I have finally seen Toy Story 3 and I was really impressed. I resisted seeing it at first because I thought it could not possibly be as good as the first two. I was worried that Pixar made it solely for the toy sales. Well I have to say that I was wrong. They did a great job keeping true to the characters and story lines from the first two movies and came up with a great new story line as well. I loved the movie! I won't go into it any further because this is not a movie review site.
It is a vintage toy site however, so Toy Story does sort of fit. Just in case there is anyone out there who hasn't seen the Toy Story movies or know what I'm talking about (if that is even possible), here is a picture from Toy Story 3 of the main characters:
Picture from ScreenCrave
I got to thinking why the Toy Story Movies are so popular. It is easy to see why kids like them - they're about toys! The Toy Story movies are full of lovable characters and action-packed fun. I think Adults have fallen in love with Toy Story as well. So much so that Toy Story 3 has just set the record for the highest grossing animated film ever! According to a nice piece appearing on ScreenCrave, by the middle of August 2010, "Toy Story 3 has earned a record breaking $920 million in worldwide box office receipts".
So why do adults like Toy Story so much? Kids aren't the only ones who love toys. Even though we may not "play with" children's toys anymore, we all have great memories of playing with our favorites. The toys in Toy Story are just toys when Andy or other humans are with them, but when alone, they come to life. How cool is it to think that our toys came to life when we weren't watching and had their own little community?
The best thing about Toy Story for adult toy-lovers like me is that it is full of actual vintage toys!!!
The main characters, Buzz and Woody, are newly created characters, but other characters are real toys from the past! This fact really adds to the appeal for parents and grandparents watching the Toy Story Movies with their kids or grand kids.
So what actual classic toys appeared in Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and/or
Toy Story 3? Below is the list that I came up with.
- Slinky Dog
- Mr. Potato Head
- Mrs. Potato Head
- Barbie
- Ken
- Etch A Sketch
- Magic 8 Ball
- Barrel of Monkeys
- Bucket O Soldiers Army Men
- Rock 'em Sock 'em Robots
- Hot Wheels Loop Track
- Hot Wheels Car "Red Barron"
- Speak 'n Spell (Mr. Spell)
- Farm See 'n Say
- Troll doll
- Little Tikes Fire Engine and people
- Fisher Price Chatter Telephone
- And a bunch of characters like Rex, Hamm and R.C. inspired by actual toys (a future post, perhaps?)
I plan to write an individual post about each one of these toys, detailing its history, fun facts, and its involvement in the Toy Story Movies. I have already researched most of these toys, so it won't be long before I begin posting these.
If you see that I have missed any, please let me know. Which one of these toys was your favorite? I don't know what order I will go in yet, so if there are any that you want to "jump to the head of the class" just let me know. This will be a fun exercise for me. Thanks!
Aw man.. The Red Baron Hot wheels car was my fave from my youth. I remember when the 1st Toy Story came out, I bought a Hot Wheels track for my son.. that came with a Reproduction Red baron car! My son outgrew the track, and I've since been reunited with the Red Baron that some punk threw on the roof of the school when I was in kindergarten! Good times. (except for that whole kindergarten experience)
Posted by: Darrin | 09/17/2010 at 06:43 PM