And now we have come full circle - all the way back around to the film I reviewed last December, which was the inspiration for this whole Pixar Point page. I wanted to see what deep-level stuff I could find in each Pixar film, and for the most part, I was successful. I would say that at least more than half of the Pixar library managed to get me in the feels in some way. When I first reviewed 'Soul', however, I mentioned how it may very well be my new favourite Pixar movie. That's a bold statement, but does it still ring true? My reasons for enjoying this so much are really just the same reasons I hold so many of these titles close to my heart. I find that so many of these movies are able to speak to me on a personal level, but perhaps none of it did a better job than 'Soul'. I see a lot of my personality throughout the film. I enjoy jazz music for writing purposes (as I write this I'm listening to some), I relate to many concepts through the film, and I feel like I have an appreciation for subtle things we often take for granted. Take, for example, the beauty of the world on a bright, warm sunny, day. Anyone who follows my on Instagram could probably attest to a lot of my photography - nature is one of my biggest subjects. 'Soul' centers on a music teacher named Joe Gardner (Jamie Foxx) who has a fondness for jazz music, and has some magic fingers when he tickles the ivories. He loves getting his students interested in the music, and playing takes him to a pretty special place. The idea ends up being that this is another, sort of meditative plane of existence or just "the zone". It's where we go when we get deep into something we're passionate about. Joe's mother, Libba (Phylicia Rashad), disapproves of his lifestyle, and just wants him to find good, honest, steady work. She has her reasons, and Joe understands, but his dreams are important enough to keep going behind her back with it. He gets wind from his former student, Curley (Questlove) that jazz legend Dorothea Williams (Angela Bassett) has an opening in her band. Joe auditions with them, impresses them all with his skills, and in his excitement eventually falls down a manhole to his near-death. Things fade to black, and Joe finds himself as a soul on his way to The Great Beyond. Both afraid, and with the realization his life was only just getting good, he struggles against the current, and falls into the intriguing concept of The Great Before, where new, unborn souls come from. Here, various counsellors named Jerry (Alice Braga/Richard Ayoade) prepare the souls for life on Earth. Knowing he's not supposed to be there, he poses as a mentor and is given the infamous soul #22 (Tina Fey); a soul that has made all of their instructors give up on them. While 22 is voice acted by Fey, the soul is mentioned as a non-gender concept, so we'll be going with pronouns here. 22 sees no point in living on Earth. They show Joe a set of badges on their chest, much like one would earn in Scouts. It's a series of traits given to each soul, but what's missing is the "Spark", which will allow souls to begin life on Earth. Not caring about Earth, however, 22 makes a deal with Joe that upon earning the badge, it'll go to Joe instead, so he can get back into his body and get the big break he was so close to getting. Things go without progress for 22, and eventually they meet a sign twirler named Moonwind (Graham Norton) in The Zone (the place I described earlier) who reveals to them that Joe is actually in a coma, and not quite dead. Excited, Joe leaps down towards his body, but in the confusion, 22 comes with. 22 then ends up in Joe's body, and Joe in a therapy cat. This is pretty much where I feel the movie really gets going, and as things unfold, once again Pixar makes us appreciate so much. 22 is apprehensive about experiencing life on Earth at first, but soon picks up on a lot of stuff we, as people, take for granted in day-to-day life (as mentioned before). Director Pete Docter is easily my favourite Pixar director because of things like that. He knows how to appreciate the little things in life, and understand the bigger picture all the same. 'Up', 'Inside Out', 'WALL-E' and 'Monsters Inc.' are the other films he's credited for directing, along with the stories behind the first two 'Toy Story' films. I find each of these movies are great for kids as well as adults, as there's so much to appreciate in each of them on a deeper level. But that brings me to the question I was asked most upon first seeing this - would kids like it/get much out of it? I think if the film has one problem, it's the use of big words and existential topics that children may not quite understand. But in a way, I'm not entirely sure kids are the target audience for this movie despite the fact that it's animated. Pixar has a knack for being a little more adult with its material, and in some regards, I might suggest this leans more towards the teens and up. That's not to say children can't get anything out of it, I just think this is an odd case where an adult might get more. In a big way, it speaks to those who are stuck in some sort of rut. There's a thing they do here with "lost souls" where the repetitive thoughts and anxieties of day-to-day life have them is a bit of a trap. This can come from