, including two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards.
The film was also recognized by various organizations, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle.
Toy Story had a significant impact on the film industry, inspiring interest in computer animation, video game development, and robotics research.
The film's catchphrase, "To Infinity and Beyond," has become widely recognized and has been used in various contexts, including in space by astronauts and in pop music.
Toy Story has been compared to Don Quixote and has been seen as promoting humanism.
The film's impact has extended beyond the original release, with three sequels and a spin-off film released to date.
The sequels follow the further adventures of the original characters, while the spin-off film, Lightyear, is based on the character of Buzz Lightyear himself.
Toy Story has been recognized by the United States Library of Congress for its cultural and historical significance and has been preserved in the National Film Registry.
The film's cast of characters has been used as the basis for the naming of computer operating system releases.
Pixar created a sculpture based on Toy Story for the Gromit Unleashed exhibition in 2013.