Toy Story 1 Review (1995)

I wasn’t there when Toy Story made cinema history as Pixar’s first feature-length computer-animated film. But if you ask me how many times I watched it, I can’t count it. How can the simple idea of toys come to life still move us 30 years later? The film is really simple on the surface. It tells the life of the toys in Andy’s room. Woody (Tom Hanks) has been the king of the room for years, a classic plush with a cowboy hat and who talks when you pull the string.

One day, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) arrives: a shiny action figure with lasers, wings that expand, and who thinks he’s the Space Ranger. Jealousy begins, rivalry begins, then the famous adventure to Sid’s house… That’s the story. There’s no deep plot, no big twists, just the birth of friendship between two toys. But that’s exactly why it’s important. Toy Story 1 lays the foundation of a universe rather than telling a story.

Pixar asks here “How would we feel if the toys really came to life?” He asks the question and gives the answer that is extremely sincere, childish, but at the same time painfully real: fear of abandonment, identity crisis, the pain of being old… These are emotions that will later reach their peak in Toy Story 2 and 3, but the seeds are sown here. Animation Revolution Technically speaking, the film is still a miracle.

In 1995, making a full-length movie with computer animation was more difficult than making 4K renders today. Every scene, every texture, every light was coded one by one. When we look at it today, it looks a bit plastic, or as I call it, shitty 3D mud. I love this visual. This is the technological frontier of the period. But even in that mud there is incredible vitality. The sound when Woody’s rope is pulled, the animation of Buzz’s wings opening, Sid’s mutant toys…

All of them push the limits of the period. Pixar isn’t just making a technical showing here; It also expresses the emotion through animation. That little eyebrow movement on Woody’s face, Buzz’s shock when he “falls”… They feel human. This is the biggest strength of the movie. Characters and Relationships The meeting of Woody and Buzz is the purest version of the classic rival-friend formula. Woody is a jealous, somewhat selfish, but pure-hearted leader.

Buzz, on the other hand, is naive, idealistic and a bit comically self-confident. That scene where they realize that they are both “toys”… I still get a lump in my throat while watching it. Because at that moment, they both understand what it means to be “real”. The mutant toys in Sid’s room are the darkest and smartest part of the movie. The reflection of children’s fear through toys… Even here, Pixar does not create a bad character, it just shows a traumatized child.

This subtlety is the first sign of the “everyone has a story” approach that will continue in the subsequent films of the series. Music and Atmosphere Soundtrack by Randy Newman… As I noticed in James and the Giant Peach, Newman is the man who established the emotional backbone of Pixar. “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” is so iconic that it sums up the entire movie. Friendship, loyalty, the feeling of “I’m here”… It’s all in that song.

Conclusion: Toy Story 1 is not a perfect movie. Its story is superficial, its pace is slow in some places, and its animation is below today’s standards. But it’s important. Because Pixar didn’t just make a movie here; laid the foundation stone of a studio and a genre (computer animation). And while doing this, he told very human things through “toys”: jealousy, friendship, fear of change, abandonment… Beyond being nostalgia for us, Toy Story 1 is a beginning.

The first step towards that “trash can” scene in Toy Story 3, Forky in Toy Story 4, and those electronic threats that will come in Toy Story 5 is taken here. I will watch and review the series again before Toy Story 5 comes out. It is a nice feeling to be back here again. I will watch the 5th movie in the cinema and write a review immediately. That’s why I don’t say “I wish it was deeper” when I watch it again. “It’s a good thing it remained so simple and pure,” I say.

Because sometimes the biggest revolutions are born from the simplest ideas. So let’s finish like this. To infinity and beyond…