Toy Story

Toy Story (1995) is a groundbreaking American animated film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter, it was the first fully computer-animated feature film in history and marked the beginning of Pixar's long-standing dominance in animated storytelling. The film centers on Woody, a cowboy doll voiced by Tom Hanks, who finds his status as the favorite toy threatened when Buzz Lightyear, a flashy space ranger voiced by Tim Allen, enters the picture. Jealousy, rivalry, and misadventures ensue as the two must work together to reunite with their owner, Andy, before he moves to a new home. Toy Story revolutionized the animation industry. Its fully 3D-rendered characters and environments were unlike anything audiences had seen at the time. The film’s script, co-written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, and Alec Sokolow, stood out for its sharp wit, character development, and emotional depth—raising the standard for animated films that followed. Composer Randy Newman provided an original score and memorable songs, including the beloved “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” At the box office, Toy Story was a massive hit. Produced on a budget of around $30 million, it grossed over $394 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing film of 1995 domestically. Its success stunned industry skeptics and proved that computer-generated animation could be not just viable, but a game-changer in commercial cinema. Critically, the film was universally acclaimed. It holds a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a Metacritic score of 95, with praise directed at its innovative visuals, heartfelt storytelling, and voice performances. It was nominated for three Academy Awards (Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song, Best Original Score) and received a Special Achievement Oscar for John Lasseter for his work in pioneering feature-length computer animation. Toy Story’s legacy is monumental. It launched one of the most successful franchises in film history, spawning three sequels—each critically and commercially successful in their own right. It also marked the beginning of Pixar’s rise as a storytelling powerhouse. The film has been preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry by the Library of Congress for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant,” and continues to influence animation, merchandise, and narrative design to this day.