At present, "Toy Story 3" is still 98% positive on Rotten Tomatoes, and from such achievements, the group of "toys" led by Cowboy Sheriff Woody and Space Mounted Police Buzz Lightyear still did not disappoint us.
Such a high rating, not without reason. Not to mention the Disney-produced series of animations, even in the high-quality Pixar's own movies, the score of the "Toy Story" series is unparalleled.
In the current rating list of Pixar animated feature films, although there has been no shortage of masterpieces such as "Flying House" and "Mind Agent" in recent years, the "Toy Story" series still ranks in the top three.
When it comes to box office and awards, Toy Story broke the deadlock when Disney's traditional 2D song and dance films were gradually losing the market, and it became a blockbuster, reaching the top of the 1995 domestic title in the United States with a box office of $191 million.
At the 1996 Academy Awards, Toy Story was nominated for Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song. Because of the film's revolutionary significance, director John Lasseter (who has now left Disney and Pixar because of the sexual harassment scandal) also received a "Special Achievement Award" for the little golden man. That year, Woody and Buzz Lightyear also stood on the podium at the Oscars.
Woody and Bath stand on the podium of the 1995 Oscars
Since then, the sequel to the series, Toy Story 2, debuted in 1999 and grossed $245 million at the local box office and $497 million worldwide, becoming the first sequel in animation history to surpass its predecessor. Released in 2010, Toy Story 3 grossed $415 million and grossed $1.06 billion worldwide. Not only that, but the film also won Pixar an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film.
Released in 2019 and grossing $10.70 worldwide, Toy Story 4 won Best Animated Feature at the 92nd Academy Awards.
After Toy Story was the first 3D animated feature film in the history of animation to amaze the world, the success of three sequels was a bit unexpected. How exactly did the Toy Story series work? And why is it so difficult to surpass?
01. From 2D to 3D, Pixar is a brave step
Toy Story was released in 1995
As the first animated feature film in history to be made entirely of CG technology, the success of Toy Story depends largely on the seamless cooperation between traditional animation artists and computer animation technicians.
Woody has 212 animation control points on his face alone, which may not be a big deal for 3D animation today, but that was in 1995.
The technical problem of "solving everything with money" now made Pixar's creators struggled at the time. But it was also their "fearlessness of the ignorant" that changed the history of animated films.
While producing Electronic World Wars (1982) for Disney, John Lasseter, a newcomer to the film industry, saw the magic of computer animation for the first time, and in addition to his eyes, Lasseter began to think about the possibility of applying computer animation. He later worked for Lucasfilm and became one of the founders of Pixar Animation Studios.
John Lasseter, who has been working at Sky Dance since January last year
In 1986, Pixar used computer animation technology to shoot the first 3D short film "Naughty Jumping Lights", which was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film that year, allowing the world to see the possibilities of three-dimensional animation.
Then, in 1988, Pixar made a 3D short film Tin Toy. A chase between a terrible baby and a poor creep not only lifted Pixar to the Oscar for Best Animated Short Film, but also attracted the attention of animation giant Disney.
The prototype of "Toy Story" "Tin Iron Soldier"
In July 1991, Disney and Pixar reached an agreement to shoot a movie called "Toy Story" based on the characters in "Tin Iron Soldier", which kicked off three Toy Stories in succession.
However, from 3D short films to 3D feature films, it is not easy in the field of technology-first animation, and the attempts of Pixar animation creators may fail at any time. At the beginning of the documentary Pixar's Story (2007), it is summed up: "Over the past two decades, these artists have faced difficulties and risked failure at any time. ”
Ralph Eggleston, then the art designer for Toy Story and one of Pixar's veterans, recalls the experience with wonder, "It's usually the people on the team who developed a set of tools a few days ago and used them to make movies a few days later, and you can't get ready-made tools from anywhere else." You can only shoot if you write out the program yourself. ”
He also "complained" that the people who were engaged in technology at that time were always confused, and he, as the commander of artistic effects, needed to spend a lot of time explaining to them what he wanted. "Unfortunately, I'm completely ignorant of computers, almost an idiot." Although it is a joke, Eggleston's words confirm that sentence: the ignorant are fearless.
