The voice work is excellent and the characters match the actors. However the actual product is so wonderfully fun that I forgot this quickly. It's hard not to see the marketing department standing behind this film rubbing their hands. Looking back on it, I do feel a cynical edge on it in so much as this film must really have helped sales of the toy companies in the film. In fact the majority of this humour and plot will go right over kids heads. Most of the `adult' wit comes from the Potato Head, dinosaur, the pig and slinky dog.
They may not actually have that many lines, but they have all the funniest lines. Despite the two strong leads there is a real depth in the support cast. The conflict between Buzz and Woody is taken deeper than this and, when confronted by the truth of his status as a toy, Buzz's turmoil is very real as opposed to him being a cartoon character and nothing more. The main story is fun but the degree of character development is what really shores it up. The plot is simple but effective and actually has genuine drama and excitement to it. However it is still very funny and deserves praise for being the first of a successful formula. It seems each one has to be sharper and have more references etc in the background. I have just watched it again and it is dating a little in comparison to more recent twists on the formula. Given how often the same mix of animation, wit, jokes and kids humour has been used since Toy Story (Ice Age, Monsters Inc, Bugs Life) it is easy to forget how refreshing it was when it first came out. But with only two days before Andy moves house, time is of the essence.
When rivalries boil over Woody tries to hide Buzz down the side of the bed but accidentally pushes him out the window, the other tops expel Woody, and he leaves with no choice but to find Buzz and return him to the house. One such birthday Andy's top toy, Woody the cowboy, finds himself in direct competition with Andy's new Buzz Lightyear doll. Andy's toys live a reasonable life of fun and peace, their only worries are birthdays and Christmases, when new toys could easily replace those already there.
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