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“Toy Story” marked art director Ralph Eggleston’s introduction to the world of computer animation. The “heightened reality” look he envisioned for “Toy Story” resulted in a stylized world with realistic textures. After discussions with the director, Eggleston, who has since served as art director for “The Incredibles” as well as production designer for “Finding Nemo” and “WALLE,” designed a color script of the film’s 28 major sequences.
“The art direction had to support the story—set the mood of the scene with color and lighting. It’s like painting with lights.”
~ Ralph Eggleston, Art Director
Eggleston and his art department designed the contrasting worlds (i.e., bedrooms) of Andy and his twisted neighbor, Sid; the space-age motif of “Pizza Planet”; and the moonlit Dinoco gas station where Buzz and Woody join forces to find Andy.
Andy’s bedroom was conceived as a refuge—a safe and comfortable environment flooded with warm pastels in which the toys can spring to life. “It gives one the feeling of being underwater,” says Eggleston. In contrast, Sid’s bedroom is a horrific torture chamber for toys, complete with black-light posters, a rusty barbed-wire bed and a single, bare light bulb.
The greatest challenge for the art and technical departments was creating believable human characters. The organic qualities of hair, skin and clothing render human characters among the most difficult objects to make convincing using computer-generated images. “I didn’t want to attempt super-realism,” says Lasseter. “But I also didn’t want to make them overly simplified, because they’d wind up looking too much like the toys.”
Clothing, with its precise wrinkles and creases, also presented challenges for the modeling, shading and art departments. “We could make those stiff, shiny objects look utterly real,” Lasseter says. “But as soon as we attempted natural fiber, it was a quantum leap in visual complexity.”
For “Toy Story,” the Pixar team pioneered the technology that helped them navigate human characters, clothing and hair. It has continued to grow, as showcased in the studio’s subsequent films.
Every creature, toy, prop and setting in “Toy Story” had to be created in virtual space, from a single blade of grass to the 1.2 million leaves on the trees in Andy’s neighborhood. Each textured image started as a hand-drawn storyboard that went through a ten-step process before it was ready to be recorded on film.
“‘Toy Story’ was a landmark in the world of computer animation, but it was just the beginning of a revolution in animation,” says producer Ralph Guggenheim. “‘Toy Story’ expanded the canvas for animated films. There are a variety of animation techniques, and they will continue to exist, but we broadened the horizon. The most amazing thing was that we were starting to scratch the surface.”
 About “toy story 2” The Saga Continues
Four years later, Guggenheim was proven correct with “Toy Story 2,” which took the art of computer animation to the next plateau. The film utilized state-of-the-art technology to work its storytelling magic and create a world of infinite possibilities.
“Toys are manufactured and put on this Earth to be played with by a child. That is the essence of ‘Toy Story 2.’”
~ John Lasseter, Director
“Toy Story 2” picks up as Andy heads off to Cowboy Camp, leaving his toys to their own devices. Things shift into high gear when an obsessive toy collector named Al McWhiggin (owner of Al’s Toy Barn) kidnaps Woody, who turns out to be a valuable collectible from a 1950s TV show called “Woody’s Roundup,” and he meets the other prized toys from that show—Jessie the Cowgirl, Bullseye the horse and Stinky Pete the Prospector. Buzz Lightyear and the other toys from Andy’s room spring into action to rescue their pal from winding up a museum piece before Andy returns.
The sequel reunited the same creative team that gave birth to the original, including Andrew Stanton, who received an Oscar® nomination as one of the screenwriters on “Toy Story.” Stanton currently serves as vice president, creative, at Pixar. He co-wrote and directed the Oscar-winning films “Finding Nemo” and “WALLE” (among other credits). “Toy Story 2’s” other screenwriters are Rita Hsiao, Doug Chamberlin and Chris Webb. Dan Jeup served as co-head of story (along with veteran Disney and Pixar storyman, the late Joe Ranft). Pete Docter worked closely with John Lasseter in developing the film’s story concept. Docter went on to direct “Monsters, Inc.” as well as Disney•Pixar’s tenth and most recently released feature film, “Up.” He has been nominated for four Academy Awards® including Best Animated Feature for “Monsters, Inc.” and Best Original Screenplay for “WALL•E.”
Academy Award®-winning actor Tom Hanks climbed back in the saddle as the voice of Woody, and acclaimed comedian and actor Tim Allen once again provided the voice of Buzz Lightyear. Also returning were Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, the late Jim Varney as Slinky Dog, Wallace Shawn as Rex, John Ratzenberger as Hamm and Annie Potts as Bo Peep. New to the story were Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head®, the devoted wife who keeps an eye out for her spud stud; the late Joe Ranft as the voice of Wheezy, a squeaky toy penguin who lost his squeaker; and the “Woody’s Roundup” TV show characters—Jessie, a cowgirl doll who sometimes gets the blues, voiced by Joan Cusack, and Stinky Pete the Prospector, voiced by Kelsey Grammer.
