Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney Opens The Toy Box. And oh, I'm so excited because today, we get to start our Toy Story 2 blogs. And I love Toy Story 2. And we are looking at something very near and dear to my heart today. You see around the time of Toy Story 2's release, Walt Disney Records released a Woody's Roundup CD and I got this for Christmas, the year Toy Story 2 came out and I listened to this CD constantly because it was just so much fun. Though, it always made me yearn for Woody's Roundup to be a real show. How come Buzz got his own animated series but Woody didn't ? That's besides the point. I hope you enjoy my look at some of these songs.
Woody's Roundup
We start with the theme song and man, this theme song is so catchy. I've listened to this song, maybe five times in a row now and I have not tired of it. It just puts a big dumb smile on my face and again, it makes me wish that this was a real show. Because, it's just such a fun song. And while it's not my favorite Toy Story song, it is up there and this song is rather nostalgic for me because it takes me back to seeing Toy Story 2 in the theaters for the first time and how I just fell in love with Toy Story 2.
Jessie The Yodelin' Cowgirl
One thing to note is that each member of the roundup gang got their own song and some such as Jessie and Woody got more than one. It's nice to have a fun Jessie song after the heartbreak that happens in Toy Story 2 as this is just so infectious and gives me an old timey country feel and I can picture Jessie singing this one the stage of the Grand Ole Opry. Seriously, picture it in your head and tell me that you can't see it.
The Ballad of Bullseye
This song is just cute and just so calming. You really feel that Woody in the TV show has for Bullseye here. As he showers his trusty steed with praise. It's just so cute and adorable. Like all of the other songs on this album, you just get caught up in it.
The Prospector Polka
This is probably the funniest song on the whole album. I also noticed that I'm tapping my toe a lot during this number. It's catchy. What can I say? It's just that much fun.
My Favorite Toys
Even Andy got his own song but we all know who his favorite toy is. Though, it's cute hearing talking about his toys. Though, I don't remember Andy ever owning a Zurg, though one was shown in the intro for Buzz Lightyear of Star Command but that show wasn't canon with the films. The best part of the song is the end when Andy's mom tells him to just take the toy that he's playing with right now.
This was a bonus track on the CD and I get it, they wanted to include a Buzz song as he's just as popular as Woody and while I appreciate the thought, I don't think the music styling of the Riders In The Sky, the band that supplied the music for this CD works for a character such as Buzz. It's not a bad song but out of all the songs on this CD, it was always my least favorite.
As a kid, I loved this CD. I owned both this and the soundtrack to Toy Story 2. I still have the latter but I would listen to Woody's Roundup more because the only songs I cared about on the Toy Story 2 soundtrack were, When She Loved Me, Woody's Roundup, and You've Got A Friend In Me. Part of it was yes, I was a kid and I had not yet developed taste for film scores. Woody's Roundup on the other hand always made me happy and I was happy to see this on ITunes as I lost my physical CD but I now I can listen to these songs that were such a part of my childhood once more and that is such an exciting feeling. If your'e interested in hearing the other songs featured on this CD, there is a playlist on YouTube with all of the songs from Woody's Roundup uploaded. If you are someone like me that loves Woody and Toy Story 2, you owe it to yourself to check out the rest of the songs because they are so fun. Join me next time as we take a look at Stinky Pete.
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney Opens The Toy Box. And after the mess that was Toy Story: The Musical. We need something good from the Toy Story brand to get that out of our minds. And what better way to do that then by looking the movie that made Pixar, a household name. Join me as we look at Toy Story.
Trailer
There are some interesting things to note about this trailer. One, nowhere is Pixar ever mentioned in the trailer and instead it says, Walt Disney Pictures presents and also the logo shown at the end of the trailer is not the one that became the now familiar Toy Story logo as it had a different color scheme and a much wooden block feel to it. It's funny, I have such a vivid memory of this movie. My family and I were living in Okinawa at the time and I didn't get to see this at the theater. My little brain was convinced because the line was too long with people buying tickets to see Toy Story. I do not know, if that was the case but I do know that's what I thought. Because of this, I did not see this film until it was released on VHS. Which I still proudly own to this day.
