The ‘Toy Story’ theory that suggests the toys don’t come to life
Since its conception, the medium of animation has evolved to an unimaginable extent thanks to the technological innovations that have emerged. While these developments have occurred over the course of different eras, some pioneering works have played a more significant role in pushing the boundaries of the art form. One such film is Toy Story, Pixar’s incredible 1995 effort, which ended up changing the language of animation forever.
Directed by John Lasseter, Toy Story made history by being the first animated feature that was entirely made via computer programs. At a time when computer-based animation was still not fully integrated into the visual framework within which artists operated, Toy Story showed that it was possible to make things look organic and beautiful through new technology. In fact, it’s a film that simply could not have been made any other way.
During a conversation with EW, Lasseter explained the origin of the idea that became Toy Story. He said: “Tin Toy, in 1988, developed the idea of toys being alive, which eventually led to Toy Story. And Tin Toy won the Academy Award that year for ‘Best Animated Short’. And then in 1989 was Knick Knack, which was done in 3D because I was crazy about 3-D, but there were absolutely no theatres to see a 3D movie at the time.”
Initially, Disney didn’t want to be involved in an external project, but Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas opened the door for Lasseter. He added: “What changed their mind was Tim Burton… That opened the door for Disney to think of these ‘niche’ animated films that could be done. They said, ‘Okay, we’re willing to talk with you. We’ve got puppet animation going [with Tim Burton], and now we’ll be willing to develop the computer animation.’ They said to come back when we had an idea. So we started thinking…”
While the pioneering animation techniques are definitely a major part of Toy Story’s unprecedented success, its appeal is also emotional. The central premise of a kid’s toys living a second secret life in the absence of human beings captured the imagination of every child who watched it, making them think that there is the possibility of wonder even in their mundane day-to-day activities. However, some fans insist that the toys never came to life at all.
According to a Reddit post, the sentience of the toys was an imagined phenomenon which was used as a coping mechanism by the toys’ owner, Andy, to process difficult events in his life. The writer claims that Andy makes up Woody and Buzz’s entire adventure only after losing his favourite toys, using his active imagination to explain their absence after he finally finds them again. This process is repeated in the subsequent iterations of the franchise, taking place each time one of the toys goes missing.
While this is a plausible explanation for why none of the human beings in the movies ever find out about the toys being alive, it detracts from the movie magic. And Toy Story is nothing without that magic.
