My Review of Toy Story (1995)

Written by Joss Whedon And Andrew Stanton And Joel Cohen And Alec Sokolow And John Lasseter And Pete Docter And Joe Ranft

Directed by John Lassiter

Buzz: "Excuse me, I think the word you're searching for is "Space Ranger"."

Woody: "The word I'm searching for - I can't say, because there's preschool toys present."

I have been meaning to review this particular movie series but first, a confession. I've only seen the first two movies and that was a long time. Not only do I need to refresh my memory on them but I've got three other film and a prequel movie to watch. What fun.

I do have good memories of seeing this one when I was younger. It's such a simple idea. There's a boy named Andy Davis (John Morris). He's just turned six and he's got a lot of toys. His favourite being a cowboy named Woody (Tom Hanks). This was something both Woody and the other toys were aware of.

The other toys being Bo Peep (Annie Potts), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), piggy bank Hamm (John Ratzenberger), binoculars Lenny (Joe Ranft) and Rex (Wallace Shawn) to name a few. You can tell there's some slight resentment towards Woody being the favourite. Then there's Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). His arrival changed everything.

The arrival of Buzz put Woody in second place as Andy suddenly had a new favourite toy. Woody couldn't get his head around the idea of being replaced and had Buzz thrown out the window. Woody would end up having the same done to him. That's where things got interesting.

Both Woody and Buzz clashed a lot in a bid to get back to Andy but for a good portion of the movie, both of them were at the mercy of the toy destroying Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten). I forgot how much of an evil terror Sid was as a character and there's something rather horrifying in seeing the creations he made out of his own toys. He did get a much deserved comeuppance though.

As for Woody and Buzz, both of them came to some big realisations and both knew they needed to work together in order to reunite with both Andy and their fellow toys. They very nearly didn't and when they did, it certainly felt earned.

- Buzz's implied "replacement" at the end of the film was of course a puppy.

- This movie had a hint of romance between Woody and Bo Peep but the arrival of a certain character from the next film onwards put a stop to that.

- Standout music: Randy Newman's You've Got A Friend In Me.

- Chronology: Set during Andy's sixth birthday, a family move (Laurie Metcalf voiced Andy's mother, Laura) and Christmas.

I really do love Toy Story. It's such a delight film with a simple story, an unlikely friendship and a genuinely heartfelt bunch of moments as well as a few slightly uncomfortable ones. To the sequels (and prequel) and beyond.

Rating: 8 out of 10