The Plot
We open on a young Andy playing with his toys as we learn that his birthday party is today. When we see the toys come to life, and even today, that is something magical. We meet Andy's favorite toy, Woody as he calls for a staff meeting to roundup the toys and there, he informs the toys that Andy's birthday party had been moved to today and all of the toys freak out. This is hysterical and the sight of the toys holding a staff meeting is rather funny and in part because of how straight, it's played.
This scene being played so straight allows it's target audience to take it seriously and get wrapped up in the toy's fears. I know that it had that effect on me as a kid and man, when the Green Army Men went on a recon mission and one of them got hurt, I really felt for that poor guy. And I didn't think he was gonna make it.
And of curse, you know that the Army Men were voiced by R. Lee Emery, who has been in many other movies but I knew him best from History Channel's Mail Call. (BigBlackHatMan, would you consider that a good History Channel show? LOL!)
Back to the review at hand, we watch as the army men spy on the party and everything seems fine until Andy's mom pulls out a surprise present for Andy. It's the hottest new toy. It's Buzz Lightyear. And as someone that got his own Buzz Lightyear, when Toy Story 2 came out, I totally understand the excitement.
Though I did not have Buzz Lightyear wrapping paper.
It's interesting to note that while you can clearly see the hype and excitement surrounding the kids but for the toys, there is a level of fear and anxiety attached to the arrival of the new presents. Though, have you ever noticed that you don't see any of Andy's other presents.
This scene conveys the intimidation that this new toy is imposing. And this is where we first learn that Buzz thinks he is THE real Buzz Lightyear (That review is coming next week). All of the toys sans Woody are immediately infatuated with the new toy. This does lead into a great moment of banter between Buzz and Woody that gives us our first glimpse of Buzz falling with style.
That wasn't flying! That was... falling with style!
And this leads to one of the most memorable moments, Buzz's first attempt at flying and it leading to him, falling with style. And over time, Woody starts to get jealous as Andy's room becomes adorned with Buzz Lightyear paraphernalia as observed during the number, "Strange Things".
Does anyone remember the Toy Story bed sheets that had a dual side comforter with Buzz on one side and Woody on the other. I remember seeing those in some catalouge and thinking that was so cool. Ahem, back to the review at hand. And it's not too long after that we get our introduction to Sid.
And I just love how Buzz mistakes him for a happy child.
You mean that happy child? Mr. Potato Head: That ain't no happy child! Rex: He tortures toys - just for fun!
Now, I still standby what I said in my Villains Profile on Sid, he is a rather boring villain but his introduction does show why the toys are scared of him. A while later, Andy's mom decides that they should go out for dinner and go to Pizza Planet. And Andy asks if he can bring a toy, and his mom says that he can bring one toy. One Toy, oh no no no, I'm getting Toy Story: The Musical flashbacks. Focus, focus. What happens next? Ha, yes! Woody plans his underhanded scheme to knock Buzz behind Andy's desk but he instead falls out the window.
Actually, y'know what I'm glad that I brought up Toy Story: The Musical because when this happens in the stage production, you lose any sympathy for Woody with that villain song because he goes on about his plan but whereas here, it is presented as a rash decision made in the heat of the moment, when Woody lets his jealously overrule his logical thinking. And when Buzz does fall out the window in the movie, you do buy the remorse that Woody feels over what he has done. He still doesn't like Buzz but he didn't mean to knock him out the window.
Whereas, when this scene occurs in The Musical, you never buy that Woody feels bad about what he had done. This leads to the other toys attacking Woody for them thinking he killed Buzz and this scene is rather chilling. Though I'm sorry, Potato Head's line in this scene always took me out of the moment.
Well, what if Andy starts playing with me more, Woody, huh? You gonna knock me out the window, too?
