Tin Toy (1988)

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  TheMovieDiorama

  6 / 10

  Tin Toy may have garnered some rust but acts as a seed for Pixar's debut feature film. Lasseter as director, anthropomorphic toys and a nightmarishly destructive baby. Yes, Tin Toy was what Disney desired after it won Pixar's first Oscar and acted as the primary inspiration for the much beloved 'Toy Story'. Again, much like with 'Red's Dream', there are several aspects which are admirable and others that proved too challenging at the time. The star of the short, Tinny the one-man band player, is the crowning glory. Beautifully rendered with fluid computer animation where a layer of gloss acts as a reflective surface, allowing another level of aesthetic detail. The environmental scenery, that of a lounge, is full of texture and vibrancy (given the limitations of technology back in 1988). The story is short, sharp and sweet, profoundly more optimistic and fun in comparison to the melancholic 'Red's Dream'. The difficult challenge was animating a human baby, relying on several facial muscle movements to express emotion. Alas, it's aged incredibly badly. The body movement was jagged and unnatural, the skin looked plastic and overall is enough to give anyone nightmares. Indicating that technology and time were factors that became a detriment to this particular model. And as always, these shorts are nearly instantly forgettable, acting as a proof of concept as opposed to an endearing narrative. However, Tin Toy established computer animation as a legitimate art, and so for that I am thankful for Lasseter and his team of animators.

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