Spoiler Alert: The toys are alive!

Movie: Toy Story

Rank: 99

Year: 1995

Director: John Lasseter

Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Don Rickles, Jim Varney, John Ratzenberger

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At midnight in the summer of 2010, my friends and I packed into a theater for the opening night screening of Toy Story 3. Believing it to be the last of a trilogy pivotal to my generation and largely mirroring our own lives as we entered our senior year of high school contemplating what’s to come in college, those around me wept. I, however, did not. What I saw in that theater was a beautiful tribute to Buzz and Woody, to Hamm and Rex, to Jessie and Bullseye and to Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head. Who did not get a tribute? Bo Peep. The very same Bo Peep who was the love of Woody’s life and often served as the “straight man” to the antics of these toys. As I said, I did not weep. I *enjoyed* the movie, but left in a state of disbelief at how they did my girl so very wrong.

I have since found others who were frustrated with her absence, but in the moment, I was met with bullshit comments about how people leave our lives, we move on, yada, yada, yada. But my complaints persisted.

It may be worth noting, my sister has been known to say I live on a soap box and take up causes others don’t care about. Among these causes, the importance of television theme songs, the horrid injustice of Yukon Cornelius not getting his deserved adoration and how your favorite show can’t be one you just binge-watched.

It may also be worth noting, my mother has a sixth sense when it comes to movies and television shows, despite not sharing my obsession. She can often guess the conclusions or make things happen out of nowhere, much to our chagrin while growing up. Luckily, there are signs I may be inheriting this gift even if it can be chalked up to the extensive amount of television and movies I consume and have studied. I joke that I stood under the ceiling fan, which is a bastardized reference to Charmed’s *iconic* scene where the chandelier lights up as the Halliwell sisters come into their powers.

All this is to say, I mused for years about how they needed to scrap the trilogy concept to add another movie where they find Bo Peep. Many people (read: my sister) told me to get over it, that it would never happen, until that fateful announcement at D23 saying Toy Story 4 would be about Woody and Bo Peep.

I won’t spoil Toy Story 4, as I guess it is still technically considered new, but I basically made it happen, so you’re welcome for the send-off all the characters deserved while also introducing us to the most bad-ass version of Bo Peep to date.

"YOU... ARE... A... TOY! You aren't the real Buzz Lightyear, you're... you're, you're an action figure!"

- Woody, Toy Story

Bad-ass Bo Peep isn’t the only thing Disney graced us with this year. I saw no more fitting way to celebrate the launch of Disney+ than to watch what started it all, Toy Story,on the new streaming platform. Despite the occasional drag of my sister in this blog, I am currently mooching off her Disney+ account, so this is my public declaration of my appreciation!

In 1995, as movie-goers filled those seats with their popcorn and soda in hand, they saw the story of living toys led by an old-timey, draw-string Sherriff named Woody. In a tale of the Old West meets Outer Space on a kid’s bed, a new toy named Buzz Lightyear believing he really is a space cadet joins Andy’s room and soon usurps Woody’s place as the favorite toy. As Woody grows increasingly resentful, he tries to trick Buzz into falling behind the dresser when he accidentally knocks him out of the window. He is forced to try to save Buzz from the psychotic neighbor, Sid, in time to catch the moving truck as Andy and his family head to their new house.

And just like that, this gang of toys entered the zeitgeist and animated movies were never the same again.

In the same vein as Snow White, Toy Story introduced a new medium to audiences as the first computer animated major motion picture. It is almost assuredly this reason it is the only Pixar movie to make the list. The more I go through this list, the more I am convinced “Most Significant” is a more apt title that “Greatest.” Is Toy Storythe greatest of Pixar? While I love it, it isn’t even my favorite from the series. Personally, Monster’s Inc. takes the cake.

That being said, this movie is certifiably iconic. Sure, it captured the hearts of children, but it also catered to the tastes of adults in a largely unseen manner. So much so that the early scripts had to be walked back after creating unlikable characters in their efforts to make it an edgy animated film. What remained was a balance of childhood whimsy with hidden innuendos, pop culture references and a certifiably terrifying antagonist.

