It is easy to look back fondly on Toy Story as a funny and heart warming children’s film. It reached a generation of children and adults alike, sparking an incredibly successful trilogy and world-wide franchise that is recognisable by its lovable and unique characters.
What isn’t always remembered when everyone looks back on Toy Story is how revolutionary it was for the world of 3D films. It was the first feature length film made completely in CGI, pioneered by John Lasseter, and has contributed so much to how we all understand the role that 3D can have in films. CGI doesn’t just make explosions in action films or force you to wear 3D glasses in the cinema, it can be the basis for telling a story and creating a whole world. It was through making a full feature 3D animated film that Pixar proved this.
It is incredible to see how far 3D animation has come since Toy story was first released in 1995. With only 1 3D feature being released in 1995 by Pixar, to over 10 3D feature length films being released this year by a variety of production studios they have clearly had a big rise in popularity. The numerous studios that create these films every year opens up a world of new ideas and talents.
The quality of the environments, characters and the animation has developed so far in these 16 years. All it takes is to compare Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 3 and you will see the massive difference even within the same studio. The question is, where will it all go to? As technology improves year on year the possibilities for 3D are endless and with Pixar’s latest film moving away from the Toy Story franchise to their first medieval film, ‘Brave’, it is clear that there are no restrictions on what comes next for 3D.
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