negativity, like someone with depression (best illustrated near the end of the film), or it can come from being stuck in a loop of some sort. Anyway, before I find myself a lost soul with this review (there's still a bunch I'd love to touch on), I have to admit that I still feel like this could be my favourite stand-alone Pixar movie. There's just so much to appreciate about it from my perspective. This is a movie that really makes me appreciate life, and it makes the suggestion that life is an opportunity not to take for granted. It's interesting to note that while 'WALL-E' managed to get me out walking more, 'Soul' almost seemed to pick up on the appreciation I was getting from these walks. I might say that it's a sort of "next step" for Pixar, but I wonder how much deeper they can get with things than this. 'Soul' had three Oscar nominations, including Best Animated Feature, Best Original Score (Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, by the way) and Best Sound, winning the first two and giving Pixar Oscar #11 for Best Animated Feature. But even without that awar, this one's very close to my heart, and that's not gonna change any time soon. 5/5
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Whether or not anyone liked the last three Pixar films, they all still veered away from what made Pixar so very special, as we've come to know it. 'Cars 2' was a bit of a cash-grab, 'Brave' was a fairly average princess movie better suited to Disney (in the tradition of 'Tangled', 'Frozen', 'Moana', etc), and 'Monsters University' was just plain fun, and a bit of style over substance. They all lacked a certain depth we loved Pixar for. I'm not bashing these films by any means, and still appreciate 'Brave' and 'Monsters University' on a certain level ('Cars 2' is truly the bump in Pixar's road). But they were nothing like 'Up', 'Toy Story 3' or 'WALL-E' where they made you stop and think about things. Soon enough, however, this movie would come along and bring things back to the way they once were. But just to get a couple of elephants out of the room, allow me to fully admit two realizations with this movie. One - 'Inside Herman's Head' did this first, so I can say it's 100% original; and Two - there is a moment here that suggests the adventure didn't need to be all that it was; think of the eagles flying the Fellowship to Mount Doom instead of taking a death-defying hike. With that said, however, this movie still holds a certain power that a lot of people have felt missing from Pixar over the few years leading up to this - almost exactly five years from 'Toy Story 3'. 'Inside Out' introduces us to a girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias), and the various emotions who, shall we say, "pilot" her brain; Joy (Amy Poehler), Sadness (Phyllis Smith), Anger (Lewis Black), Fear (Bill Hader) and Disgust (Mindy Kaling). They control Riley's emotions and create Riley's "memories"; coloured orbs that stack up to fuel various personality islands like "Hockey Island", "Friendship Island", etc. All is well, but Riley soon turns eleven, and things start to go downhill when the family moves away. Inside Riley's head, there is a squabble between Joy and Sadness, as Sadness keeps touching memories and making them sad. An accident sends the pair to the vast memory bank of the brain, far away from "headquarters", leaving Riley alone with Anger, Fear and Disgust to drive her around. Now it's up to Joy and Sadness to return to Headquarters with that of a "core memory", which came with them during the squabble. If they can get her happy core memory back into headquarters, Riley can be happy again. Meanwhile, in headquarters, Anger, Fear and Disgust do their best, but without Joy or Sadness in the picture, Riley starts to feel sort of numb. While I strongly enjoy the creativity behind this film when it comes to the inner workings of someone's head, the real draw for me is the relatability of Riley's situation and what the film has to say on the matter. Without spoiling it, I might suggest that the underlying message is that "it's okay to not be okay". Anyone who has ever faced depression understands this phrase, and this is a movie that does a great job at getting that message across. I have to appreciate a lot of the ideas they have throughout the movie, like the idea of Riley's imaginary friend, Bing Bong (Richard Kind) and what they end up doing with him. Or the idea of the mysterious realm of abstract thought, which brings with it some pretty interesting animation. They also get into things like how Riley dreams, what happens to memories we forget, how the imagination works and more. Pixar really took care here to think about the inner workings of the brain and how they might translate to a fun, animated movie. This one puts Pete Docter back in the director's chair as well, so I was fairly confident it was in good hands after his work on 'Monsters, Inc.' and 'Up'. Sure enough, I was right, and this is another Pixar title that hits me in the feels every time. This would ultimately become the film I consider "Pixar's resurrection" in that it brings back the heart, original concepts and not only enjoyable, but relatable characters. Sure enough, it would also pick up Pixar's eighth Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and