Pixar is responsible for a lot of great films, but the degree to which the Toy Story franchise has impacted popular culture is unprecedented. It was simply unbelievable at the time of the first film’s release in 1995 that a fully computer-animated film would even be possible, especially given the turbulent production that nearly turned disastrous. Toy Story was a blockbuster like no other, but it also introduced the strongest set of original characters seen in any film franchise since the original Star Wars trilogy. Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), and Bo Peep (Ann Potts) all become beloved characters among the young audiences that saw them come to life; however, the powerful story that the franchise had about growing up and moving on ensured that it had just as much passion from adult viewers.

Pixar has been in a generally rough place when it comes to its sequels. While films like Inside Out 2 and Incredibles 2 were broadly considered to be “adequate,” if not particularly better than their predecessors, then sequels like Cars 2 and Finding Dory seemed to completely misinterpret why audiences had fallen in love with them in the first place. Toy Story is the rare franchise that has been broadly consistent, as even the animated short films released on Disney+ and on network television have been faithful to the characters. While some would cite the spinoff film Lightyear as a disappointment, it’s hard to see it as a deterrent to the legacy of Toy Story because it exists in its own universe, and essentially functions as a standalone. While there has certainly been a great deal of speculation about the necessity of Toy Story 5, it does have the benefit of director Andrew Stanton, who also helmed Finding Nemo and WALL-E. Here is a ranking of all the Toy Story films.

4

‘Toy Story 4’ (2019)

Image via Pixar Animation

Toy Story 4 is an inherently unnecessary sequel that still manages to be pretty great in spite of itself. The end of the previous film had offered such a perfect closure to Andy’s relationship with his toys that it seemed dangerous to delve deeper into their new dynamic with Bonnie, but Toy Story 4 found a fun way to pick up with the adventure without being quite as emotionally devastating as its predecessors. Toy Story 4 is essentially a character study about Woody, who has to deal with the fact that he might not be the “favorite toy” anymore. Although it’s unfortunate that Woody and Buzz don’t get to interact as much as they did in previous films, Toy Story 4 has the benefit of great new cast members, including Keanu Reeves as the action figure Duke Kaboom.

The biggest question mark going into Toy Story 4 ended up being its best component because Tony Hale’s role as Forky ended up being perfect. While it was highly possible that Forky could have become an obnoxious comic relief source that unnecessarily shook up the relationship between the other toys, he served as a perfect way to show Woody’s maturation, as he became a paternal figure in the same way he had once been to Andy. Toy Story 4 also showed for the first time since The Incredibles that Pixar could pull off a romance, as Woody’s relationship with Bo Peep is genuinely moving.

3

‘Toy Story’ (1995)

Image via Pixar Animation Studios

Toy Story is one of the most important and influential films ever made, and only ranks lower on the list because its sequels developed more emotionally complex storylines. When looking back at the production of the film, its remarkable how many smart choices were made in how to tell the story; since computer animation couldn’t quite capture the way that humans looked (as evidenced by the somewhat unusual way that Andy and his mother appear), it made sense to focus on inanimate objects who possessed lifelike features. It’s also incredible that Toy Story was able to introduce over a dozen fun characters who each have their own personality and charms, and it’s not even over 90 minutes long.

Toy Story developed a whipsmart sense-of-humor and is layered with gags, many of which take multiple viewings to catch up on. It’s also a remarkable case of great voice acting, as Toy Story cast stars who could actually pull off the job, and didn’t just hire celebrities like many contemporary animated films do; Hanks was coming off consecutive wins for Best Actor at the Academy Awards for Philadelphia and Forrest Gump, respectively, but there’s a case to be made that his work in Toy Story was just as worthy. If there’s any nitpicks to be had with the original Toy Story, it’s that the ending in which Woody threatens Sid breaks the rules that the franchise had established, and remains the only instance of toys talking to humans in the whole series.

2

‘Toy Story 2’ (1999)

Image via Pixar Animation Studios

Toy Story 2 is a miracle in its existence, as the film was originally intended to be a direct-to-DVD sequel, and almost became lost entirely when due to production issues. Although Pixar could have proven to be a fad that slowly faded away, Toy Story 2 confirmed that it was one of, if not the best studio in Hollywood, which would remain consistent for about the next two decades. Toy Story 2 is a much funnier film than the original, as it flips the premise by having Buzz set out on an adventure to rescue Woody. However, it’s also a more emotionally complex story that questions the nature of finality and destiny, as Woody is faced with what his future will look like when Andy has grown up. That ties in brilliantly to the introduction of Jessie, who instantly proved to be one of the best characters in the entire series.

Toy Story 2 has the best rogue’s gallery of any film in the franchise; not only is Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer) a genuinely terrifying monster, but Al McWhiggin (Wayne Knight) is a very fun addition, and the inclusion of Evil Emperor Zerg allows the film to include one of the funniest references to The Empire Strikes Back since the original Clerks. Although Jessie’s flashback scenes are perhaps the most emotionally devastating moments in any Pixar film, Toy Story 2 is also a pretty great action film, as the airport chase scenes are as good as anything that George Miller or Michael Bay have ever done. If there are any flaws within the film, it’s that the infamous post credit scene with Stinky Pete has aged very poorly, particularly due to the stories that have come to light about director John Lassetter.

1

‘Toy Story 3’ (2010)

Image via Disney

Toy Story 3 is one of only nine sequels and three animated films to ever receive an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture, but it’s worthy of beating those trends; in fact, Toy Story 3 is a much better film than The King’s Speech, which actually won Best Picture that year. The eleven years of waiting after the ending of Toy Story 2 proved to be worth it because Toy Story 3 looked at the inevitability of Andy leaving for college, forcing Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the gang to question what their future might look like. The film finds a beautiful message about letting go and staying together; while Woody ultimately doesn’t know what his next steps will be, he realizes that it is important to let Andy go, and that nothing is more important than staying with his friends. While there’s a lot of moments in Pixar films that feature audiences crying, Toy Story 3 is bound to evoke tears from anyone with a pulse.

Toy Story 3 is also a surprisingly great prison break film, as the daycare escape evokes classics like Papillion and Escape From Alcatraz. Many of the new toys introduced proved to work perfectly with the original case, with Michael Keaton’s performance as Ken being a scene-stealer that just might be even better than Ryan Gosling’s Oscar-nominated role in Barbie. Toy Story 3 has just as many gags (including the hilarious instance of Buzz in “Spanish mode”), but it was also a love letter to the viewers that had grown up with the series, and now had the opportunity to share it with their own children. Even if it featured some darker moments with genuine suspense, Toy Story 3 still works for audiences of all ages, which is something that doesn’t apply to some of Pixar’s more adult-oriented films, such as Soul and Turning Red. Although there’s a lot of merit within Toy Story 4 and many exciting possibilities within Toy Story 5, Toy Story 3 is as perfect of an ending as audiences could ask for; when reflecting upon the greatest “three-quels” of all-time, it is worthy of being listed alongside The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Star Wars: Episode VI- Return of the Jedi, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.

Toy Story

Release Date

October 30, 1995

Runtime

81 minutes

Director

John Lasseter

Writers

John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Joss Whedon, Alec Sokolow, Joel Cohen, Joe Ranft, Pete Docter

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  Tim Allen

  Buzz Lightyear (voice)