
“To infinity and beyond!”
Sound familiar?
Toy Story is the third on my list of my favorite animated feature films. You can see the whole list in that link. If you’ve never seen Toy Story I’d really have to ask where the heck you’ve been. See it already!
What can I say about the first 3D full-length feature film ever made?
That it’s the Snow White of a new generation? Yes, I guess it is.
That it put Pixar on the map? Yes, I suppose it did.
That it was such a success because of all that fancy technology? Uh, no. Sorry.
Some will argue with me, but Toy Story was not a success because of the technology. It was a success because of the storytelling and characters.
Would it have worked in 2D? Yes, I believe it would have. A good story is a good story, no matter the medium. As I’ve said before, you can tell a good story with stick men as far as I’m concerned.
As I go through all my favorite bits from Toy Story, please note that I never mention rigging, lighting or texture mapping. Don’t get me wrong, it looks fabulous (even if the humans are a bit wonky 😉 ). It was freakin’ eye candy all the way when I saw this the first time.
Kids don’t care about eye candy (at least not after the first 10 minutes). Trust me. If the story sucks, a kid will let you know by their lack of interest…technology or not
But 3D worked for telling a story about toys. Period. These days, it’s just gotten a little out of hand. It’s everywhere! Gaa! Use it when it suits the story please.
That’s my two cents. Lecture over.
Let’s roll! Here’s my favorite bits from Toy Story.
The toys. It was a trip back to my childhood. I know the people making this film were from my generation because of the toy selections. I mean Weebles! Stretch Armstrong! Sweet.