I always end up thinking to myself, why would he? Your'e kinda lame, when compared to Buzz or Woody. That's not a diss on Potato Head but when compared to Buzz or Woody, he's not that cool of a toy. Thankfully, Woody is saved as Andy decides to take him instead because he can't find Buzz. Thankfully, Buzz had grabbed a hold of the family's minivan and at a Dinoco Gas Station, the two fight and bicker. Leading to one of the most famous lines from the movie. Woody finally realizes that he has to play Buzz's beliefs as he sees the now famous Pizza Planet truck, so they can get back to Andy. And yeah, Pizza Planet does look pretty cool. Buzz, still being the annoyance that he is climbs into a crane machine thinking that it's a spaceship. Ah, yes. The Claw!
And to their displeasure, they are won by Sid, who as we have gone over is a terror, if your'e a toy. We've already established how much of a jerk, Sid can be. I mean, just look at what he does to his sister's doll.
Dude, that's messed up
As the toys are left alone in Sid's room, Buzz and Woody have their first encounter with the mutant toys, who Woody believes them to be cannibals but as we will learn later on. The following day, Buzz and Woody attempt to escape and it is during this time that Buzz comes across a TV playing a Buzz Lightyear commercial and receives the much needed wake up call. This moment while harsh was needed because sooner or later, Buzz had to find out the truth.
This of course leads into the whole Mrs. Nesbit scene before the mutant toys fix Buzz and prove that they aren't cannibals. And now, Buzz is strapped to a rocket but as we know, they are able to escpae because the toys straighten out Sid. But Buzz and Woody still have to get onto the moving van. Which include two iconic moments,Buzz and Woody riding on RC and Buzz flying with style.
They finally catch up to the moving truck and all is forgiven. And the movie sends sometime later at Andy's new house on Christmas as the toys listen in to see what he has gotten and well, Molly gets a Mrs. Potato Head, who'll go on to become a vital character in the sequels and Andy gets a puppy. This has Buzz and Woody, a bit nervous.
Characters Main Characters
Woody voiced by Tom Hanks
Woody is easily my favorite character from the Toy Story trilogy and especially here in the first film. His jealously over being replaced by Buzz as Andy's favorite is a relatable feeling and never once, do you get angry at him for feeling this way because it is presented in a way that is understandable. And that what makes him accepting Buzz as a friend and getting over his jealously so rewarding.
Buzz Lightyear voiced by Tim Allen
I like Buzz... in 2 & 3. In the first movie, I found Buzz to be kind of annoying. I don't hate his character but I don't know why but this time, when watching the first film, this whole shtick of him thinking that he was a real space ranger grated on my nerves. I still like Buzz but I think he's a better character in the sequels because we don't have to put up with this annoying delusion. Now granted, I still do feel for him during "I Will Go Sailing No More" but like Woody, I got fed up with him pretty fast.
Supporting Characters
Andy voiced by John Morris
In the grand scheme of things, Andy may not have very many scenes in the movie but he is one of the most important characters because of how much the toys care for him. In some respects, Andy reminds me of a '90s equivalent to Christopher Robin. Both don't have much interaction with the characters (Not always true in the case of the latter) but they have a huge impact on the key characters as they unknowingly influence the thoughts of our key characters.This is shown most clearly in the first movie, where Andy still being a young child views his toys as though they are real because to him, they are his friends.
Slinky Dog, Rex, Hamm, & Potato Head voiced by Jim Varney, Wallace Shawn John Ratzenbrger, & Don Rickles
Now, we have the other key toys that make up the cast and all of these characters bring something special to the table. Whether, it be Rex's awkward, Potato Head's sarcastic nature, Slink's devoted loyalty to Woody or Hamm, just having the distinguished honor of being the first Pixar character voiced by John Ratzenberger. All of these characters are pretty awesome and make up a pretty great supporting cast.
Bo Peep voiced by Annie Potts
The interactions between Bo and Woody are just adorable as Woody gets all flustered, whenever she's around. It's just so cute and you just know that these two really do care for one another.
