Toy Story (1995) Review

Toy Story (1995) Review

In less than one month, Toy Story 5 drops in theaters. In preparation and excitement for the film, I’ve decided to review the past Toy Story films leading up to it. It’s week #1 which means we’re talking about the 1995 original. 

The Good

I’ve of course seen Toy Story several times over the years but after viewing it, I realized that it had been a while since I rewatched this film. As the film was going, the word that kept on coming to mind was charming. I forgot how fun, cute, and charming this film was. Everything about it from individual scenes, lines, characters, humor, heart, and animation just provided a very charming experience. I think a big part of the charm probably comes from the fact that it’s just a super iconic film that has had massive staying power over the last 31 years. Every single scene and character is iconic and has helped make the Toy Story franchise into maybe the most consistent film franchise of all time. Watching this movie as a 21 year old who’s been watching it for a long time, you get this sense of nostalgia that elevates the charm factor of the film. Another piece to add to this but this is one of the most important animated films of all time. This was the original computer animated film and watching this movie and the trailers for Toy Story 5, it’s fascinating to see how computer animation has evolved over 31 years. There’s so many different reasons as to why the film has this charming quality about it. 

As far as the specifics about the film, the big thing to talk about here is the central dynamic between Woody and Buzz. Woody and Buzz are one of the best duos in movie history that have come a long way since their first meeting here. Because both are very different characters, they play off of each other really well. Woody sees himself as Andy’s favorite toy and the leader of the group. But when Buzz shows up, he’s thrown off and jealous by Buzz because he’s the more advanced and cool toy. Woody’s arc in the film is learning to be more accepting and not as selfish as he was at the beginning. Rewatching the film, there’s a scene that stood out to me which was Woody confessing his regrets when they’re trapped in Sid’s room. You see the vulnerable side of Woody and a Woody that has grown and changed over the course of the film. It’s not a big and flashy scene with jokes and what not, but it’s a powerful scene that shows Woody’s transformation in the film. You have Buzz who has another very powerful character arc that’s portrayed as a mid-life crisis. Where he believes in the fact that he’s a space ranger sent to Earth, but throughout the course of the film he learns that he’s a toy and learns to accept who he is and his place. Both Woody and Buzz’s character arc in the film have a similar outcome of finding their place but told from a very different perspective in very different ways. It also helps that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are perfectly cast as these characters and have great chemistry. They’re so much fun together and you buy into their relationship and how they’re irritated by one another at the beginning of the film but learning to appreciate and respect each other by the end of it. Woody and Buzz are easily one of the best movie duos in movie history that you care so deeply about over the course of four films. 

Beyond that, the rest of the characters are so much fun. I forgot how much I enjoy spending time with these characters and seeing all of their dynamics and frustrations with each other. Everybody from Slinky to Rex to Hamm to Mr. Potato-Head are fun characters that you enjoy spending time with. With the plot of the film involving Woody and Buzz being separated from the group, it’s easy for the film to have pacing issues and not be as invested in Andy’s other toys when it’s not focused on Woody and Buzz. But the writing and the characterization of the other toys is so good that you’re having just as much fun spending time as you are with Woody and Buzz that provides the fun and the emotional weight of the film. You also get a great Pixar villain with Sid who is so despicable and appropriately creepy and unsettling as you see what he’s doing with these toys and how he’s torturing them. He provides a great antagonistic foil for Woody and Buzz that provides a very memorable sequence. Re-watching this movie after watching a lot of the modern Pixar films, the magic of the classic Pixar films is gone because they lack the memorable characters that the first 15 years of Pixar had. When you watch Toy Story, you’re reminded of the greatness of Pixar and how they were able to create these great characters. 