John Lasseter discusses Toy Story with colleagues
This "ignorance" in Eggleston's view was "both a gift and a curse", "a curse because I did not understand computers at that time, and annoyed many people, but on the other hand, because of my ignorance, I dared to ask them for things that had not yet been invented." ”
Jonas Rivera, the producer of "Flying House" and "Mind Agents", was only an intern during the period when Pixar created "Toy Story". He recalls that everyone inside Pixar was "learning by doing", and he was most impressed by the "anarchist chaos" and "unfettered creative atmosphere".
Pete Doggett, screenwriter of Toy Story and Toy Story 2, Pixar's current chief content officer, admits that Toy Story is a bit "old" today, no longer as revolutionary as it seemed in 1995. But after all, that was the first time that a painter was willing to combine classic storytelling techniques with cutting-edge computer technology, not only to win success, but also to change the entire industry.
Since then, three-dimensional computer animation has officially entered the historical stage and led a new round of animation industry revolution, it is no longer synonymous with showmanship, but as a new form of animation film, it has begun to carry a complex structure, ups and downs of the story, and attractive characters.
02. Subvert the plot routine of animated movies
"Toy Story" is not only a bold technical attempt, in terms of story, Pixar also chose a path of adventure.
In an environment where animated films were still the domain of Disney Princes and Princesses, Pixar, who had inherited Jobs's counter-trend spirit, decided to jump out of the traditional mold and tell a completely different story.
From the 3D short film Andrew and Willie's Adventures (1984, the first use of motion blur technology) before Pixar's official establishment, to Pixar's first 3D animated short film, Naughty Jumping Lights, to 1988's Tin Iron Minions, the protagonists of the story are not human. Although there are human babies in "Tin Iron Soldier", the setting of the "big villain" is definitely subversive at the time.
Seven years before Toy Story, Pixar won Pixar the first Oscar. In the short film, the toy soldiers become conscious, which becomes the inspiration for Toy Story. But why not shoot people, but toys? In fact, there is another reason: the technology is not in place.
Peter Doggett once admitted that things made by early computer animation technology always look obviously plastic. However, technical limitations have forced Pixar to take a different path and choose to shoot toys with lower realism requirements than humans. But the lack of technology will never reduce Pixar's requirements for the story.
John Lasseter, one of Pixar's founders, recalled an interesting thing: at the premiere of "Naughty Jumping Lights", a well-known ph.D. in graphics stood up to ask questions, and Lasseter, who was not very good at computer technology, was worried that he would ask some computer algorithm problems that he was not good at.
Unexpectedly, the doctor asked: "Is the adult desk lamp in the film a father or a mother?" This intolerable question made Lasseter understand the essence of good animation at once: let the audience forget the technology and see the emotional essence of the animated film.
Creative team: Peter Doggett, Andrew Stanton, John Lasseter and the late Joe Langford
With this gist in mind, Lasseter teamed up with Peter Doggett, Andrew Stanton, Joe Ranfort and others to make Toy Story. The two protagonists of the story, one is the Western cowboy Woody, and the other is the Space X-Men Buzz Lightyear. Peter Doggett, who worked on the overall concept design of Toy Story, said of his thoughts when he designed the two characters, "I hope they're fun enough that even if the whole movie locks them both in the elevator all the time, the film will still look good."
Although at the time, Pixar's first feature film was intended to create a visually unprecedented work, in fact, in order to make the story look good, the creators spent more effort on subverting the traditional routine of animated films.
In the original design, Woody was not only a big man, but also a nuisance
At that time, computer animation was most commonly based on song and dance, but Pixar decided to step out of this box and make a 'buddy film' that had never been seen in an animated film. In the first version of the script handed to Disney, Woody's image is not pleasing, is a full-fledged "nasty ghost", as the protagonist of the story, this image setting was rejected by Disney. Later, after repeated revisions, Woody has a distinct personality that is now quite a leader but not losing his cuteness.
Giving toys human emotions can also be described as a breakthrough and bold attempt by Pixar. "It took us two to three years to really understand that the real theme of the story was about 'jealousy.'"
In this regard, Doggett further explains: "This is something that each of us can understand and has experienced first-hand. Although the characters are just a bunch of toys, they have the same emotions as humans. It was a very important lesson for me. After that, whether it's a car, a monster, or something else, they have to have a human side, something like my own heart. ”
Toy Story 2 was released in 1999
The high standards and strict requirements for the story can be described as a golden sign of Pixar. The creators of Pixar will never allow any factor to affect the quality of the story.
