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, it stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, and Jim Varney. Set in a world where 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.
Toy Story premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles on November 19, 1995, and was released theatrically in the United States on November 22. It set a record for the highest-grossing opening weekend and eventually grossed over $363 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of 1995. The film received critical acclaim, with praise directed towards the animation, screenplay, Randy Newman's score, appeal to all age groups, and voice performances, particularly of Hanks and Allen. It holds a 100% approval rating on film aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes.
The film is frequently lauded as one of the greatest animated films ever made, and, due to its status as the first computer-animated film, one of the most important films in the medium's history and in film at large. The film received three Academy Award nominations—Best Original Screenplay (the first animated film to be nominated for the award), Best Original Song for "You've Got a Friend in Me", and Best Original Score—in addition to being honored with a non-competitive Special Achievement Academy Award.
In 2005, Toy Story was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The success of Toy Story launched a multimedia franchise, with four sequels beginning with Toy Story 2 (1999); a spin-off film Lightyear (2022); and numerous short films. Toy Story has had several theatrical re-releases, including a 3D re-release in 2009 as part of a double feature with Toy Story 2, and a 30th anniversary re-release in 2025.
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