Music
You've Got A Friend In Me
I'd argue that not only is this the most popular Toy Story song but that it's also the most beloved Pixar song too. It's sweet and simple. There really isn't much to say about this song that hasn't already been said. When you think of songs from the Toy Story trilogy, this comes to mind as it has been in every movie.
Strange Things
I've touched upon this song a bit in the past. And as I mentioned in my review of The Musical, this song is important for Woody because this song is conveyed as his internal dialogue and the way, it's sung is understandable and with it being internal, it makes it more understandable, whereas if this song were external such as One Toy, Woody loses some of his sympathy from the audience.
I Will Go Sailing No More
There really isn't too much left, I can say about this number. I think I've said all I can on it. As I've mentioned before, this song serves as a wake up call to Buzz, harsh as it may be. He needed it.
Villain
Sid voiced by Erik Von Detten
I still personally think that Sid is a bit of a boring villain. There really isn't that much to him but I do understand how he is a threat to the toys but he comes across as a rather uninteresting character, otherwise.
My Final Thoughts
While Toy Story is not my favorite in the trilogy, it's a good start to what people would expect not only from the Toy Story franchise but from Pixar on a whole and for a while, there Pixar delivered some great movies. (Let's hope, they get back on track with Inside Out). This movie was something new at the time, it was exciting. And it still is to this day. The animation on the humans doesn't hold up but it really does on the toys. And the heart and the story are resonate with audiences, years after it came out. I hope that you've enjoyed my review of Toy Story. Join me tomorrow as we look at Woody's Roundup.
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney Opens The Toy Box. And after a two year hiatus, Screen To Stage returns. And I am so sorry that it had to return with this. In the past, Broadway has had a bad habit of adapting non-musical movies into stage musicals. Such examples include Ghost, Footloose, & Dirty Dancing. And while most of the Disney on Broadway productions are adaptions of musical movies, Disney has ventured into this territory before at Disney World and with another Pixar film as they gave us, Finding Nemo: The Musical. Which you may recall that I reviewed and spoke positively of. The biggest thing that Finding Nemo: The Musical had in it's favor were it's songwriters, Robert and Kristin-Anderson Lopez. If those names sound familiar, it's because they wrote the music for Frozen. And even before they worked with Disney, they had a Broadway background. From the little information, I can find on the songwriters for this show, it doesn't appear that they had any prior work writing for a stage musical. That explains why the songs are so bad. Now, this isn't the first time that I have looked at this as years ago before Screen To Stage existed, I did a multi-part blog on Toy Story: The Musical but I always knew that if I were to do a Toy Story month, I'd have to return to this... thing and give it, the Screen To Stage treatment. Now, Screen To Stage was originally meant to be reviews of Disney stage productions that I'd seen in person. However, I did not actually see Toy Story: The Musical in person but seeing as it's been uploaded onto YoutTube and I've now watched it twice for this blog, I think I can make an exception here. As a reminder, of what we go over on Screen To Stage, we look at What's The Same, what did they keep from the movie, What's Different, what changes were made. New Music, this is a look at songs that weren't included in the original movie and because I want to get this over with, we are skipping reprises. And finally, My Final Thoughts. Which can be summed up like this...
Before we go any further, I need some insight into why they thought this was a good idea. Oh look, a Behind The Scenes video.
Yeah.... I'm still not getting why they thought turning Toy Story into a stage musical for the Disney Cruise line was a good idea other than it's popularity and nostalgia factor. Toy Story is most definitely not the first Pixar movie, I would've picked to adapt into a musical. Now, that we've gotten this long-winded introduction outta the way, let's begin.
What's The Same
I will say in Toy Story: The Musical's defense is that it's a faithful adaption of the first Toy Story. It follows the story rather closely but this is also a hindrance because other than it being a musical, there is nothing new that is brought to this production. And that is a problem, especially considering that most of the musical is set in Andy's Room.
And honestly for a musical that is a rather pedestrian setting. It is hard to get swept up in the story. There is no spectacle. Compare that to the other Pixar musical, Finding Nemo: The Musical, the setting is underwater. This allows the audience to have an easier time to get swept up in the setting.