would even get a nomination for Best Original Screenplay. With this movie, it really felt like Pixar had made a triumphant return (at least for me), and despite the two things I pointed out in the beginning of the review, it's still a rather beautiful movie that does what Pixar does best and pull on those heartstrings - and not in a cheap way, but a relatable way. This is easily one of my favourites in the Pixar library for what it has to say, and I find a deeper connection with this one than many others. It was so good to see Pixar back on top that year. 5/5 Here we have another one of my all-time Pixar faves, and this one has a lot to do with the idea of how the elderly might put up with the younger generation. It manages to provide a movie one might say is made for "grandparent and grandchild" as opposed to just a standard family flick. In that sense, it's actually pretty unique, and I find myself hard-pressed to come up with other titles that do it quite like this. This is one of those Pixar films that really does get me deep in the feels every time I watch it. It's probably safe to say that it has that effect on many. When we all saw the trailer for this, it looked like a fun movie coming to us from a solid Pixar lineup, including director Pete Docter, who sincerely made a name for himself with this movie, forever implanting himself in my head as my fave Pixar director. The reason for this is that he's not afraid to get deep with his films and speak to his whole audience like adults, while maintaining a fun, childlike innocence. His films are sort of always fun on the surface, but have something deeper going on within them. This one would veer away from what the trailer showed us, looking very much like a children's fantasy adventure and punch us straight in the heart with its opening sequence. This sequence involves a boy who grows up with a girl, they eventually get married, she becomes ill, and eventually passes away. The pair were adventure-seekers, and their goal was to visit Paradise Falls, Venezuela, but life kept getting in the way. After she passes, he becomes a bit of a recluse - the now grumpy and stubborn Carl Fredrickson (Ed Asner). Even though he's surrounded by construction, Carl refuses to relocate to any sort of retirement community, holding a close connection to the house he and Ellie spent their lives in. After a bit of a scuffle, Carl is court-ordered to move into a retirement community to live out his last days. Remembering his promise to make it to Paradise Falls, however, Carl creates an elaborate set-up of balloons that lift his house into the sky, and allow him to float away from all of his problems. Accidentally joining Carl on his adventure, is Russell (Jordan Nagai), a kid in the "Wilderness Explorers" (basically Boy Scouts) who just wants to help Carl so he can get his "Assisting the Elderly" badge. He provides much of the comic relief here as the curious and kind kid, and his contrast to Carl is often hilarious. I find myself with a big grin on my face when I listen to a lot of their interaction. Of course, a lot of their interaction is also kind of deep, and the film tackles some complex issues that sort of boil down to what it is to deal with love and loss, and interestingly enough, 'Up' does it in three very different ways. So fair warning, but the following could contain spoilers. The first is the obvious; Carl loses Ellie, his beloved wife, in death. The second has to do with Russell losing his father to a woman who isn't his mother. The third, and probably most overlooked, is when Carl meeting his hero, Charles Muntz (Christopher Plummer) who ultimately ends up being the villain of the film. Through all of this, however, Carl and Russell persevere, and it's as though the film is out to tell us that even though we all experience our own losses in our own ways (and we all have to, as a part of life), there's always going to be that light at the end of the tunnel for us. Russell makes a friendship with Carl who becomes a father figure to him. As for Carl, he stands up to his former hero, ultimately learning he wasn't necessary for inspiration all this time. However, Ellie always was, and her inspiration to him continues even in death. The photo album scene might be one of the most touching moments in film, let alone Pixar's library. The film isn't without its fair share of over the top, and even pretty childish antics. This is seen mostly with that exotic bird, and dogs that have the ability to talk through their collars. At one point, these dogs even fly little airplanes. But because of the deeper moments of this film, for some reason, we can look past all that and just deem it "cute". Things don't have to make sense here (to some degree, anyway) because you still manage to walk away from it thinking about your own life, yet almost with a guarantee of a smile. This would go on to win the 5th Best Animated Picture Oscar of Pixar's library, making 'Cars' the only real speedbump in their track record since 'Finding Nemo'. This would also get nominated for Best Picture that year, making it only the second animated film in history to make it into the category. Funnily enough, the third and last to make it into the 'Best Picture' category is next up