Book Review: The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey

Whether The Toy Story Films is a rehash or a new book will depend on what Pixar books you have or have read.

I was skeptical when this book was coming out. I wasn't sure how much new content they could pack when there are already books such as Toy Story The Art and Making of the Film, To Infinity and Beyond! The Story of Pixar Animation Studios and The Art of Toy Story 3. Much of this book is a rehash of those three books, and from snippets from other books (mentioned in the bibliography).

There was a sense of deja vu after I read the book. The story is one of Pixar in the early years. John Lasseter was busy animating his short films before Toy Story. Pixar animators were working on commercials to keep the company afloat. Then came the deal with Disney, the story of how they had to rewrite the whole script last minute following the Black Friday disaster of a story pitch. After Toy Story, John Lasseter had to continue working non-stop on Toy Story 2 after helping out A Bug's Life. Pixar's seven film deal with Disney was over and Disney wanted to produce their own version of Toy Story 3. Thanks to Michael Eisner being ousted out of Disney and the merger, Pixar regained control over Toy Story 3.

For many Pixar fans, I suspect the story above will sound familiar. Sure, there are additional insights, but probably not enough to come up with a whole new book. So if you already have the other books mentioned, then you might want to skip this book, unless you are a collector of all things Pixar.

If you don't have the earlier books, then this is a great buy. It's packed with lots of beautiful art, photos and screenshots. The stories are inspiring with many ups and downs, collected in a nice large hardcover.

-

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook or visit their website.

The Art of Toy Story 3 is available at Amazon (US | CA | UK | DE | FR | IT | JP | CN)

If you've the other Pixar books, then it might not be worth getting the book because you already have much of the content. Unless of course if you are collector of all things Pixar.

Visit Amazon to check out more reviews.

If you buy from the links, I get a little commission that helps me get more books to feature.

Places to get The Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey:
Amazon.com | Amazon.ca | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.de | Amazon.fr | Amazon.it | Amazon.co.jp | Amazon.cn

This book was borrowed from Basheer Graphic Books for review purposes. You can order the book from them. Check with Basheer on Facebook or visit their website.