Toy Story (franchise)

Toy Story is a CGI animated film series and Disney media franchise that began with the original 1995 film, Toy Story, produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The franchise is based on the anthropomorphic concept that all toys, unknown to humans, are secretly alive, and the films focus on a diverse group of toys that feature a classic cowboy, Sheriff Woody, and modern spaceman, Buzz Lightyear. The group unexpectedly embark on adventures that challenge and change them.

The first two films of the franchise were directed by John Lasseter, and the third by Lee Unkrich, who acted as the co-director of the second film (together with Lasseter and Ash Brannon). Lasseter will return to direct the upcoming fourth film.

All three films, produced on a total budget of $320 million, have grossed more than $1.9 billion worldwide. Each film set box office records, with the third included in the top 15 all time worldwide films. Critics have given all three films extremely positive reviews. Special Blu-ray and DVD editions of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 were released on March 23, 2010. They were also re-released in theaters as a Disney Digital 3-D "double feature" for at least two weeks in October 2009.

Toy Story

Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated buddy-comedy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter, Toy Story was the first feature-length computer-animated film and the first theatrical film produced by Pixar. Toy Story follows a group of anthropomorphic toys who pretend to be lifeless whenever humans are present, and focuses on the relationship between Woody, a pullstring cowboy doll (voiced by Tom Hanks), and Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut action figure (voiced by Tim Allen). The film was written by John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, and Joss Whedon, and featured music by Randy Newman. Its executive producers were Steve Jobs and Edwin Catmull.

Pixar, which produced short animated films to promote their computers, was approached by Disney to produce a computer-animated feature after the success of the short film, Tin Toy (1988), which is told from a small toy's perspective. Lasseter, Stanton, and Pete Docter wrote early story treatments which were thrown out by Disney, who pushed for a more edgy film. After disastrous story reels, production was halted and the script was re-written, better reflecting the tone and theme Pixar desired: that "toys deeply want children to play with them, and that this desire drives their hopes, fears, and actions." The studio, then consisting of a relatively small number of employees, produced the film under minor financial constraints.

Toy Story 2

Toy Story 2 is a 1999 American computer-animated comedy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon, it is the sequel to the 1995 film Toy Story.

In the film, Woody is stolen by a toy collector, prompting Buzz Lightyear and his friends to vow to rescue him, but Woody is then tempted by the idea of immortality in a museum. Many of the original characters and voices from Toy Story return for this sequel, and several new characters—including Jessie (voiced by Joan Cusack), Barbie (voiced by Jodi Benson), Stinky Pete (voiced by Kelsey Grammer) and Mrs. Potato Head (voiced by Estelle Harris)—are introduced.

Disney initially envisioned the film as a direct-to-video sequel. Toy Story 2 began production in a building separated from Pixar, on a small scale, as most of the main Pixar staff were busy working on A Bug's Life (1998). When story reels proved promising, Disney upgraded the film to theatrical release, but Pixar was unhappy with the film's quality. Lasseter and the story team redeveloped the entire plot in one weekend. Although most Pixar features take years to develop, the established release date could not be moved and the production schedule for Toy Story 2 was compressed into nine months.

Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated comedy-drama film, and the third installment in the Toy Story series. It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was written by Michael Arndt, while Unkrich wrote the story along with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, respectively director and co-writer of the first two films. The film was released worldwide from June through October in the Disney Digital 3-D, RealD, and IMAX 3D formats. Toy Story 3 was the first film to be released theatrically with Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.

The plot focuses on the toys Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and their friends dealing with an uncertain future as their owner, Andy, prepares to leave for college. The film features an ensemble voice cast with Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Estelle Harris, Jodi Benson, and John Morris reprising their roles from the previous films, and Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Whoopi Goldberg, Blake Clark (replacing Jim Varney), Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, and Jeff Garlin joining the returning cast.