on the list! 5/5 This may prove to be a bit of a lengthy review, but one must understand that this movie carries a certain powerful magic with it that puts me in a trance every time I watch it. On one hand, it's like looking into a societal mirror, centuries into the future, and it really looks like we humans have caused the end of the world. There's something sort of heavy-hitting about that. On the other hand, the appreciation this movie gives me for the simple things in life we take for granted actually somewhat changed my lifestyle. Not a lot of movies can open my eyes that much! But more on that soon. Far into the future, we see the Earth of 2805 and what has become of it; a vast wasteland of trash and neglect left behind by the human race. Nowadays, humankind has relocated to "starliners" - essentially gigantic cruise ships but in space - to keep on living. On this deserted Earth, we meet a left-over Waste Allocation Load-Lifter, WALL-E (Ben Burtt). He does his job, hangs out with a cockroach friend, forms various collections of trinkets and has a connection to a video recording of 'Hello Dolly', specifically with the song 'It Only Takes a Moment'. One day, things take a turn when WALL-E happens across an Extraterrestrial Vegetation Evaluator robot, EVE (Elissa Knight). She was sent to Earth to search for some form of living vegetation, but WALL-E becomes interested. With a few complications at first, the two robots hit it off, but everything comes to an abrupt halt when WALL-E shows her his latest collector's item; a live plant. EVE collects the plant and sits in standby mode for a while until she's eventually picked up by a probe, and starts heading back to a starliner called the Axiom - with WALL-E hanging on for the ride. Centuries have passed since the Axiom left Earth (2105, so to us now, it would be like looking at the year 1321) and humankind has become overweight, mindless drones who do nothing but sit, eat, have their faces in their computer screens, and can do it all on the go on account of hover chairs. The ship's captain, McCrea (Jeff Garlin), receives the positive response from EVE and the notion that it could allow them to go back home to Earth - a place he had never heard of. However, upon inspecting EVE, the plant turns up missing. At first, it's registered as a false alarm, but EVE and WALL-E set about the ship looking for it, running into trouble along the way which includes, above all else, a nasty ship's computer. What really makes this movie stand out for me is that it's a film that really makes you look at the way you're living. Most who know me know how much I like going for long walks in nature these days, and honestly, this film is responsible. I've always enjoyed walking, but it wasn't until I saw this that I learned to appreciate all of the little subtleties of a good nature walk; birds chirping, the warm sun on my face, the beauty of plants in bloom, hell, even Winter has its moments. The cool thing is, 'WALL-E' does it in more ways than one. There's the notion that we're killing our planet and the whole thing probably will look similar to this, centuries from now, but I also really enjoy the lifestyle message here. This was 2008, so we haven't entirely improved our situation - but all of the right "be careful, human race" messages are here. I have to appreciate that even though this is very much an environmental movie, and the message certainly looks like it's highlighted and bolded, it still doesn't slap you across the face with it. You get the film's point, but there's not really that (what I like to call) "Lisa Simpson voice" in your face telling you how it is. This movie gets its whole message across without the use of hardly any speech at all. Part of the brilliance of this movie is that it shows and doesn't tell, and you have no problem understanding everything going on throughout its entirety. The message almost becomes tenfold with how exactly the execute things. Often using classic material (like 'Hello Dolly' along with various old songs) you get this sense of a planet Earth that humankind has all but left behind entirely. The brilliance of that is that it's something you can feel that way about now. Ever since the advent of internet in homes, we, as a human race, have somewhat lost touch with a lot of things that this movie shows we take completely for granted. One character here is so engaged with her computer that WALL-E bumps into her and she suddenly realizes the starliner has a massive pool. Better than that is a scene that I find truly touching where McCrea is having the computer define all of these Earth terms, right down to the word "dance". The idea that the film has this character fall in love with Earth the way we remember it now is somewhat heart-breaking when you know from the beginning of the film what Earth has actually become. 'WALL-E' would yet again pull in another Best Animated Picture Oscar for Pixar, bringing their count up to four. It would also become the Pixar film to earn the most nominations in the library, and I daresay, it certainly could have been nominated for Best Picture. I believe that due to opinions like this, the academy would soon loosen up enough to allow animated films back into the Best Picture category ('Beauty and the Beast' was the only one ever nominated at this point). For me, it is easily one of the best in the Pixar library if you just look at the way it's crafted. It makes you appreciate the little things in life, it opens your eyes to the state of the world and where we're going, and it's somehow still a lot of fun while taking you through all of its heavy stuff. 