Smith, Susan, Noel Brown, and Sam Summers. "A Guide to Further Research." Toy Story: How Pixar Reinvented the Animated Feature. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2017. 215–219. Bloomsbury Collections. Web. 25 Sep. 2021. .

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A GUIDE TO FURTHER RESEARCH Toy Story: How Pixar Reinvented the Animated Feature

T o y S t o r y

Ackerman, Alan. Seeing Th ings: From Shakespeare to Pixar (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2011). [Especially ch. 4, ‘Th e Spirit of Toys: Resurrection, Redemption and Consumption in Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Beyond’, pp. 97– 120.] In an interdisciplinary study that traverses an impressively broad history of literature, theatre, painting and fi lm, Ackerman’s fourth chapter considers Toy Story and its sequels in the context of storytelling media’s long- standing fasci- nation with vision (or the problem of visualizing that which may lie beyond the concrete bounds of reason and experience) and in relation to changing modes of representation and the impact of technology.

Garwood, Ian. Th e Sense of Film Narration (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2015). [Specifi cally ch. 3, ‘Storytelling through the Imperfect Image’, pp. 63– 98.] In this insightful study of the sensory properties of cinema and their rela- tionship to narrative understanding, Garwood examines Pixar’s fi lms specif- ically in terms of debates about digital aesthetics, examining what happens when the plastic cohesion of this studio’s animated features is disrupted by the introduction of materially diff erent image formats. While he refers to a broad range of Pixar fi lms, Garwood includes detailed discussion of key moments in Toy Story 2 and 3 , examining instances of digital excess in the former and low- resolution home video in the latter.

Gurevitch, Leon. ‘Computer Generated Animation as Product Design Engineered Culture, or Buzz Lightyear to the Sales Floor, to the Checkout and Beyond!’ animation: an interdisciplinary journal , no. 7 (2012): 131– 49. In an article concerned with the relationship between cinematic image and contemporary consumer culture, Gurevitch addresses the impact of computer generated (CG) animation. In particular, he argues that features created using this digital technology and which employ characters that are mainly manufac- tured objects indicative of product placement prompt a signifi cant reevaluation of such a relationship.

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216 A Guide to Further Research

Herbrechter, Stefan. ‘Toying with the Postmodern “To Infi nity and Beyond” ’, in Ivan Callus and Stefan Hebrechter (eds), Post- theory, Culture and Criticism (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004), 141– 66. In line with the book’s overall aims, Herbrechter’s chapter argues that Toy Story provides a productive way of understanding the postmodern and con- siders the series’ shift ing concerns as emblematic of the move from theory to post- theory.

Kemper, Tom. Toy Story: A Critical Reading (London: BFI, 2015). Th is short book provides an academic analysis of Toy Story from its produc- tion to its reception. In particular, Kemper foregrounds a reading of the fi lm in the context of the pop art movement, referring to Pixar’s postmodern take on consumer culture and their stylistic break from Disney’s familiar fi ne- art aesthetic.

Lanier, Clinton, Scott Rader and Aubrey Fowler. ‘Anthropomorphism, Marketing Relationships, and Consumption Worth in the Toy Story Trilogy’, Journal of Marketing Management , no. 29 (2013): 26– 47. Th is co-authored article fi nds signifi cance in the Toy Story trilogy’s portrayal of the human–toy friendship from the vantage point of the toys, arguing that this anthropomorphized, reverse point of view prompts reconsideration of the nature of this relationship and the perceived value of the objects involved.

Maloney, Marcus. Th e Search for Meaning in Film and Television (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2015). [Specifi cally ch. 2, ‘Just a Toy’, pp. 22– 24.] Th is study addresses what the author considers to be the central dilemma of our age: the search for meaning in contemporary Western life. He does so by exploring the ways in which popular texts engage with this problem and uses Toy Story as one of his four main case studies. Overall, he con- siders how the fi lm reinterprets a Disney narrative founded on the idea of self- fulfi lment, exploring modern- day themes through the lens of the toys’ experience.

Solomon, Charles. Th e Toy Story Films: An Animated Journey (New York: Disney Editions, 2012). With a foreword from Hayao Miyazaki and an aft erword from John Lasseter, this Disney-approved coff ee table book presents the offi cial version of the ‘mak- ing of’ the Toy Story trilogy. It tells its story through exclusive concept artwork and interviews with the cast and crew, making it a useful resource for scholars.

Wells, Paul. ‘To Affi nity and Beyond: Woody, Buzz and the New Authenticity’, in Th omas Austin and Martin Barker (eds), Contemporary Hollywood Stardom (London: Arnold, 2003), pp. 90– 102.

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A Guide to Further Research 217

Woody and Buzz are measured against traditional paradigms of fi lm star- dom, taking into account the unique ways in which audiences typically conceive of animated characters. Considering the textual and extratextual contributions of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, as well as the characters’ status as ‘toys’ both on and off - screen, Wells assesses the notion of ‘post- human’ stars.

P i x a r

Clarke, James. Th e Films of Pixar Animation Studio (Harpenden: Kamera Books, 2013). One of the fi rst lengthy critical studies of Pixar’s output, Clarke’s book includes in-depth analyses of each of the studio’s fi lms – including Toy Story . It relates them to wider developments in animation and includes useful back- ground information on their incubation processes.

Goldmark, Daniel. ‘Pixar and the Animated Soundtrack’, in John Richardson, Claudia Gorbman and Carol Vernallis (eds), Th e Oxford Handbook of New Audiovisual Aesthetics (New York: Oxford University Press, 2013), pp. 213–26. Off ering a welcome focus on Pixar’s approach to music and soundtrack, Goldmark argues that this studio is distinctive in granting each of these ele- ments considerable priority during the fi lmmaking process and for challenging the dominant format of the Disney animated musical. Th rough detailed analy- ses of Up and WALL-E in the second part of the chapter, he explores the ways in which music and sound design are central to the construction of space and the emotional landscapes in and of these fi lms.

