In Contention

Tag: Tin Toy

  • ‘Toy Story 3’ reaches box office milestone, MovieMaker remembers ‘Tin Toy’

    Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” is pretty much the only sure-thing contender for Oscar’s 10 at this stage, and with good reason.  It was the high mark of the summer movie season, a beautiful send-off to a beloved franchise that just got better and better.  Fitting, then, that the film has become not only Pixar’s reigning box office champ, but the highest grossing animated feature film of all time.

    With $920 million in the bank and climbing, the film sits at the top of that perch, just a few days after passing what I still believe to be Pixar’s most accomplished effort, “Finding Nemo,” and leaving other films like “Shrek 2” and “The Lion King” in the dust.  It will also surely be one of only six $400 million earners from the last decade (though talk to our resident box office analyst Chad Hartigan and you’ll get a different story, as he prefers figures adjusted for inflation).  Combined with nearly blanket critical approval, you have a perfect awards storm.

    While on vacation last week I read a piece by Eric Kohn in the latest issue MovieMaker Magazine that ties in nicely here.  It was a look back at Pixar’s Oscar-winning 1988 animated short “Tin Toy,” which of course planted the seeds for the “Toy Story” franchise.  Unfortunately, it’s not available online, but I’ve transcribed a section after the jump that I felt was worth passing along.

    (more…)

  • THE LISTS: Ranking 14 years of Pixar

    UpThis weekend, Pixar Animation Studios will be releasing its 10th feature film, “Up.”  For many, with the film having successfully opened this year’s Cannes International Film Festival, the occasion has marked another milestone in the studio’s continued maturation.

    In my recent review of the film, I wrote, “Watching Pixar Animation grow and develop as a studio has become almost more fascinating than experiencing one of the company’s many creative films unfold on screen. Beginning with an industry leap in 1995’s ‘Toy Story’ and eventually moving into its daring own with 2008’s ‘WALL-E,’ the studio has, at the very least, shown a desire for creative progression.”

    So it seemed as good a time as any to look back on the last 14 years of Pixar product and dedicate an installment of The Lists to the studio’s esteemed portfolio.  Of course, unlike other editions of this feature, there are only 10 entries to fill the collective.  But the order will be different for everyone.

    “WALL-E,” for example, was a major high point for many last year.  Not as much for me.  “Monsters, Inc.,” on the other hand, isn’t considered top tier Pixar to some, but as you’ll note below, I beg to differ.

    In addition to the features, I thought it might be fun to rattle off a ranked list of the 16 shorts the studio has produced, going all the way back to 1984’s “The Adventures of Andre and Wally B.”  Some of them appeared in theaters alongside feature films, others might have popped up on home video as bonus features.  You can see nearly all of them on the recently released “Pixar Short Films Collection: Volume 1” on DVD and Blu-ray.  The most recent addition to this collective is “Partly Cloudy,” which plays along with “Up” in theaters.

    On to the list.  Be sure to give us yours in the comments section below.

    (more…)