Director/Writer: Steve Purcell
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Kristen Schaal, Wallace Shawn, Kevin McKidd, Emily Hahn, Emma Hudak, Timothy Dalton, Jonathan Kydd, R.C. Cope
Running Time: 22 Minutes
When TOY STORY 3 concluded the trilogy, and let’s not even mention the emotional impact, I don’t think any of us anticipated the return of those hugely loved characters but they turned up TOY STORY OF TERROR during Halloween of last year. Sure, there’s also been some Toy Story Toons but until TOY STORY 4 was officially announced, these short animations never logically held any precursor to other feature-length possibilities.
Written and directed by BRAVE’s scribe Steve Purcell, it’s easy for me to say that TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGOT is easily one of my favourites of the TOY STORY short folk tales, as it’s got everything that makes the first three unique and inventive. Maybe it’s just me, or the seasonal time of year, but there was something really interesting about our gang finding a whole new collection of toys…who don’t know they’re toys.
When Bonnie (Emily Hahn) heads out to a post-Christmas play date complete with her Buzz Lightyear bag containing Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Trixie (Kristen Shaal) and newcomer Angel Kitty (Emma Hudak), they’re thrown into a toy-filled room as Bonnie is distracted by her friend Mason’s new interactive computer game and the two kids are immediately lost in the TV screen. We’re instantly reminded of that thing the Pixar team never forget to say; that ‘real’ interaction and imagination can be much more important for development than just a narrative-led computer game. For some, this point might be ironic considering how animation is made these days but I love it and think it’s a valuable lesson.
Anyway, after our toys are thrown into the room, they discover a ‘Lost World’ full of aggressive dinosaur-warrior toys (Battlesaurs!) who are unreservedly fearsome. TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGOT this time is led by Trixie because she feels Bonnie never plays with her as an actual dinosaur. When she discovers this world of dinos who think she’s incredible, she’s overawed and taken into the scenario wholeheartedly. Distracted by being treated differently, the rest of the team get dragged away and she barely notices. The delusion Battlesaur’s whisk her off for a whole new world of adventure and the edges of a fleeting romance begin with Reptillus Maximus (Kevin McKidd).
Without delving into spoilers, as it’s only a 22 minute short film, there’s all the classic humour you’d expect from the Pixar team with added peril, the unknown and fun twists. We also meet a load of new characters, which is great to see, who are fully developed and exist in this huge world that’s forever growing. Angel Kitty is also inspired as she’s equally cute and creepy. She only had a few lines that reflect those inspirational quotes you see…but with a mysterious edge. I hope we’ll be seeing more of Angel Kitty in the next outing for all the gang, we’re sure she’s got a lot more to offer.
TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGOT gives us a very subtle nudge towards the future by both embedding us into the world of Bonnie and also suggesting there’s more to come from Reptillus and Trixie, who might just live down the road from each other. I also got hit by an unexpected shiver of appreciation in the latter half in this wonderful little creation that took over three years to create. Let me tell you this though, it’s worth every moment and perfect for all the family.
[usr=4] TOY STORY THAT TIME FORGOT is showing now on Sky TV in the UK. Click here to head over to them.