And this also leads me to another problem I had with this production, the allure and majesty of seeing the toys come to life, when you know they are actors playing the toys is gone. I can't explain why this is but I feel as though the magic is gone, when you see the faces of Woody and Buzz. Now yes, you need to see their faces, so you can see them emote but that comes at the price of them no longer feeling like toys. Now I know that the costumed characters that they use for the parks but wouldn't have worked but Disney On Ice uses face characters for Toy Story and they're just fine. Perhaps, it's because they don't speak.
That's another thing, the dialogue that wasn't lifted from the movie was BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
What's Different
Not much other than the fact that it's a musical is different. There are some slight omissions such as cutting out the characters of Mr. Speak 'n' Spell and Lenny but they were such minor characters that you don't even notice that they're no longer a part of the story. However, there are two bigger omissions that do not sit well with me at all. We all know that the most popular Toy Story song is "You've Got A Friend In Me" and the play opens with Andy singing that to Woody. And I do like that touch. It's sweet and reminds me of Toy Story 2.
And yes before anyone asks that is a young lady playing Andy. Both Andy and Sid are played by women in this production and well, I'm fine with that because women are typically better at playing young boys. Getting back to what I was saying, there are two other songs in the first Toy Story that are rather important in terms of character development being Strange Things for Woody and I Will Go Sailing No More for Buzz. And both of these songs are replaced by songs of a lesser quality. And Buzz's scene in the musical is butchered to death without it including I Will Go Sailing No More but he doesn't suffer as much character assassination as Woody with his new song that replaces Strange Things.
New Music
Oh boy, this is the part I've been dreading the most because I don't like any of the songs in this show. They are not that good. Let's not beat around the bush, they're bad. Let's get this over with.
This first song isn't a bad start. It's cute and serviceable but it does go on for a little too long. And I am not the biggest fan of Bo Peep's singing voice. It's cute but forgettable. It's perhaps the only song that doesn't get under my skin.
I do apologize about these songs being from different productions of the show but this is what I have to work with. Again, this song starts out okay but like the first song, it goes on a bit too long. And while I said that I wasn't going to look a reprises, I do need to bring up the fact that a reprise of this song replaced I Will Go Sailing No More as it was played over the Buzz Lightyear commercial and that kinda cheapens that moment. And this song here is well, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command had a better theme song for Buzz, then this. It's just so grating.
This.... THIS SONG CAN GO BUZZ OFF!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate this song so much. This is the song that replaced Strange Things and this is NOT a better song. It crosses a line, Strange Things conveyed Woody's jealously and how he didn't like the change that was occurring but this song makes Woody into a secondary antagonist. This song has used Woody's jealously to turn him into a villain. This is a villain song and seeing as Woody is my favorite Toy Story character, I am ticked off at what this song does to my favorite character from this film. It pretty much misses the point of Woody's arc in the first film.
Anyone else get a Queen vibe at the beginning of this song? This song is perhaps the most pointless song in the whole production because unlike the movie, Sid doesn't get a toy alien. Now, granted, the Claw scene while funny in the movie is still a little pointless but it does lead somewhere unlike this number.
Heh..... Yeah, I think this may be the worst song in the whole production. Now, don't get me wrong, I hate One Toy the most but this song is just so annoying and it baffles me because we have Sid listing off some well known artists and well, Sid didn't seem like the most well-read kid in the movie, so I am curious as to how he knows who Da Vinci and others are. The more I listen to this song, the more I want it to stop. It's BAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And it's just so repetitive. This song gets old after first two verses.
