.
It scored multiple Academy Award nominations, and director John Lasseter received a Special Achievement Oscar.
“Toy Story was praised not just for the technical achievement but also the wonderful story that engaged viewers of every age,” says Paul Van Opdenbosch, a lecturer in animation at the Queensland University of Technology.
Van Opdenbosch says without great storytelling, Toy Story “could have flopped, taking Pixar down with it”.
“Toy Story proved computer-generated cinema was artistically viable, commercially powerful, and emotionally resonant, sparking a technological revolution that continues today.”
Pixar springs to life
Disney and Pixar were not always synonymous with each other — in fact, Pixar’s origin story began with Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas.
In 1979, Lucas film’s Computer Division was tasked with developing state-of-the-art computer technology for the film industry.
Steve Jobs would go on to purchase that same Computer Division from George Lucas in 1986 and establish the group as an independent company — Pixar.
At the time, Pixar had only 40 employees, but it caught the eye of industry behemoth Disney.
Toy Story took more than four years to create and made history as the world’s first computer-animated feature film.
When it finally hit theatres, its success was astronomical.
The two studios began collaborating on CAPS — the Computer Animation Production System that would revolutionise the creation of traditional animated films.
By the late 1980s, Pixar was honing its skills by pitching, writing and animating commercials for products such as orange juice and mouthwash.
In the early 1990s, Disney and Pixar agreed to “make and distribute at least one computer-generated animated movie”.
That movie would be Toy Story .
We were all complete novices,” Ed Catmull told Time magazine in 2015.
Catmull worked as a software engineer on the film, and later became the Disney Pixar Animation president.
“At that point, none of us knew what we were doing. We didn’t have any production expertise except for short films and commercials,” he said.
“But there was something fresh about nobody knowing what the hell we were doing.”
Breaking new ground
The computer-generated imagery (CGI) technology birthed new opportunities, but had its drawbacks.
The software could create perfectly geometric objects: cubes and spheres easily became wooden blocks and bouncy balls.
But “organic” shapes appeared to take on a plastic quality, which Pixar used to its advantage.
When Toy Story was released, the reviews were glowing.
“It’s a lovely joke that the film’s toy characters are charmingly plain [Etch A Sketch, plastic soldiers, a dog made out of a Slinky] while its behind-the-scenes technology, under the inspired direction of John Lasseter, could not be more cutting edge,” wrote the New York Times’s Janet Maslin.
Van Opdenbosch was 12 years old when Toy Story premiered, and says the CGI became almost invisible once he was swept up in the magic on-screen.
“I remember watching the film and loving the story, the fact that it was made using a completely new approach to animated filmmaking didn’t even occur to me,” he said.
“I didn’t realise then that I was watching a film that had sparked the very field I would eventually study, work in, and teach others to create in.”
Toy Story II 1999.
Photo12 via AFP
You’ve got a friend in me
CGI animation was not the only factor that set Toy Story apart from the Disney films before it.
It was not a musical, and there was not a princess in sight.
Instead, it was a buddy film.
As Toy Story screenwriter Peter Docter told The Hollywood Reporter
“And I think that’s a really beautiful story, and it’s one we’ve come back to several times.”
Docter wrote the screenplay with Andrew Stanton, and the pair would go on to receive an Academy Award nomination for Screenwriting — a first for a CGI film.
Stanton has previously said Pixar looked to iconic films, such as Snow White , The Wizard of O z and Star Wars , which had staying power despite the technology becoming outdated.
“We said anything that we break ground with, computer graphics-wise, will be subservient to getting the story right, because that’s what history has shown wins,” he told Time magazine .
“It’s the ugliest picture we will ever make, but you don’t care because you get wrapped up in the story to this day.”
To infinity and beyond
A teaser trailer to Toy Story 5 was released days before the 30th anniversary of the first installment.
In the 50-second clip — set to ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ by Australia’s very own INXS — the analogue toys are rocked by the arrival of a frog-themed tablet.
In a moment of art imitating life, the animation industry is navigating the introduction of artificial intelligence (AI).
“Just as the evolution from 2D to 3D and then the introduction of motion capture transformed animation, AI represents the next major catalyst for change,” Mr Van Opdenbosch says.
“New opportunities are emerging, but this does not diminish the importance of understanding what constitutes good animation or how motion is created.
“The legacy and history of animation remain vital; as John Lasseter’s training under the original Disney animators demonstrates, strong foundational knowledge in concepts, methods, theories, and histories is essential regardless of the tools used.”
Mr Van Opdenbosch says AI should be explored as a new creative tool that could lead to more opportunities for animators.
“Many people I know in industry are already using AI to speed up workflows and solve production challenges,” he said.
“Ultimately, AI is here to stay, and you’re better off jumping in and exploring the new tools and possibilities it offers.”
Toy Story screenwriter Peter Docter said earlier this year that AI “takes something and sands the edges down, so it makes the blob average”.
“And that could be very useful in a lot of ways,” he told The Hollywood Reporter .
“But if you really want to do something brand new and really insightful and speak from a personal angle, that’s not going to come from AI fully.”