5/5 I'm not going to lie; when this first came along, I wasn't entirely interested. I thought it was playing too much on cuteness, and there wouldn't be much more to it. Upon finally watching it at a friend's house, I turned out to like it more than I thought I would. I've come back to it a handful of times over the years, it grows on me with every viewing. At first it was cute and fun, but nowadays I see it as one of the most creative Pixar films in the entire library. It's seldom that I go into a movie with low expectations only to have me come out of it saying "that was actually pretty awesome." 'Monsters, Inc.' could be considered a sort of electric company, located in the Monster World. A few monsters known as "Scarers" harvest "scream energy" by going through a system of doors that lead to closets of children all over the world. This "scream energy" is essentially their version of electricity - it's pretty much what makes their world run. However, a problem had arisen in recent years involving a world full of children who are much harder to scare than they used to be. This is largely due to various media violence and horror largely desensitizing them, and as a result, the Monster World experiences things like rolling brownouts. 'Monsters, Inc.' looks for a solution, but the best they really have is to just continue scaring, and hope things can get better. The top Scarers are Sulley (John Goodman) and Randall (Steve Buscemi). Randall is a strong competitor for Sulley and his assistant Mike (Billy Crystal), but Sulley and Mike seem to always come out on top. Late one night, Sulley finds a door in the "ready" position. Curious, he opens the door to see if anyone is doing some late-night scaring, accidentally letting in a toddler who Sully would eventually name "Boo" (Mary Gibbs). Children are known as being extremely toxic in the monster world, so Sully and Mike soon find themselves having to hide her until they can get her back through her door. In the meantime, Randall is working on a project that could improve upon scream energy, and since Boo is running around the Monster world now, she could very well be in danger. Due to Sulley's newfound feelings towards Boo, the film becomes something of an "Escort Mission" - get her to her door while dodging Randall and whatever his plans may be. While I wasn't exactly wrong about the movie playing a lot on cuteness, there's much more to it that I seemingly took for granted when I first saw this advertised. My appreciation for this movie largely goes towards the concept of the Monster world and how it runs. It's a simple enough idea when you think about it (and to be perfectly fair this is after 'Little Monsters'), but certain details about how things work are super creative. For example, I like the idea of the real world's mystery monsters (Bigfoot, Nessie, etc.) being monsters who have been banished from the Monster World. The example is done here with the Yeti (John Ratzenberger, now at four Pixar movies and counting). I also really enjoy the idea of the world's closet doors in a factory setting. Think something along the lines of a gigantic warehouse of dry cleaning racks, but holding closet doors instead of suits. In 'Little Monsters' it's just a super cheap looking set of boxes and stairs. Funnily enough, another highlight of the film is the very thing I was worried would ruin it for me - Boo. Anyone who has ever seen this movie can agree that she is one of the most adorable characters ever created. Boo is the heart and soul of this movie, and despite the fact that she's just a little gibberish speaking toddler (voiced by a real one), Sully and Mike actually end up learning a whole lot about humans through her. You get a lot of good laughs from her, but you end up really feeling for her all the same. She's not JUST put there to be cute, as I thought she might be. She's put there to represent children in general. She finds solace in one monster while being terrified of another, and a lot of this is, as you may have guessed, about overcoming fears. The catch here is that the fear works in two different ways. Kids can watch this and relate to Boo's experience in that she simply fears the monster in the closet. Generally speaking, a kid's first fear will probably have to do with something that goes bump in the night, leading them to imagine something under their bed or in their closet. That makes the film universally relatable to children. On the other hand, adults can see the fear the monster society has about Boo and the rest of human society and, I daresay, could stand to learn a thing or two as well. A part of what makes this such a solid movie is that even though it looks like a kid's movie on the surface, there's a certain depth to it that speaks to a more grown up audience as well. It's not just a movie you'd watch with your kids to have fun with, this one actually has something to say, and it does it pretty subtly