Film · 1995

Toy Story

Toy Story is a 1995 American animated adventure comedy film directed by John Lasseter, and written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow. The first entirely computer-animated feature film, as well as the first feature film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures, it stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, and Jim Varney. Set in a world in which toys come to life, Toy Story follows an old-fashioned cowboy doll named Woody (Hanks), who becomes jealous that a space cadet action figure, Buzz Lightyear (Allen), is replacing him as the favorite toy of their owner Andy. Following the success of the 1988 short film Tin Toy, Pixar was approached by Disney to produce a computer-animated feature film that was told from a small toy's perspective. Lasseter, Stanton, and Pete Docter wrote early story treatments, which were rejected by Disney, who wanted the film's tone to be edgier. After several disastrous story reels, production was halted, and the script was rewritten to better reflect the tone and theme Pixar desired: "toys deeply want children to play with them, and ... this desire drives their hopes, fears, and actions". The studio, then consisting of a relatively small number of employees, produced Toy Story under minor financial constraints.