\u201cI think it’s especially relevant today because of the tech and how that’s changed the world,\u201d Docter told me. \u201cI mean, we’re late to the party as it’s been a number of years since technology’s kind of already beat toys. Look around you at a restaurant, kids are looking at their iPhones and not playing with plastic figures anymore. I’ll refrain from commenting on how I feel about that, but it’s definitely out there in the world, and I think it’s disturbing to a lot of people. And even in the last year, AI has brought up those same kind of fears in a maybe even a larger way because it seems to threaten what makes us human.<\/p>\n
“And I think that’s ultimately what the Toy Story movies are about. They look like toys, but they\u2019re really stories about us as human beings, what it is to be alive, and the joys, threats, and difficulties of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Docter expanded on that thought elsewhere in our conversation, and he recalled a very pivotal moment when he was working on the original film to help reinforce his point.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the first shots that I animated was when Woody gets shoved off the bed and Buzz Lightyear lands there, and then all the kids run out and Woody crawls out from under the bed, and he’s like, \u2018uh.. uh\u2026 nothing\u2026 it was a mistake. Too much cake and ice cream.\u2019 As I was analyzing it, I was like, \u2018What is Woody thinking? What’s he feeling right now?\u2019 And it was jealousy. It was that sense of, I used to take it for granted that I was the top dog, and now there’s some other guy, but I’m not going to show anybody that. And I realized there have been so many times in my life where I’ve felt the same thing.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd so first of all, I put that into the shot, but I also realized that this is what this movie is about; it\u2019s this emergence of jealousy that this toy feels like he’s the most important thing in the world. But in the long run, the sort of selflessness of that is recognizing that his jealousy is born of love, that his jealousy is born of really caring for this kid, and if that’s really the ultimate goal, then self-sacrifice, whatever it takes\u2026I just feel like that’s a really beautiful arc, and it was very relatable.\u201d<\/p>\n
That was the real theme of my conversation with Docter and the others I spoke to for this retrospective, that these films are all about toys and fantastical adventures, but they are ultimately about us. We live in a day and age where AI software can create a film in seconds, but maybe that’s not the reason we as humans are drawn to stories. Perhaps it is something deeper.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want the world to remember it was made by people,\u201d Docter said when I asked him how he wanted people to look back on Toy Story. \u201cEvery detail in the film has some meaning for someone, either because that’s what the character’s feeling, or even just personal stuff. Hannah was named after a family friend of ours, or when Buzz is drunk after losing his arm, he’s talking about being Mrs. Nesbit. That was my sister’s second-grade teacher! So, everything is just connected to the people who made it. I think a lot of times people figure these things are,\u201d and he pretends he is a robot typing into a prompt when he says, \u201cMake\u2026film\u2026 enter!\u201d It doesn’t work that way. It’s made using a computer, but not by computers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Toy Story Concept Art\/Sketches<\/p>\n
For more, check out where Toy Story ranks on our list of the best Pixar films,<\/a> Toy Story 5 director Andrew Stanton’s comments on the decision to make another sequel,<\/a> and our breakdown of the opening scene<\/a> of the upcoming film from Destination D23.<\/p>\n Adam Bankhurst is a writer for IGN. You can follow him on X\/Twitter @AdamBankhurst,<\/a> Instagram,<\/a> and TikTok,<\/a> and listen to his show, Talking Disney Magic.<\/a><\/p>\n Pete Docter Blogroll Image Credit: (C) Pixar Animation Studios<\/p>\n