Having watched this movie for almost the entirety of my life, it was certainly a glass-shattering* moment to realize one of Sid’s toy creations was a hooker, made of doll legs and a pole with a hook replacing the body and head. At another point in the film, Buzz and Woody are arguing and Woody says “The word I’m searching for, I can’t say, because there’s preschool toys present.” A sentiment I know all too well now that I am an adult.

"To infinity and beyond!"

- Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story

The references throughout the film also catered to this older audience, often alluding to films much too inappropriate for the viewing children.

While in Planet Pizza, where Buzz and Woody are trying to reunite with Andy, one of the games entitled “Whack-a-Alien” simulates the classic scene of an alien bursting through a stomach from Alien.(Is it possible to use “alien” more times in a sentence?)Woody becomes trapped under a plastic crate at Sid’s house that was held down by a Binford tool box, the same fictional company mentioned in Home Improvementstarring Buzz’s voice actor, Tim Allen. Speaking of Buzz, he recreates an exciting scene from another movie off the list, Raiders of the Lost Ark, where he must outrun a globe in place of the giant rock ball chasing Indiana. Even in the décor, Sid’s hallway carpet shares the same pattern and an inverted color scheme of the carpet in the hotel from The Shining.

Horror references shouldn’t be a shock when it comes to Sid, the sociopath living next door. Donning a black shirt with a painted skull, he specializes in tormenting toys, dismembering them and creating Frankenstein-ed nightmare ones who, unlike Andy’s toys, don’t speak. As creepy as they are, they seem to have a plastic heart of gold. He even chopped off the head of his sister’s favorite doll, which the hybrid toys reattached with duct tape.

I just hope his parents put aside the therapy money which will be so essential for his sister one day, as Sid will almost undoubtedly end up on Pixar’s Most Wanted.

He is largely why other’s in the series ranked higher, he was truly terrifying to a young girl. That girl, obviously, being me. Maybe that was due to being the only human antagonist without any toy counterpart. In the second movie, there is Al trying to get a payout, but the true culprit is Stinky Pete. In the third movie, we have a maniacal teddy bear named Lotso and in the fourth movie, we have an antique doll with ventriloquist dummy henchmen. Yet, the original Toy Storyshows the internal group dynamics of a new member being introduced while dealing with the outside force of a child who will one day be studied in MindHunters.

Luckily, this movie took on a zombie uprising vibe as they scheme to stop Sid’s attempt to rocket Buzz to the sky with toys emerging from the yard as Woody speaks directly to him. Sid’s murderous plot caused Buzz to lose his mind and his arm, though both get snapped back into place. The horrors of war cause a bond to form between Buzz and Woody, which persists as one of the strongest friendships throughout all of cinema.

"There's a snake in my boot!"

- Woody, Toy Story

This death-defying stay at the neighbor’s house coincides with Andy and his family moving. It is a race against the clock for Buzz and Woody to get back to the child they love, the goal of all toys. However, there efforts are often thwarted by their close friends who are convinced Woody has attacked or murdered Buzz. Often these strong sentences are delivered by a judge, party of Mr. Potato Head.

Everyone forgives and forgets, but damn, Woody’s longtime friends quickly become enamored with the shiny, new space cadet and are happy to leave Woody for ruin without listening to his explanation. The only two who ever seem sympathetic are Bo Peep, again, my girl knows shit, and Slinky.

While the story of Toy Story has proven timeless, Pixar’s talent at Easter eggs and call backs truly astounds. The Pizza Planet truck and bouncing ball, seen throughout the studio’s films, are first introduced here, along with a license plate reading “A113” to reference the academic background of the creator. Having seen the other movies, it is funny to see the seeds of Al’s Toy Barn and Zurg mentioned before coming to fruition in the second movie.

All of the tricks and treats don’t account for its enduring quality. That can largely be chalked up to the magic of fulfilling every child’s dream life, where their toys come alive and love them unconditionally. A modern version of a Velveteen Rabbit. Even I wondered, is there any truth? I can’t say I didn’t speak to my toys a bit or make sure Pikachu** knew he was adored.

This movie has always gone to infinity and beyond.

*Glass-shattering: Originating from How I Met Your Mother, the term my sister and I use whenever we discover a new detail or fact about something we have regularly encountered.

**Pikachu: Originating from Pokémon, the lifelong companion to his owner, whether Ash Ketchum or a cute woman with a blog about movies.