Boy, oh, boy. This is one holiday plum of a movie. The first feature-length
computer-animated movie, "Toy Story" is based on the premise that when their
kid-owners leave the room, their toys come to life. The top toy in Andy's
room is a pull-string cowboy named Woody (voice by Tom Hanks). Top, that is,
until Andy's seventh birthday when he gets a new first love - a spaceman
named Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). Trouble is, not only does Buzz not realize
that he's upset the pecking order; he doesn't even realize he's a toy. Along
with Hanks and Allen, there are a half dozen other recognizable voices: Don
Rickles as an irritable Mr. Potato Head; Jim Varney as a laid-back Slinky
Dog; Annie Potts as a Bo Peep figurine; and Wallace Shawn as a wimpy toy
T-Rex. The animation is dazzling, but the movie at heart has the simple charm
of kids' puppet show. And like all the best family films, from E.T. to BABE,
this one has cross-generational appeal. Kids will be enchanted by the
eye-popping antics of the toys in action while adults will love all the
clever throw-aways gags, both visual and verbal. For instance, when Shawn's
dinosaur introduces himself to Buzz, he says he's from Mattel, then quickly
corrects himself: 'I'm not really from Mattel.I'm from a smaller company that
was purchased in a leveraged buyout."
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