Ebert is quoted calling it a visionary roller coaster ride of a movie and saying it gave him some of the exhilaration he felt during Who Framed Roger Rabbit.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is also called one of the speaker's favorite movies of all time.
The movie is short and plays more like three big acts, so it is hard to chop into scenes; the toys coming to life after Andy leaves is the first nomination.
The toys' first meeting during Andy's birthday party is called a masterclass: they function as a family, spy on the gift giving, and live with joy alongside the dread of being replaced, like a fable.
Asked for additions, the reply is that she hit it all. — Shea Serrano
Woody and Buzz's showdown at the gas station is nominated for the "You are a toy" exchange, a funny scene that also raises questions of identity.
A favorite beat is Buzz's space speech under the car answered by Woody's "What?", read as a riff on the Death Star's fatal flaw.
"You're a sad, strange little man, and you have my pity" is called the best line in the movie, with a great Tim Allen line reading.
Woody accidentally hitting Buzz's button mid-fight was the funniest thing in the world when first seen in a theater.
The claw at Pizza Planet and the Little Green Men are cited as iconic.
Sid's house and its misfit toys are a major homage to Browning's 1932 film Freaks; Pixar is described as creative and consistent yet deeply indebted to older movies, including Spielberg and Lucas.
The Mrs. Nesbitt bit is a favorite.
The race to catch the moving truck is nominated; the filmmakers reportedly said it was inspired by The Wrong Trousers.
Buzz's arrival, with Woody knocked off his perch and the laser-beam introduction, crystallizes how the toys' ecosystem works.
The Sid sequences are the least favorite to revisit, though Sid's introduction ("You mean that happy child?") is funny and shows that Buzz is not the villain.
Buzz learning he is a toy, from his commercial to the failed flight set to "I Will Go Sailing No More", is called crushing and compared to Luke at the binary sunset.
The opening montage with Randy Newman singing is the most enjoyable part on a rewatch, compared to Anton Ego tasting the food in Ratatouille. — Shea Serrano
A son's favorite scene was the toys scaring Sid, who deserved it; Mr. Potato Head is noted as horny and jealous of Woody and Bo Peep.
Buzz realizing he's a toy is picked over the opening because of its themes of growth, choice, identity, purpose and friendship.
The pick is Woody and Buzz's showdown stuck at the gas station because it gets the most laughs. — Sean Fennessey
Bruce Willis gets a thumbs up with doubts, and his Look Who's Talking voice work is praised.
Tim Allen has said Pixar wanted Jim Carrey for Buzz and Paul Newman for Woody but could not afford them, meant to reflect new Hollywood taking over old; Newman later voiced Doc Hudson in Cars.
Hanks and Allen as generational peers, a movie pillar and a TV star, is preferred; Newman fits better as Doc.
Newman is the only name that could have replaced Hanks, because Woody needs a peach-soft voice; several actors, such as Robert Redford or Denzel Washington, could have played Buzz.
Rick Moranis was reportedly approached for Rex, which would have been great.
An online claim of Jeremy Irons as Mr. Potato Head is raised but unconfirmed.
R. Lee Ermey, transcribed "Arley Ermi", as the sergeant is one participant's pick.
Seeing on IMDb that Erik von Detten, transcribed "Eric von Detton", a teen heartthrob from the skateboarding movie Brink, voiced Sid prompted a shout of "that guy"; he was also Josh in The Princess Diaries.
Jim Carrey's Dr. Robotnik in the recent Sonic movie suggests he could have voiced Buzz.
It was the first animated movie nominated for Best Original Screenplay, prompting an "Eat shit, Chris Ryan" joke.
Sid Phillips is said to be inspired by a former Pixar employee with the same last name who took apart toys to build bizarre creations.
Hanks recorded during breaks of Sleepless in Seattle and A League of Their Own but not Philadelphia or Forrest Gump, avoiding comedy amid serious roles.
Sid's carpet shares the Overlook Hotel's hexagonal pattern from The Shining.
Hasbro refused the G.I. Joe name for a toy Sid blows up, so it became Combat Carl; the toolbox trapping Woody is a Binford, as on Tim Allen's sitcom.
