Toy Story That Time Forgot

Airing on ABC on 2nd December, this animated holiday special would be the second 20 minute special after Toy Story of Terror last year, showing Woody & the gang after the events of the third film, where they're now living with Bonnie & going on adventures. It was originally intended to be a 6 minute short before John Lasseter decided to expand it into a 20 minute special to air in the holiday season & it took 3 years to make it with about 2 years of production on it just being on story development alone! Even if it's not really Christmas related other than the special airing in December & taking place a few days after Christmas, I thought I'd review it for this year's Animation Advent Calendar since it only just came out & Big Hero 6 is coming to UK in late January! So can Woody & the gang along with some dinosaurs oddly put me in the Christmas mood, or is it as bad as breaking your brand new toy on Christmas Day immediately after opening it? Let's take alook!

Story: Considering it was originally intended as a 6 minute short, it really shows in the plot, this time centring on Trixie while Bonnie is on a playdate with a friend of her's, meeting the kid's new collection of Battlesaurs, which are pretty much like Transformers as dinosaurs & have the same delusional belief that they're the real thing similar to Buzz in the first film. However, if I can be honest, I don't think it has the same charm as the other Toy Story related projects cos of a lack of emotional depth the franchise is well known for! And the fact the characters we know & love like Jessie, Mr Potato Head, Rex are hardly in it (heck, Hamm & Slinky aren't in it at all) & Woody & Buzz only being secondary characters doesn't really help either since we never get to see the group dynamic they had in Toy Story of Terror! However, I will say that the comedy & action in it is actually really good & what made me enjoy it! Considering that we see everything from the toy's perspective. It may not be the strongest story out of the Toy Story franchise, but the good things about it definitely avoid it being unpleasant to watch (unlike the Cars films...)

Animation: Yes, this is Pixar so of course the animation is incredible! The character designs are very creative on the Battlesaurs & each one manages to have their own distinct look to them (oh yeah, and Angel Kitty is really cute). However, this time round, considering we see everything from the toy's perspective, the play sets like the amphitheatre look massive & it gets interesting as Reptillus Maximus gets to see the outside of the area & everything around him like the boxes for the Battlesaurs or the wiring in Mason's new game look amazing to watch! The character animation is also pretty good as they have to not only deal with the gang & how they move due to being different types of toys made out of different materials, but also on different dinosaurs & the fight scenes are really well done! But obviously the best part for me is the texturing! Everything looks & feels what it's supposed to be, in particular with the plastic on the Battlesaurs, the wooden floors having that shine to them, the fluff on Angel Kitty & even the crayon Woody uses to fight at one point looks great when it breaks! There isn't much to say other than I have no flaws with the animation whatsoever, it's that perfect (considering it's from Pixar like I said, it shouldn't be a surprise!)

Characters: Like I mentioned, it's pretty unfortunate the characters we love after nearly 20 years (yeah, the first movie was released the year I was born) aren't in it as much & therefore don't have development like in the Toy Story of Terror special! Don't get me wrong, their personalities are still intact like Woody & Buzz (voiced again by the great Tom Hanks & Tim Allen) being the same best buds, Rex being neurotic, Mr Pricklepants being a committed thespian & Jessie being the same cowgirl (who only appears at the beginning & the end of this special along with Mr Potato Head), but there's no development from any of them! The only exception is Trixie, considering she's the main character, but even with Kristin Schaal's great acting & her sweet personality, she really isn't strong enough to carry out her own special! As for the new characters, I oddly enjoyed them, in particular, Reptillus Maximus (voiced by Kevin McKidd), a Battlesaur that believes he's the real thing until he learns about it considering his kid Mason hasn't even played with him yet! I found him pretty likeable & funny with the dynamic between him & Trixie being nice to watch even if he wasn't really a love interest for her. The Cleric (voiced by director Steve Purcell), is kinda the villain as he doesn't want the other Battlsaurs to discover that they're really toys who reforms by the end after Mason. Oh yeah, and Bonnie definitely sounds older now despite looking around the same age as she did in the third film onwards, but she's still her cute self! As for Angel Kitty...she's oddly my favourite character partly thanks to her hilariously intentional monotone voice & some of her lines just come right out of nowhere about the message of Christmas & it made me laugh so hard! Even if they're not really developed & some don't have the right amount of screen time, at least they're still fun to watch, the voice acting is great & the new characters are pretty enjoyable!

Sure, Toy Story That Time Forgot is not the best thing to come out of the Toy Story franchise, but it's still pretty good for what it is with amazing animation from the best in the industry, some funny & likeable characters & great comedy. If you are a fan of the franchise, it wouldn't hurt to watch it, I mean, it's definitely not bad by all means & kids will definitely enjoy it for the Battlesaur scenes & the humour. Oh yeah, and as for Toy Story 4 being announced for 2017...I have serious doubts over it since it immediately goes against the themes of the third film & why it left such a huge impact on people! Well, John Lasseter must have one hell of a good story if he greenlit it...
Story: 7/10
Animation: 10/10
Characters: 8/10
Overall: 8/10