Toy Story

Pixar's 1995 flagship blockbuster family movie Toy Story—directed by John Lasseter—was not only the first full-length computer-animated feature, but also changed the entire landscape of animated filmmaking, pushing the state of the art to new levels. While the bar has been raised much higher in the subsequent 15 years, and the toys' beloved human owner Andy looks a bit primitive by today's standards, the film is far more than a technical achievement. Toy Story still boasts a tight, inventive script brought to life with vividly realized personas and an energetic sense of play. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen head the voice cast as Woody the cowboy doll and Buzz Lightyear, the space-age action figure who doesn't realize that he's a toy. Throughout, Lasseter and company bring a sense of childlike delight to the screen, while piling on giddy in-jokes and spirited parodies for the grownups as well as for the youngsters. Re-released on both Blu-ray (which includes the DVD version as well) and DVD, Toy Story is newly remastered from original elements and features extras from previous DVD releases—audio commentary by Lasseter and crew, “making-of” featurettes, deleted scenes, and more—plus a collection of brief but engaging new featurettes, interviews, “Studio Stories” shorts, and a sneak peek at Toy Story 3. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)