Toy Story employed 110 people in full production versus 800 for The Lion King.
Disney pushed for a musical; Lasseter wanted a buddy comedy, and the compromise was songs at key moments not sung by characters; Pixar's first musical came with Coco 22 years later.
The shark's "Look, I'm Woody. Howdy, howdy" references a Far Side strip with a cowboy-eating vulture.
An early possible title was You Are a Toy, and Buzz was originally Lunar Larry; he is named after Buzz Aldrin.
The Luxo Jr. lamp that became Pixar's logo sits on Andy's desk.
The internet is full of such trivia; a Harry and the Hendersons homage in the fourth minute is thrown out loosely.
Buzz playing dead for Andy; Woody left in the car; fireworks by mail; Woody's previous owners; the dog in traffic; the empty moving truck; toys outrunning the truck; the window escape
Is Emily Andy's mom?; Why wasn't Sid invited?; Can toys die?; Is Buzz unwell?; Is Woody an asshole?; Sid's home life and future; Bo Peep and Woody; Who is Whiskers?
Pulled forward: is Emily, Jessie's original owner, Andy's mom? The internet theory is supported by Woody being a family toy.
What did Andy's mom tell Sid's mom about why Sid was not invited to the party?
Can toys die, or become inanimate? It is called central to what the movie is about.
Is this Buzz mentally unwell? No: every Buzz believes it, as the replacement Buzz at the toy barn shows; Small Soldiers borrowed the idea.
Is Woody an asshole? One side says he can be, which makes him relatable; the other says nothing he does qualifies. They settle on not an asshole but capable of acting like one.
Sid's family life is questioned: an adult is home yet nobody checks his mail-order explosives or his torture bench.
Sid returns in Toy Story 3; guesses about his later years include getting into Tool and Reddit.
Do Bo Peep and Woody get together? Toy Story 4 is cited.
Who is Whiskers? The Toy Story wiki's family-cat theory is doubted, since the family would already be used to pets.
Tom Hanks in 1995 had a second Oscar for Forrest Gump, Apollo 13 and Toy Story within five months, and was filming his directorial debut That Thing You Do; it is called a historic Apex Mountain, with Denzel as the only comparison.
Steve Jobs, executive producer on the brink of returning to Apple, gets a thumbs down from one participant, against an argument that he deserves credit for Pixar's rise and 2006 sale.
Asked if this is the Apex Mountain for toys, one vote is no, choosing the Robin Williams movie Toys instead.
Woody wins because the whole Toy Story universe hinges on his choices, growth and sense of purpose. — Mallory Rubin
A second voice agrees it has to be Woody, since the most emotional franchise moments come from his beats, with Buzz a close second; unanimity is declared.
Data points: directed by John Lasseter; written by Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen and Alec Sokolow; voiced by Hanks, Allen, Rickles, Varney, Shawn, Ratzenberger and Potts; scored by Randy Newman; budgeted at $30 million and grossed $373 million.
A revised personal Pixar top five: WALL-E, Up, Toy Story 3, Coco and Inside Out, with The Incredibles, Toy Story and Finding Nemo runners-up; Toy Story 3's ending prompted sobbing.
Another Pixar top five: Coco, Toy Story 3, Toy Story, another entry the transcript garbles, and a surprise Cars pick, won over while showing it to a class; Inside Out and Finding Nemo are honorable mentions.
Lasseter received a special achievement Academy Award for the film; no feature has received one since, and the film had screenplay, score and song nominations.
Team Woody or Team Buzz: one participant, a space kid, leans Buzz while calling Woody's arc the heart; another withholds, citing damning questions about Woody.
The original treatment paired Tinny from Tin Toy with a ventriloquist-dummy Woody; under Katzenberg Woody was a villain until Katzenberg urged an odd-couple buddy picture like The Defiant Ones and 48 Hrs.
The host notes that Lasseter took a leave of absence in November 2017 after acknowledging allegations of workplace sexual misconduct and left Disney in June 2018, citing Variety on Pixar minders; the hosts say it cannot go unacknowledged.
