KnockBack, Episode 215: Toy Story (Patreon)

While Toy Story wasn't the first 3D animated offering, it was certainly the film that proved the technique viable, desirable, and even preferable to the old ways of doing things. It also made a boatload of money, which never hurts. When it launched in theaters in late 1995, Toy Story left audiences enamored with its characters, blown-away by its visuals, and instantaneously hungry for more (it would take four years for more to arrive). At a brisk 80 minutes, Toy Story doesn't linger. Instead, it entertains relentlessly, packing amazing voice acting (Tom Hanks and Tim Allen!) and, at that point in time, the most sophisticated computer graphics the world had ever seen. Remember: This is a year -before- Super Mario 64 came out. It's really quite amazing, when you think about it. So -- as we're wont to do on this show -- we gush about Toy Story for well over two hours, get into its deep and winding history, what it means to animation and society alike, and the heavy influence it would play on entertainment, even two and a half decades-plus later. As usual, it doesn't hurt having an Emmy Award-winning animator co-hosting this show...