Toy Story The Art and Making of the Animated Film

Book excerpt: With the premiere of Toy Story in November 1995, a new era in the history of feature film animation was born. The first-ever computer animated full-length motion picture, Toy Story was the extraordinary result of a unique collaboration between the Walt Disney Company, the leader in traditional animation, and Pixar, the award-winning computer animation studio. In Toy Story: The Art and Making of the Animated Film, author Steve Daly teams with director John Lasseter to tell the tale of how these two visionary companies joined together and set out to do what had never been done before. At the heart of their journey lies the collaboration and sense of discovery that went into developing this computer animated "buddy movie," in which a rag doll cowboy named Woody and high-tech space toy Buzz Lightyear compete for the affections of a boy named Andy. The authors explain and illuminate how Toy Story achieved its pioneering look while taking the elements of animation entertainment—humor, heart, and the creation of a world both real and fantastic—to new three-dimensional horizons. Richly illustrated with concept and storyboard art as well as images from the film, this book provides an in-depth review of the amazing technology, creativity, and artistry that went into the making of this breakthrough motion picture.