My Final Thoughts
Yeah, that sums up my feelings. Look, I'm not saying that a Toy Story couldn't work but with the direction, they went here, it was a bad idea and doomed to fail from the get go. Is there anything good in this? No, not really! I think one of the biggest factors working against this is that unlike the upcoming Tangled musical that IS bringing back Alan Menken to write the new songs, no one there seemed to think to ask Randy Newman to write the new songs for this show. And I think that shows why the songs here are sub-par and the only good number is "You've Got A Friend In Me". I honestly think if given the right songwriting team, Monsters. Inc or Brave would've worked better than Toy Story as a musical. Now granted, this debuted before Brave came out but my point still stands. Just because you can turn Toy Story into a musical, doesn't mean you should have. Not every movie is going to work as a stage musical. And this is a clear example of that. Join me tomorrow as we wash away the taste of this... thing with a review of the film that started it all as I take a look at...
Hello & welcome back to A Look at Disney and we are keeping the toy box open as we explore the very first Pixar villain as we take a look at Sid from the first Toy Story. Per usual, this will include Voice Actor, First Appearance, Personality, Lackey, Most Evil Deed, Demise, and finally, Is Sid A Good Villain? With that out of the way, let's begin.
Voice Actor
Erik Von Detten
Now I'm not sure, if this was Erik Von Detten's first role or not but I do know that over time, he had many other roles with Disney such as being the voice of Lawson on Recess and a minor role in Tarzan as Flynt.
I don't wish to be harsh on Von Detten's voice acting as he was still in younger years but having said that, his voice acting was adequate. It wasn't bad but nor was it memorable. It's probably the least memorable voice acting in the first Toy Story movie.
First Appearance
We get our first glimpse of Sid, when Woody uses Lenny to view Sid blowing up a Combat Carl
Now, this does give an idea of why Sid is such a legitimate threat to the toys. As he take pleasure in tormenting toys. Now, we see more of Sid and get a better feel of what he's about at the Pizza Planet.
Personality
As the Disney Wiki puts it, Sid is an 11 year old toy terrorizer. And really, there's nothing more to his character than that. He tortures toys for fun. Obviously, not the deepest or most compelling of villains. There is nothing more to say about his personality other than that. Sure, some of the things that he does to the toys such as the mutant toys is cruel but seeing as we are looking at an 11 year old character, one could argue that he was going through a phrase. And as a side note, apparently it took him some time to learn his lesson because he was the main villain of an arc for the Monsters Inc. comic books, where he teamed up with Waternoose and used the Monster's doors mechanics to steal other kid's toys.
Though I don't think the comics are canon, so that can be easily dismissed.
Lackey
Scud
Scud is the closest thing that we have to a lackey in this film. He's just Sid's dog and the final chase has more to do with him as he chases Woody and Buzz through the streets as they try to escape. Again, he's nothing more than an angry dog.
Most Evil Deed
I would actually argue that Sid's most evil deed has nothing to do with our main characters but rather how he viciously tormented and tore apart poor innocent toys resulting in the mutant toys.
Something interesting to note here is that you'll notice that unlike Andy's Toys that none of The Mutant Toys ever talk. I don't know if this was meant to hint at something but I almost take it as that after Sid mutilated them, they lost their will to live and figured that there was nothing they could and decided that they had nothing left to say. In essence, they gave up on life and became introverted shut-ins. I know that I am reaching here with this speculation but that's what makes this so fun.
Demise
Sid's Demise in the film is probably the most memorable scene involving Sid.
This scene is just freaky in all the right ways and Sid needed this scare to stop him from hurting the toys. It's the best scene with Sid because the tables are turned on him. Now, Sid would later appear in Toy Story 3 now as an adult. He's the garbage man seen at the beginning of the movie.
He's now an adult and one may hope and assume that with his youth behind him that he has grown out of his torturous ways.
Is Sid A Good Villain?
I'm gonna say no, not particularly. I'd say along with Chick Hicks, he's perhaps Pixar's least interesting villain. There isn't a whole lot to him and in some respects, he feels unneeded as the main conflict between Woody and Buzz was interesting enough on it's own without throwing in a bad guy. Also, I think the sequels show that Toy Story villains are much more interesting, when they too are toys.
I hope that you've enjoyed my look at Sid. Join me tomorrow as we look at something I looked at years ago as I revisit....
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