as well. My takeaway from this film is a positive message about understanding the unknown instead of fearing it, and it's timing or release was impeccable. This just so happened to be released the November after 9/11, so may very well have been seen as one of the first family movies trying to teach kids and adults alike that a society as a whole isn't something to be feared, but in some cases it doesn't hurt to be cautious. Sulley and Randall make the perfect characters for that message. This was the first of many Pixar film get an Oscar nomination for 'Best Animated Picture', and with good reason (beyond the fact that the category hasn't existed until now). It may have lost to 'Shrek', but the results must have been pretty damn close considering the underlying subject matter in "understanding" was very similar. Personally, I'd consider 'Monsters Inc' to be just a touch more timeless. 5/5 While I admire the 'Toy Story' saga being so good altogether, this is probably the one I manage to get the least out of. It's still a great movie, but I'll get to my various nitpicks about it later. It otherwise introduces new characters who develop with the rest of the toys we already know, plays with new ideas, and certain things follow through from the original. For example, Andy now has a dog, and Mrs. Potato Head has now come into play. One of the best things about the writing of these movies is the way things stay consistent, and for that, I admire this one along with all of the others in their own way. It all starts when Andy (John Morris) starts getting ready for Cowboy Camp. He's playing with Woody (Tom Hanks) and accidentally rips his arm. As a result, Woody is left behind, and placed on a shelf where he runs into Wheezy (Joe Ranft); a penguin squeeze toy with a broken squeaker. He talks to Woody about being a "forgotten toy", and when Andy's Mom gathers some of Andy's old stuff up for a yard sale, she takes him, prompting Woody to try to rescue him. In the mix-up, Woody is discovered, and stolen by a greedy collector named Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight), who the other toys actually recognize from an ad where he dresses up like a chicken. The other toys, lead by Buzz (Tim Allen), then begin a search and rescue mission for Woody, using the "Al's Toy Barn" ad to help them find where Al probably took him. Meanwhile, at Al's apartment, Woody meets the rest of a set he had no idea he belonged to; "The Roundup Gang". Said gang includes Woody's horse, Bullseye, a cowgirl named Jessie (Joan Cusack), and Stinky Pete, the still-in-the-box Prospector (Kelsey Grammer). Jessie has a real problem with claustrophobia; a fear triggered when Woody expresses his desire to get back to Andy. As a set, they are to be put on display in a museum to be admired, but if Woody leaves, that means being put back into storage for Jessie and the others. She also suffers from the trauma of being a forgotten toy, so Woody's desire to get back home is much to her chagrin. Woody is now faced with a choice; find a new home as part of a display collection, or get back to his home knowing the day will eventually come when Andy has to move on. This choice of Woody's is actually part of my issue with this one. He can eventually be forgotten, donated or left behind in some way as an eventuality that may not even really come to pass, or he can be shelved permanently anyway with his Roundup gang and live a life behind glass forever. The choice seems pretty obvious to me, but to the film's credit, Buzz does point out how silly the latter choice seems. Beyond that, I do have a certain pet peeve when it comes to animated family films like this involving a closing musical number. 'Shrek' did it, and suddenly "everyone" seemed to have to follow suit. I think this is the one and only time Pixar does it, but they also do it here along with the animated outtakes we got from 'A Bug's Life' which nowadays seems kind of corny to me. To be fair, however, this was still very early for Pixar, and they were trying new things. With all of that said, there's still so much to like about it. The good absolutely outweighs the bad here as far as storytelling and character development goes, and I won't deny that when Jessie sings her song about being forgotten, it provides the old Pixar heartstring puller - and probably the first one that really exists in the library. We all know that Pixar has a way of getting to your emotional core, but the previous two movies in the collection were much more fun than they were deep. This was something that actually made you think and even feel for the characters involved. Although it follows the infamous "Toy Story Escape" trope, the underlying ideas here are very different. While the first film is very much about getting back to Andy, this one, though basically the same idea, actually offers Woody a choice in the matter, and has him think about his potential future as Andy's favourite toy. 