The Toys Are Back In Town!

TOY STORY (3D Blu-ray)
Walt Disney

Release date: November 14th, 2011
Certificate (UK): PG
Running time: 77 minutes

Year of production: 1995

Director: John Lasseter
Writers: Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow

Voice cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Annie Potts, John Morris, Laurie Metcalf, Erik von Detten

It’s a widely known fact in the non-adult community. Every little boy and girl knows it but they forget it as they get older.

Toys come alive when we’re not around. That’s right; teddies, rag dolls, plastic T-Rex’s, even those wild guys with the unruly pink hair, they all share a wonderful, magical world that would be endangered if the adults found out. It’s just as well the magic wears off at a certain age once they start getting busy with exams, jobs, houses and families of their own.

At heart, I’m still a child and the magic never wore off for me, I guess that’s because I never really got that busy with those other things. A smile still lights up my face when I see a cuddly teddy, a bag of toy soldiers, a buck of building blocks or a film like Toy Story.

It taps into that part of my mind that’s home to my imagination and for those who know me and know me well, know that I live in perpetual state of imagination! It was unlike any film I’d seen before and it looked so different. Made entirely in CGI, a first in that time, Toy Story’s characters inhabited a world very much like ours – they came alive when no one was around.

In Andy’s room there’s Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll, who spends his time organising games with the other toys in the room; Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Rex, Hamm and Bo Peep. They’re a pretty happy bunch of toys but they do have worries about what presents Andy will get on his 8th birthday. As Andy’s main toy, Woody always gets chosen to ride with him on car journeys, go to Pizza Planet and sleep next him as well, so if a new toy comes along, that could mean the end of those privileges.

Lo and behold, Andy does get a new toy, a Buzz Lightyear action figure who comes complete with wings, laser and a space helmet – everything that could make him the little boy’s favourite toy.

The toys have more worries though, with the family set to move they’re all in a constant state of tension and for Woody that’s heightened because his place alongside Andy is taken by Buzz. After his attempt to get Buzz misplaced ends in disaster, Woody’s accused of foul play and even though he is guilty he tries to get Buzz back to clear his name, but the pair end up in the house of Andy’s very mean and cruel neighbour, a boy named Sid who really, really doesn’t like to look after his toys.

Buzz and Woody eventually have to work together to make their way back to Andy’s before the move takes place and they get left behind forever.

It’s a thrilling adventure filled with danger and fun where even the smallest of everyday items can become the biggest obstacles.

I was already a teenager when Toy Story first came out but that didn’t stop me from enjoying the fun with my much younger nephew and nieces who were all enthralled by this wonderful secret world. I did my best to assure them that it’s all true, which is why they should look after their toys.

All these years later to go back and see it now in 3D, although it looks shinier, the colours are much more eye-popping and the illusion of depth is stunning, the characters and the world they inhabit are essentially the same which is great news for older fans and newer ones too.