Toy Story (1995) was not only Pixar's first feature-length film, but also the first ever fully-CGI full-length film to hit the big screen. The film centers around the toys of eight-year-old Andy Davis (John Morris), namely his favorite since kindergarten, Sherrif Woody the cowboy (Tom Hanks), and many others such as Slinky Dog (Jim Varney), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger), and Rex the T-Rex (Wallace Shawn). It's Andy's birthday, and the family is moving soon. One of the presents he gets is a toy space ranger, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), who does not believe that he is a toy. When Andy and the other toys start to like Buzz more, Woody unwittingly tricks Buzz into falling out the window, but after a series of events, both Woody and Buzz end up in the possession of the neighbor Sid Phillips (Erik von Detten), who is known for destroying his toys. It's up to Woody and Buzz to escape Sid and get back to Andy before he moves... but Woody's reputation is at an all-time low now.
In the sequel, Toy Story 2 (1999), four years after the original, while playing with his toys, Andy accidentally tears Woody's arm, so he is put on the shelf of broken toys, where he finds an old squeaky penguin named Wheezy (Joe Ranft) whose squeaker is broken. Andy's mom (Laurie Meltcaf) is about to sell Wheezy at a yard sale, but as Woody rescues him, a collector named Albert "Al" McWhiggin (Wayne Knight), owner of Al's Toy Barn, steals Woody and takes him to his apartment. It's up to Buzz, Hamm, Rex, Slinky Dog, and Mr. Potato Head to rescue him. But in the apartment, Woody is reunited with his old "roundup gang", including his girlfriend Jessie the yodeling cowgirl (Joan Cusack), Bullseye the horse, and Prospector Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer). Woody learns about his past, seeing Al's collection of Woody's Roundup merchandise, and learns how famous he once was. Al is planning to ship Woody, Jessie, Bullseye, and Pete to a museum in Japan, but the museum wants the full set of all four of them. Woody wants to return to Andy, but Jessie warns Woody that she thrown out by her former owner Emily. Will Woody go back to Andy and risk being thrown out, or will he abandon Buzz and the gang and head to the museum where he'll last? In three subplots, Rex is having trouble defeating Buzz's arch-nemesis Emperor Zurg in a video game, and Buzz gets replaced by another Buzz from the toy barn who goes through the same thing Buzz initially did, and a toy Zurg (Andrew Stanton) seeks to defeat Buzz.
Well, there you have it. Just think about all the popular CGI movies of today... Shrek, Ice Age, Kung Fu Panda, Monsters vs. Aliens, and Pixar's latest WALL-E and Up... without Toy Story, none of those might even have existed today. Seeing them on the big screen brought back many memories... the original Toy Story was the first film I ever saw on the big screen and stayed awake during. It was like it was 1995 for 90 minutes, and then 1999 for 90 more minutes. The 3-D greatly enhanced the film, though nothing really over-the-top. The interludes were pretty good too - there was an introduction, then Toy Story, then a 10-minute intermission, then Toy Story 2. The introduction had some comments from Rex and Hamm, and during the intermission, you get some trivia and treats. Some of the trivia questions are easy (e.g. "What does Buzz say when he blasts off?") to tricky if you're not paying attention ("Who was Woody's repairman modeled after?"). The treats are just short clips of funny things happening, but I'm not sure if those are exclusive, or are sneak peeks of Toy Story 3 coming June 18, 2010.
Both films recieved G ratings, but most of the violence is toy-based.
In Toy Story, violence consists of Mr. Potato Head losing his parts (usually for comedic effect) and Sid destroying toys (he blows up an Army Man and switches the heads of a Raggedy Andy and a pterodactyl - which are fixed later). Woody asks "Etch" (an Etch-a-Sketch) to "draw", and it draws a picture of a gun, then Woody is seen holding his chest as if he'd just been shot, saying, "D'oh! Got me again!" Woody knocks an 8-ball behind a desk, and asks Buzz to rescue it, but then controls RC (an RC Car) to try to knock Buzz behind the desk, but it hits a lamp and a Rube Goldberg style of events knocks Buzz out the window. Woody also pushes Buzz out of a truck and starts punching him in the face, but Buzz closes his helmet on Woody's hand. Buzz attempts to fly, but falls, knocking his arm off. There's nothing sexual or drug-related, though. There is some hinted profanity, in which Woody says "The word I'm searching for I can't say because there are pre-school toys present!" and Mr. Potato Head's "Son of a building block!" and just name-calling like "dummy" and "punk in a rocket" (in the song "Strange Things" by Randy Newman) and the famous "hockey puck" (said by Mr. Potato Head to an actual hockey puck).
In Toy Story 2, Al tosses a skateboard at the yard sale (we hear what sounds like breaking glass) to distract Andy's mom before making off with Woody. Zurg blows up Buzz (but then we find out it's just a video game). Andy tears Woody's arm by accident, and Al tears his arm clean off, though it is later repaired. Pete hits Woody with his pickaxe, tearing his arm again, and tearing it further as he hangs from a plane (it is fixed later). Buzz fights with a Buzz from Al's Toy Barn and gets shoved in a box. The Buzz from the toy barn fights the Zurg toy on an elevator, and Rex knocks Zurg off with his tail. When the toys cross to Al's Toy Barn, they hide under traffic cones, causing a huge traffic jam with some crashes. Rex shoves a strategy guide in everyone's face while Tour Guide Barbie is driving them around, causing them to nearly crash. As for sexual content, several Barbie dolls are seen wearing bikinis in a pool set, causing Hamm, Slinky Dog, and Mr. Potato Head's mouths to open wide. When Tour Guide Barbie gets in the car, Mr. Potato Head says "I'm a married spud, I'm a married spud!" to himself, when Hamm pushes him over and says "Single people only!" During the "blooper reel" in the closing credits, Pete farts in his box, "Mike" the microphone toy whacks Wheezy in the head, and Jessie pulls Woody's string off.
I've said enough. If you want to re-live the old moments in 3-D, definitely go. If you're not interested in paying extra for two films that you can see at home on DVD for free (if you have them), then suit yourself and don't go, but be warned that this is only a two-week event (unless it becomes really popular, a lá Hannah Montana and Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour from 2008) and as of January 31, 2009, both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 have been sent to the Disney Vault, and won't come out again until March 2010! (I just checked Amazon, it says Toy Story is $19.00, and the Toy Story 2 is $17.00) Therefore, if you haven't seen one of these films, definitely check them out. Remember - it's two films for the price of one. And don't forget to stay tuned during the credits of Toy Story 2 for the "blooper" reel!
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