At Al’s Toy Barn, audiences got to meet toynapper Al McWhiggin, voiced by Wayne Knight, and Barbie®, voiced by versatile singer and actress Jodi Benson (“The Little Mermaid”). Making his screen debut is the Evil Emperor Zurg, scourge of the galaxy and Buzz Lightyear’s archenemy, voiced by Andrew Stanton. Jeff Pidgeon once again voiced the Alien characters. In the human realm, John Morris returned as the voice of Andy, a toy’s best friend, and Laurie Metcalf reprised her vocal duties as Andy’s mom.
Welcome back, BUZZ LIGHTYEAR AND WOODY
Revisiting Beloved Characters
Creating a sequel to one of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time was a daunting undertaking, but for John Lasseter and the “Toy Story 2” creative team, working with characters that they knew and loved was well worth it. “The most exciting part about ‘Toy Story 2’ was that we got to see Buzz and Woody again,” says Lasseter. “By the end of production on the first film, they were our friends. Audiences loved them as much as we did, and their popularity went beyond the boundaries of the movie.”
“In making a sequel, we were able to concentrate on the story since the main characters and the world already existed. For me, it’s the story that holds the audience, not the technology and not the look of the film.”
~ John Lasseter, Director
Screenwriter Andrew Stanton says, “There are three balls that you have to juggle when you’re writing: plot, character and what I call drive. The hardest part is to come up with characters that are three-dimensional and worth spending time with for the entire film. In this case, I already knew who the characters were. With the main characters already established, we had the freedom to concentrate on the other two elements.”
One of the ideas for the story came from Lasseter’s personal experiences as a toy collector. He explains, “My sons love to come to Daddy’s office and play with my toys. A lot of them are antiques and one-of-a-kind items. I found myself saying, ‘No, no, you can’t play with that one. Play with this one instead.’ And I began laughing, because toys are manufactured and put on this Earth to be played with by a child. That is the essence of ‘Toy Story 2.’”
Adds co-director Lee Unkrich (who’s since been tapped to direct “Toy Story 3”), “One of the things we were really proud of on this film was the amount of heart it has. It is as action-packed as the first film and has as many jokes. But at the same time, there’s a richness to the characters that was only hinted at in the first film. It taps into primal human emotions that people of all different ages can relate to.”
According to producer Helene Plotkin, “One of the great themes of this film is that it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Basically, what Woody and Jessie and all of the characters discover is the value of life. As long as you love someone and you’re affecting others, life is worth living.”
“In making a sequel to ‘Toy Story,’” says Lasseter, “we were able to concentrate on the story since the main characters and the world already existed. We built upon that foundation and created a new adventure equal to the first. For me, it’s the story that holds the audience, not the technology and not the look of the film. With ‘Toy Story 2,’ we concentrated on making a good story.
“We continue to make movies for ourselves,” notes Lasseter. “And the movies that I am most affected by are the ones that make me laugh hysterically but also move me. I was tremendously affected by Frank Capra and the way his films grab your heart and your emotions. We tried to do that with ‘Toy Story 2.’”
Just as Lasseter and the story team enjoyed revisiting their friends, so too did the animators. The late Glenn McQueen (supervising animator) observed at the time, “It was like slipping on a pair of shoes that have been in the closet for a couple of years. They fit perfectly, they’re already broken in, no chafing, no bunions. Buzz and Woody are like our Mickey Mouse. And our animators had a lot more experience, so the animation is better on this film than it was on the original.”
Directing animator Kyle Balda studied traditional animation techniques while attending CalArts, but was attracted to computer-generated imagery. “The thing I really like about animation is the motion,” says Balda. “Computers let you concentrate wholly on that aspect. Working on the sequel to ‘Toy Story’ gave us the added advantage of having an entire film to look at for reference. We also had a lot to live up to. You had to make sure that these characters remained consistent from one show to the next.”
He adds, “‘Toy Story 2’ was a real animator’s film. You got into the heads of the characters. From an animator’s point of view, it gave us a chance to really explore a lot of different things.”
Play It Again, Randy
Setting the Mood with Music
Acclaimed songwriter/composer Randy Newman, who wrote the songs and score for “Toy Story” and “A Bug’s Life,” provided another colorful score and two original songs, including the beautiful ballad “When She Loved Me.”
This time, the filmmakers used acclaimed recording artists, including Sarah McLachlan, to perform the vocals. “The film has a simple and beautiful message about life and love and relationships,” McLachlan says. “I immediately wanted to do it.”
For the theme to “Woody’s Roundup,” the filmmakers wanted a retro cowboy song that introduced all the characters like TV theme songs of the period. “We worked with Riders In The Sky, who are probably the best in the world at the classic cowboy sound,” says Lasseter.
Veteran crooner Robert Goulet recorded a new rendition of the “Toy Story” signature song, “You’ve Got a Friend in Me.” “To hear him do my song was a real treat,” says Newman. “He’s got a style all his own. It’s fun to hear the song with the word ‘babe’ thrown in.”
As for the score itself, Newman observes, “For this film, we had a magnificent 100-piece orchestra. It’s really rewarding to finish something that seemed so gigantic at the start and then hearing it played back so well.”
Add Five Years of CG Innovation and Stir
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