Awesome Entertainment ‘Toy Story’ Is A Movie That Will Endear Itself To Children And Adults Alike

Given all the politically correct whining about “Aladdin” and “Pocahontas,” I can’t wait to see who complains about the awesomely entertaining “Toy Story.” The Weebles Anti-Defamation League? People for the Ethical Treatment of Barbie?

The concept, hiked from “The Velveteen Rabbit,” is that toys come to life when the owner (in this case, a boy named Andy) leaves. But, in “Toy Story,” the toys have staff meetings and organizational flow charts. As the cowboy doll/ CEO, Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) says, “It doesn’t matter how much we’re played with. What matters is that we’re here when Andy needs us.” Their job is to be fun, and they’re good at.

They also have distinct personalities. Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) is a grouch, and you would be, too, if your face kept falling off. There’s also a neurotic dinosaur, a whino dino voiced by Wallace Shawn: “I’m going for fearsome here, but I don’t feel it. I’m worried it just comes off as annoying.” One of the movie’s many pleasures is seeing childhood faves in what amount to guest star cameos: Etch-a-Sketch, Magic 8-ball and Barrel o’ Monkeys all get to do what they do best, and the toy-soldier reconnaissance mission is a scream.

The top toys are an astronaut named Buzz (Tim Allen) and Woody, who square off in a this-toybox-ain’t-big-enough-for-the-both-of-us battle. Loose, gangly Woody feels threatened by the puffed-up, humorless Buzz, and when Buzz disappears, Mr. Potato Head suspects Woody of toyicide. Eventually, Buzz and Woody share a frightening adventure that brings them closer together.

Entirely computer animated, “Toy Story” looks like nothing you’ve ever seen. The toys are incredibly expressive, and some of the backdrops have the beautiful precision of Edward Hopper paintings. Ironically, the warmth of the voices and the detail of the animation make the toys seem real, but computer animation can’t capture the intricacy of the human face, so the humans resemble not-very-good mannequins.

Wisely, the “Toy Story”-tellers keep the human appearances short. Instead, the movie’s loopy thrills depend on inanimate objects coming to life, which gives ordinary things a special kick - a tape dispenser dispensing itself becomes an eyepoppingly exciting bit.

Adults will be amused by the inside jokes, like the fact that all the toys were “born” in Hong Kong or Taiwan. There are tons of these throw-away bits, but there’s plenty of visual slapstick, too. The endearing toys in “Toy Story” will make you laugh and they might make you cry, but, more importantly, they’ll make you wish you could play with them, too.

MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: “Toy Story” Location: East Sprague, Lyons and Showboat cinemas Credits: Directed by John Lasseter; starring voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger Running time: 77 minutes Rating: G