Monday 19 July 2010

Splice's Greatest Films Ever Made To Come Out In The 90's (The 1990's)


#10 Toy Story

Preamble

With Toy Story 3 coming out it's time to look back at the first ever feature length movie to be created entirely on computer.

40 Words Or So

Woody is Andy's favourite toy. But on his birthday the kid gets the coolest new toy on the market, Buzz Lightyear who supplants Woody in his affections. Jealousy runs rife and Woody and Buzz end up in deep trouble thanks to Buzz's commitment to his mission. Oh, the toys come to life when the humans aren't around, did I mention that?

Review

The thing that struck me when watching Toy Story again was just how tight the whole shebang is. I'm pretty familiar with the film now after about fifteen years of watching it and knowing what's going to happen really helps you understand how well everything in the script works. Everything pays off. If I had to teach a scriptwriting class I'd use Toy Story to demonstrate Sid Field's model of constructing a script. It's got a perfect three act structure (hell it's even got a mid-point incident) and the cause and effect on show is breathtaking. In many ways it's the quintessential Hollywood script.

Why am I banging on about the structure of the film? Well there really isn't much more to say about Toy Story is there? The animation still looks great, although in light of recent films it's starting to get a touch rough, and of course we all know that it marks a watershed moment for the industry. Hindsight shows us that of course the Toy Story effect wasn't entirely a blessing, as anyone who sat through A Shark's Tale will tell you, but beyond the impact of how the film was put together it marks a special moment because it's Pixar's first full length film.

In many ways that is the most important thing about Toy Story. It introduced us to a way of film making that hasn't been bettered by any other group in the fifteen years since. It encapsulates everything that is the Pixar way, not only visually but emotionally as well. No matter how incredible the visuals, hilarious the gags, tightly plotted the stories, the thing that stands out about Pixar's films is heart. Look at those glorious moments, WALL.E flying through space with Eve, Carl seeing for the first time what was in the latter pages of his wife's scrapbook, or of course Buzz attempting to fly to prove he is indeed a Space Ranger and not a lowly toy:



Pixar cared about us feeling something watching Toy Story and set about achieving just that by making a movie worth caring about.

The 100 List (Where And Why)

It can't really go anywhere else but top spot so far can it? Beyond the almighty technical achievement this is an incredible film. The script, acting, humour, animation, and emotion are all pitch perfect and it's the most important film on the list so far. It kick starts what is arguably the greatest run of films to come from a single studio, it's even arguable that they haven't topped Toy Story.

1. Toy Story
2. Braindead
3. Hudsucker Proxy
4. Grosse Pointe Blank
5. Tremors
6. Cube
7. Galaxy Quest
8. White Men Can't Jump
9. Groundhog Day
10. Porco Rosso

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