Haswell, Helen. ‘To Infi nity and Back Again: Hand-drawn Aesthetic and Aff ection for the Past in Pixar’s Pioneering Animation’, Alphaville: Journal of Film and Screen Media , no. 8 (2014): 1– 17. Chiefl y focusing on Pixar’s 2011 short, La Luna , but incorporating analyses of many of their fi lms, including the Toy Story series, Haswell argues that the studio’s more recent experiments with 2-D animation – facilitated by their own history of advancements in 3- D – refl ect a thematic preoccupation with nostal- gia traceable throughout their oeuvre.

Holian, Heather L. ‘Animators as Professional Masqueraders: Th oughts on Pixar’, in Deborah Bell (ed.), Masquerade: Essays on Tradition and Innovation Worldwide (Jeff erson, North Carolina: McFarland, 2015), pp. 231– 40. In this infl uential article, Holian argues that digital animators are ‘profes- sional masqueraders’; that is, actors who manipulate images and characters by briefl y inhabiting them (putting on ‘masks’). Holian explores this conceit with

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218 A Guide to Further Research

reference to animators at Pixar, drawing both on detailed accounts of the ani- mation process and interviews with animators.

McCulloch, Richard. ‘Whistle While You Work: Branding, Critical Reception and Pixar’s Production Culture’, in Roberta Pearson and Anthony N. Smith (eds), Storytelling in the Media Convergence Age: Exploring Screen Narratives (Hampshire: Palgrave MacMillan, 2015), pp. 174– 89. Th is article explores the synergy between Pixar’s perceived creative identity (advanced popularly in a multitude of paratextual materials) and its culture of production, particularly focusing on the associations of Pixar’s Emeryville head- quarters as a place of fun, community and creativity. Emeryville, McCulloch argues, functions as a reifi cation of Pixar’s central brand identifi cations.

Meinel, Deitmar. Pixar’s America: Th e Re- Animation of American Myths and Symbols (Basingstoke and New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2016). A broad- ranging examination of Pixar within the cultural and political con- text of North American society. Th rough close analysis of each of the studio’s fi lms in turn, Meinel situates these productions within foundational mythol- ogies of freedom and individualism, as well as more contemporary concerns such as gender politics and neoliberal ideologies.

Montgomery, Coleen. ‘Woody’s Roundup and WALL- E ’s Wunderkammer: Technophilia and Nostalgia in Pixar Animation’, Animation Studies , no. 6 (2011): 7–13. Elaborating on the theme of nostalgia in Pixar’s work, Montgomery suggests that the affi nity for analogue and obsolete technologies expressed in fi lms like Toy Story and its sequels is refl ective of anxieties surrounding the studio’s sig- nifi cant technological innovations and their industry- wide impact, as well as of marketing concerns and the fi lmmakers’ own proclivities.

Munk Rö sing, Lilian. Pixar with Lacan: Th e Hysteric’s Guide to Animation (London and New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2016). A Freudian/Lacanian psychoanalytic interpretation of Pixar’s output. Rö sing argues for the universalism of Pixar fi lms, noting that many of their tropes can be related to fundamental concepts in Lacanian psychoanalysis. Th ere are chapters on each of the Toy Story fi lms. Neupert, Richard. John Lasseter: Contemporary Film Directors (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 2016). An auteurist account of the Toy Story director and his ‘signature’ as a fi lm- maker, analysing both the aesthetic and the narrative dimensions of his fi lms. As well as discussing each of Lasseter’s fi lms in turns, Neupert suggests a nec- essary synergy between his creative vision and the collegial structure at Pixar, which promoted a collaborative form of authorship which has informed subse- quent works at the studio.

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A Guide to Further Research 219

Paik, Karen. To Infi nity and Beyond: Th e Story of Pixar Animation Studios (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2007). An in-house account of Pixar’s development from its origins in the 1970s up to Ratatouille and taking in Toy Story and its sequels. Th e book combines a narrative history of the studio – drawing on interviews with many of the key participants – with high- quality artwork and original sketches

Pallant, Chris. Demystifying Disney (New York: Bloomsbury Academic, 2011). [Especially ch. 8, ‘Digital Disney’, pp. 226– 42.] Th is chapter places Toy Story and the rise of Pixar in the context of Disney’s aesthetic history, comprehensively delineated by Pallant over the course of the book. As well as examining the artistic and commercial interplay between the two studios, he also addresses Pixar’s pioneering three- dimensional realist aes- thetic and the infl uence of live- action fi lm on their digital cinematography.

Price, David A. Th e Pixar Touch: Th e Making of a Company (New York: Vintage Books, 2008). A valuable narrative history of Pixar for the popular market, drawing on extensive interview material with leading fi gures in the company, including Ed Catmull, Alvy Ray Smith and John Lasseter. Price documents the beginnings of computer animation in the 1970s and goes on to explore the origins of Pixar, its development from a computer soft ware company to an animation studio, and the creative ethos underpinning the company.

Scott, Ellen. ‘Agony and Avoidance: Pixar, Deniability and the Adult Spectator’, Journal of Popular Film and Television , no. 42 (2014): 150– 62. Using the Toy Story fi lms and WALL-E as her examples, Scott illustrates how Pixar, using a ‘principle of deniability’, has broadened its audience to include adults by addressing inherently ‘grown- up’ themes beneath a colourful, car- toonal veneer. In doing so, she places the texts in the tradition of classical Hollywood and fi lm noir.

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