'Toy Story 2' is a very good balance of serious and silly, balancing Woody's more dramatic side of things against he comedic mission of Buzz and the other toys from the original. The search and rescue mission gets very funny at points, some of which includes Andy's Buzz Lightyear facing off against a store-shelved Buzz and even his nemesis, Emperor Zurg (Andrew Stanton). We get more of the other toys here than we got in the first, and they really add to the fun of it all. It's interesting to think of 'Toy Story 2' being the peak of emotional response in the Pixar library at one point, but it would have nothing on its eventual sequel, ten plus years (and eight more reviews) down the line. In the meantime, Pixar would expand its universe into some really memorable moments - many of which completely dethrone Jessie's song here as the big emotional Pixar moment. We can, however, at least give Jessie credit for being Pixar's tear-jerking pioneer! 4/5 Back in 1995, at the age of 13, I was pretty fascinated by CG animation. It all started for me with 'Reboot' on YTV, circa '94. Coincidentally enough, the show was generally preceded with a bumper series called 'Short Circutz', among which was my first glimpse of Pixar animation; Jon Lasseter's 'The Adventures of André & Wally B'. At this point, Pixar was still known as The Graphics Group, originally under Lucasfilm, but would eventually break off and create cinematic history with 'Toy Story'; the very first in an eventual long line of full-length CG animated films. 'Toy Story' starts out on a kid named Andy's (John Morris) sixth birthday. Much to the dismay of Andy's favorite toy, Woody (Tom Hanks), Andy unwraps a new action figure known as Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) who poses a potential threat to replace Woody as Andy's new favorite toy. In an attempt to try to get rid of Buzz, Woody knocks him out of Andy's bedroom window, and when Andy grabs Woody to go with him to a restaurant called Pizza Planet, Buzz hitches a ride (having fallen outside). Eventually the pair's squabbling leads to their disappearance from the family car, and capture from Andy's neighbor, Sid; a kid who delights in torturing, disfiguring and destroying any toys he can get. Now it's up to Woody and Buzz to set their differences aside and try to work together in order to get back to Andy in time for moving day, so they won't get left behind. This would admittedly become the beginning of the 'Toy Story' formula in that they all seem to involve an escape from somewhere, and the need to get back home. Although there's a truth to that, I wouldn't say it stifles the creativity too badly. Each time these toys are trying to "escape", although it's for the same reasons, there's always a difference in what fuels their need to escape. In the first chapter's case, it seems as simple as survival. It's quite literally "get back to Andy, or die." It's topped with Woody's love for Andy, but it doesn't seem nearly as obvious here as it is in the sequels. Of course, we're also introduced to a handful of other toys along the way. Among the favorites are a Piggy Bank named Hamm (John Ratzenberger - who will be in a lot of these reviews), a T-Rex named Rex (Wallace Shawn), a Slinky Dog named Slinky (Jim Varney), Mr. Potato Head before he became a problem (Don Rickles) and Woody's apparent love interest, Bo Peep (Annie Potts), an Army of little green soldiers (lead by R. Lee Ermey), and a group of Pizza Planet aliens (Jeff Pidgeon). Pretty much all of these characters are mainstays throughout the series, each representing various strong personality types, and they all add a little something to the mix. It's neat to know I actually had some of these toys in my childhood, like Mr. Potato Head, and most kids my age had some sort of toy dinosaur. In a way, that expands the nostalgic factor of the movie beyond it just being from my youth. One of my reasons for the big Pixar marathon is to see if there's a deep, personal takeaway from each of them like I found with 'Soul', late last year. In the original 'Toy Story', I think the trouble they run into is basic enough that the takeaway isn't necessarily deep or profound. Woody has to cope with his jealous feelings for the "new kid in town" and Buzz has to really come to terms with reality, but while realizing reality can be a good thing too. He even ends up doubting himself, thinking he's insignificant, but Woody has to convince him he's still loved and wanted by Andy. We all have moments like that, especially in our youth, and this is a film that gets the right message across in that regard - you are not as insignificant as you might think you are, because someone out there still loves you. Speaking for myself, I still don't find this one quite as deep as any of the three chapters that follow it, but in many ways it's still a very solid film. On a technical level, it's a massive achievement, and something like plastic toys was a great way to go when it came to early CG. I'd say this is one of the more fun movies in the Pixar library, and it doesn't leave you thinking and pondering so much as leave you with a smile on your face. It brings a lot of nostalgia to the table for me, in more ways than one. In fact, of the Pixar library, I would probably consider this one the go-to for nostalgic purposes altogether. Sometimes you just need to take a trip down memory lane, and between the portrayal of one's carefree childhood days, and simply being there for something cinematically groundbreaking, it serves that purpose well. 5/5 |
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