For me, the real appeal of Pixar’s first movie, Toy Story,
was not the characters or the plot, but the groundbreaking technology of
computer-generated 3D animation. As moviegoers
fell in love with this more realistic form, their interest in traditional 2D
animation waned. When Disney, the king
of traditional animation, saw only modest box office success for Atlantis: The
Lost Empire, it canceled a spin-off TV show and a proposed Disneyland
attraction. They recognized that a seismic
change had shaken the cinematic landscape, and Toy Story had caused it.
The characters of Toy Story proved immensely
popular. Buzz Lightyear became a star. He got his own animated film
and TV series. For those who admired him, loved him, or simply wanted to have adventures with him, Buzz
Lightyear could be found in Happy Meals and toy stores in any number of sizes
and configurations. I even had a small Buzz
Lightyear action figure for several years.
He stood on a shelf in my office, and when I pressed a button on his
back, he spoke to me or made cool sound effects. I was sad when his sound chip stopped working.
Despite the movie’s groundbreaking new animation process, Toy
Story wouldn’t have proven nearly so successful had it not introduced us to some
great characters. The most popular, of course, was Buzz Lightyear. He may not be my hero, but I like him
nonetheless. If others identify with him, and attempt to model their actions and their lives on him, well, I can see that.
Having said all that, I have to wonder. Do you think Pixar gets a royalty off of
this guy?
Dragon Dave
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