Review: Toy Story of Terror (2013)

 

In a sense, it breaks my heart that Toy Story has become Pixar’s most substantial franchise. It started as something so humble and unique, and it’s fast becoming Pixar’s go-to for a brand rehash – a pull-string goat readily primed for milking. That said, unlike Dreamworks’ Shrek franchise, the Toy Story series bears endless scope for such milking, with infinite potential for new character designs, storylines, and, needless to say, merchandising. Of course, the latter is a subject which comprises the predominant undercurrent to the most visceral of criticisms of Pixar’s latter-day output (I’m looking at you, Cars), but as of yet the feature-length Toy Story canon has been altogether impressive, regardless of its appeal to the plush market. 2013 saw the airing of Pixar’s very first half-hour (with commercials) television special, the horror flick-inspired Toy Story of Terror, whose release appropriately coincided with Halloween. Does the special hold up against the series’ previous entries?

The special opens in the boot of Bonnie’s mom’s car, where the toys are anxiously watching a classic black-and-white horror film. Before long, they wind up at a roadside motel, where the toys are seemingly picked off one by one by a mysterious creature lurking in the shadows. In an unforeseen turn of events, Jessie is forced to combat her fear of the dark and – of course – ‘the box’. With the help of Combat Carl, Jessie must face her fears and find her friends before it’s too late.

Part of what makes the Toy Story franchise so successful is its attention to detail, and such detail is not absent from this particular offering. The film’s focus on Jessie’s claustrophobic struggles in ‘the box’ resonate from 1999’s Toy Story 2, which sees Jessie unable to handle being in storage – a clever, if somewhat rehashed, call-back. Story-wise, there is nothing here that would offend the most hard-core fans of the films, and its plot, for its 20-minute-or-so running time, is surprisingly advanced; there isn’t a dull moment. Above all, the special manages to keep the viewer in suspense throughout, in addition to providing further character development for Jessie. In fact, this is probably what I would deem to be the special’s saving grace. The pacing is altogether rather rushed, but its reliance on Jessie’s backstory enables the propulsion of a solid and gripping narrative – something the subsequent special Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014) sadly lacks, simply because we know little about its protagonist (Trixie), nor are we given any reason to care about her. That’s why this special works so well.

In all, it’s a solid offering from Pixar, by television standards at least. Ultimately, it could never compare to the feature-length offerings, but it’s an impressive effort nonetheless. Though there are notable similarities to the storylines of previous entries, Toy Story of Terror manages to deliver a compelling and scary(ish) story. By Pixar standards, it’s a decent offering, but by television standards, it’s scarily good.

Images Obtained From:

Toy Story of Terror. [DVD] (2014) Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, Burbank, California.