Another thing that really stands out about this film is you have a great script whether that’s with the story, emotions, or humor. The screenplay was actually nominated for best original screenplay at the Oscars. I love that this film got that nomination because it’s rare for animated movies now to get nominations outside of the animated feature. The fact that this film got a screenplay nomination is very exciting. One of the things that people forget about with this film, Joss Whedon helped write the screenplay. Whedon is an Oscar nominated screenwriter. Which people don’t realize because he did more nerdy stuff like Firefly and The Avengers, and then of course got into all sorts of trouble with the theatrical cut of Justice League. The script is a mix of the snappy Joss Whedon dialogue with the great Pixar screenwriters like John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton who can bring the Pixar heart and emotion. It’s a great mix of ingredients and partly why the film is so good. The script is tackling all of these complex ideas about mid-life crises and finding purpose while also being funny and quotable. The film is able to set up a number of little details early on that feels like throw-away dialogue but actually comes back as a visual image to tell the audience how the characters are feeling. The screenplay was something that stuck out to me more than I thought it would upon rewatch. 

Also, the film’s music from top to bottom is really good. Whether that’s the composed score or the songs written by Randy Newman, it’s all really good. When it comes to the written music, “You’ve Got A Friend in Me” is just a fantastic song that’s stayed in popular culture for 31 years. It’s a song that everybody knows the melody and the lyrics to, and it’s just a really good song that helps communicate some of the themes and ideas being explored in this film. The other great song that gets overshadowed is “Strange Things” that also works. It plays perfectly over this montage showcasing the crisis and panic that Woody is going for. The film is not a musical by any means, but there’s a lot of details in here with how the music ties into the narrative of the film, where it’s able to communicate so much about the characters in a quick two to three minute long scene. Randy Newman, who composed all of the Toy Story films, does a great job with the score that perfectly captures the whimsical tone and nature of the film and is one of Pixar’s best scores all of these years later (The Incredibles is still the best Pixar score). 

The final thing to talk about but the movie feels so timeless and has aged very well in popular culture. The film has themes that were relatable in 1995 and are still relatable in 2026. Where the film is all about growing up and that’s a broad theme and idea that people in 1995 can connect with that people in 2026 can also connect with. The other thing that’s made it age well is that the film is filled with great sequences, characters, and lines. Upon rewatch, I forgot just how many scenes and sequences are so great and memorable and a part of popular culture. Where everybody knows Pizza Planet and Sid as the villain and that whole sequence with his make-shift toys. The third act being this chase scene with this remote control car with Woody and Buzz that’s being chased by a dog. When Pixar has made 30+ years of movies since this film and this film still has memorable moments, that’s when you know you have a movie that works so well and is one of the most iconic animated films of all time. 

The Bad

One aspect of the film that hasn’t aged the best is the animation. It feels a little bit unfair to criticize the film’s animation because it was ground breaking and something that had never been done before. This was the first computer animated film which meant that they were still figuring out what worked and what didn’t work. There’s a few shots of the humans in the film that look creepy and not right. Even the dog doesn’t look quite right and looks dead in the eyes. Even in the Pizza Planet sequence if you look in the background there’s characters that aren’t moving, they were added in the film but not animated at all. This isn’t a massive issue in the film, it doesn’t take anything away from it but I think it’s a weak point in the film that hasn’t aged the best 31 years later. 

Also, there’s a few aspects of the film that don’t make sense in the world of Toy Story, in particular with Buzz Lightyear’s character arc. Buzz Lightyear believes that he’s crash landed and is a space ranger, not a toy. But we see him freeze and “play dead” whenever humans are around. It’s a small thing in the film, it’s not a big plot hole that bothers me greatly every time I watch the film or think about it, but it is something that I think does hold the movie back and creates some laps in logic with the rules of this world. 

Final Thoughts: The original Toy Story was the original film from Pixar that holds up wonderfully 31 years later. The film is so well put together from the script that’s written by some great screenwriters as well as great characters in particular, Woody and Buzz that are some of Pixar’s best characters. There’s so many aspects of this that are charming, quoteable, and memorable and have become a mainstay in popular culture since the film’s release in November 1995. 

The Score: 9.3/10 (A)