After the success of Toy Story, Disney intended to launch a 60-minute home DVD sequel while it was hot, just like the sequels they had previously made for their own successful animated films. But Pixar persuaded Disney to continue making a long theatrical sequel.
However, because the time given by Disney was very limited, the first version of the script was not satisfactory. After ending the Asian publicity of Bugs Crisis and returning to see the script for Toy Story 2, John Lasseter described himself as so disappointed that he finally had to gather the team from the previous Toy Story and completely rewrite the script. In Pixar's view, there can never be a sequel without a good story.
03. Animated film for a 46-year-old middle-aged man
Toy Story 3 was released in 2010
In the eyes of many post-80s and post-90s generations, the "Toy Story" series is an animation classic in their hearts, and there is no one. The storyline in my memory may no longer be clear, but there are always lines like "There is a snake in my boots" and "More and more people leave you, and the rest become more and more important", which are either amusing or poking your mind.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, who voice Woody and Buzz, confessed that while dubbing Toy Story 2, they cried as they listened to the melody of "When She Loved Me" when they saw the scene where Trish was abandoned. In the third part, the moment When Woody chose to take the initiative to leave Andy, I believe that many viewers were in tears.
After creating the first sequel in the history of animation to catch up with its predecessors at the box office, making Toy Story 3 was a lot of pressure for Pixar's creators.
"Our aim, of course, was to produce a film that would rival the first two Toys," Lee Unkrich, director of Toy Story 3, later recalled, "and there are only a few sequels in the history of cinema that can be as good as the first, let alone a third sequel." All I can think of is Lord of the Rings 3: Return of the King, which looks truly worthy of the third part of a blockbuster. ”
"And what I want to say is that we should make these three Toys look like a whole, and together they form a big story, which is what has always encouraged us to create Toy Story 3."
Concept art of Toy Story 3
While opening their minds, the creators of the Toy Story series have never forgotten the emotional thrust of the story — any act that prevents the toys from playing with their owners will make the toys feel anxious. Although several films form a complete story, they all have their own different stories and emotional lines.
In the first part, Woody worries that he will be replaced by a new toy Bass.
In the second part, the toys are worried that they will not be played because they are old and broken, and Woody is faced with the choice of either staying with Andy or staying perfect and shiny but no longer being played with by children.
In the third part, the little master has grown up and no longer needs toys, which is more nerve-wracking for toys than broken and lost...
In the fourth part, Woody gets a glimpse of the world outside the room and meets their partners who are very different from each other's mission to toys, and they realize that a greater threat is coming...
The secret to the success of the Toy Story series is that each one does not attempt to repeat the same feelings or the same story. Four films deal with completely different things through the same characters, in the same world, and explore a completely different emotion. And each viewer can relate these stories to their own life experiences, which is even more touching.
Playwright Michael Amt who was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Toy Story 3 (who won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for Little Miss Sunshine) loves Pixar's animated films. He once lamented: "In the production process of each Pixar film, whether it is a point of view shot, a docking shot, or a camera movement, you can feel joy and satisfaction. You will find that the movies you watch are done by people who absolutely love their own work. ”
In fact, these shots full of joy and satisfaction are likely to come from the life experiences of the producers themselves and their families. For example, in "Toy Story 3", Andy's mother carries a large garbage bag of toys to the side of the road, which is filmed by director Lee Unkrich to commemorate a large bag of his wife's treasured toys that he once accidentally threw away.
Make a movie with your own life experience to show yourself, "making a film that resonates with you, that is our judging criterion," said Pete Doggett, the director of "Flying House" and "Mind Agents". "A lot of times, people ask me who these movies are for and who we're targeting, and I usually look around and answer, probably for middle-aged men at 46 years old, because we've made them for ourselves."
"We never ask what 7-14 year olds like, so let's aim it." Instead, we ask ourselves, what is important in life? What inspires us? And that's what Pixar movies try to explore. Obviously, Toy Story made a good start to Pixar's creative purpose. ”
After the release of "Toy Story", Buzz Lightyear and Woody immediately won the love of people of different ages, and their popularity was no less than that of Disney's traditional classic characters. Toy Story has also greatly expanded the audience of animated films, and even redefined the rules of filmmaking, which proves that it is completely feasible to make a film that can meet the needs of various audiences.
In fact, Toy Story set a benchmark for the films that followed it— both animated and live-action. In the ten years since Toy Story 3 was released, no animated film has surpassed it.