PIXAR Chronicles: Toy Story, A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2

A wide variety of directors have worked at PIXAR, which, interestingly, is both exemplified and contradicted in their first three movies. Between the two Toy Story films and A Bug's Life, four different filmmakers got to direct a movie for the studio, but all of them except for John Lasseter got co-director status. Truth be told, in the context of the individual films, this seems reasonable; Lasseter had no co-director on Toy Story, and it feels natural that he'd want to handle the second film for the company while also nurturing a prospective new director (Andrew Stanton). Toy Story 2 meanwhile had a, to put it lightly, hellish production, one that necessitated that Lasseter would need help in the form of Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon to bring the film to fruition.

One really can't complain about Lasseters heavy hand in these productions considering how well the films themselves turned out. Those first three features, Toy Story, A Bug's Life and Toy Story 2 are the one I'll be covering in the first installment of the PIXAR Perfect series, Let's go to infinity (and beyond!) by diving right into these movies, shall we?

Toy Story: Let's not mince words here; PIXAR has taken us all on incredible voyages over the decades. But even after 14 movies, I still think their very first effort may be the best they've ever concocted. Toy Story just thrives on a plot so glorious in its simplicity (two toys duel for the attention of their owner) that taps into universal insecurities of jealousy and insecurity in a refined approach that would set the stage for how future PIXAR movies handled complex characters and emotions.

As anyone with even a passing familiarity with American animation can tell you, it's common for celebrities to voice lead characters, regardless of if they fit the character or not. I'm sure the marketing possibilities of getting the lead of one of the biggest movies of all-time (Forrest Gump) and the lead from a huge TV show (Home Improvement) together had a hand in Tom Hanks and Tim Allen landing the roles of Woody and Buzz, but I'll be damned if they're not perfect in their roles, especially in capturing the arcs both characters undergo in Toy Story.

Hanks makes for a lovable everyman at the start of the story, one whose wisdom and tact makes for him to be a natural pick to be the head honcho to all the toys in Andys room. Once Buzz shows up, Hanks is able to add a splash of pain to the envy Woody feels at being replaced as Andys favorite toy. Meanwhile, Allen also covers every area Buzz travels to, character-wise, with success, nailing the bravado the Space Ranger exudes when he doesn't realize he's a toy, but also being equally successful in conveying the emotional whiplash that accompanies his realization of being just a childs plaything.

A Bug's Life: Unless something drastic occurs, it's pretty much a certainty that A Bug's Life will forever be the lowest grossing PIXAR movie. Many consider it to be the weakest of PIXARs output, and while I certainly don't think its that weak, I do agree it's a bit more flawed than a large number of its cinematic brethren. A lot of this can be traced to Flick, the stories protagonist who isn't the weakest PIXAR lead (I'll talk about the character who has that distinction in due time), but he does have problems as a character in numerous regards.

The main feature that separates Flick from the other ants is that he's an inventor, creating various contraptions that, in theory, will make the ants job of collecting food for menacing grasshoppers, a whole lot easier. We're supposed to feel pity for Flick once his superiors act agitated towards his inventive spirit, but honestly, with the threat of grasshoppers who can destroy their colony looming over their heads, it's a bit puzzling why Flick isn't looking to help his comrades in more productive ways. Maybe if he collected food in addition to being an inventor he'd work better. and to be fair, in later segments of the movie he does become a more likable lead, but the foundation for Flick does feel lackluster.

Aside from some miscalculations in the lead character, A Bug's Life remains a entertaining film that never hits the emotional heights of PIXAR movies to come, but does carve out its own identity with memorable supporting characters. The writers and artists at PIXAR are obviously having a blast bringing the minuscule world of Flick and his cohorts to life, especially with the circus bugs Flick recruits to help fight off the villainous grasshoppers. Just hearing Slim (David Hyde Pierce) the walking stick bemoan his lack of interesting theatrical roles or Heimlich the caterpillar rattle on about his desire to be a butterfly is enough to get me to smile even after seeing this film countless times.

Toy Story 2: Despite the tremendous aforementioned production difficulties, Toy Story 2 wound up being a pretty well done movie, one that continued the saga of Buzz and Woody in a meaningful way. To be frank, in the pantheon of PIXAR movies, I'd rank Toy Story 2 as a lower quality effort than most others would, but don't take that as some sort of declaration that the movie fell short for me. There's still plenty to enjoy in the first ever PIXAR sequel.

What's really nice about Toy Story as a complete trilogy (we'll ignore the inevitable fourth movie for now, m'kay?) is that it feels surprisingly like a complete story being told over three movies. Franchises like Pirates of The Caribbean got too caught up in their sequels trying to make their sagas "legendary multi-part storytelling" on par with The Lord of The Rings films, and yet, Toy Story is one of the few to actually achieve that goal simply because each film puts telling a good story as the primary priority before trying to tell a grand multi-film story arc.

The plot of this one focuses on Buzz and several of Woodys toys attempting to rescue Woody from a toy collector. While in captivity, Woody begins to realize Andy may not always be around for him, an epiphany coming courtesy of one of the strongest sequences in any of PIXARs movie, the When Somebody Loved Me scene depicting Jessie (Joan Cusack) and her experiences with her owner as she grows up and ignores her. The song is a touching one (those Sarah McLachlan vocals will always get the tears going) and it's the sort of emotionally devastating moment that makes the toys in the Toy Story films more than just everyday playthings.