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Before "Toy Story"

#1
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7/5/08 at 9:14pm
  • Joined: July 1999
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Caught a 1961 Twilight Zone today, "Five Chacters In Search Of An Exit".
Damn, I'm already in spoiler land.

Warning Spoiler! Click to show
The five characters turn out to be dolls that are only "alive" when alone with each other.

Obviously I thought of Toy Story.
From 1987, "The Brave Little Toaster" seemed to me to be a strong influence on Toy Story.
I'm really a big fan of "Toaster" and in addition to the "animated only when alone" characters, there are some real plot similarities with Toy Story.
Other stories that might be referenced go back at least to Golem or talking dummies like Magic, but these, I believe, are really different genres dealing with horror and mental illness.

"No one would know us there."

-Far From Heaven- (2002)

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#2
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7/5/08 at 9:33pm
  • Joined: June 2004
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Re: Before "Toy Story"

I was wondering what the twist in that episode was. I had the marathon on at work yesterday, but that was the only episode that I was able to sort of follow, except I ended up missing the end.
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#3
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7/5/08 at 10:10pm
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Re: Before "Toy Story"

Jim Henson did a tv special in the 80's, called "The Christmas Toy" with a very similar premise to Toy Story. There's even a Buzz Lightyear counterpart.

I'd be amazed if the Pixar folks were totally unaware of it.

There is also the 1977 animated film based on Raggedy Ann that covers similar ground.
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#4
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7/5/08 at 10:40pm
  • Joined: January 2003
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Re: Before "Toy Story"

Hey, Brave Little Toaster, got that for my kids about 15 years ago? I think i liked it more than they did!
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#5
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7/6/08 at 10:51am
  • Joined: December 1998
  • Location: Little Rock, AR
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Re: Before "Toy Story"

I vaguely remember the TZ episode. The characters were trying to get out of a box and were unhappy, weren't they? A vastly different tonal difference from TS, but the core device point is the same.

Johnny
www.teamfurr.org
Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a wornout coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that...

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#6
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7/6/08 at 11:49am
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Re: Before "Toy Story"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Angell
I vaguely remember the TZ episode. The characters were trying to get out of a box and were unhappy, weren't they? A vastly different tonal difference from TS, but the core device point is the same.

If you get another chance to see "Five Characters In Search Of An Exit", compare the ballerina's emotions with Jesse singing "When She Loved Me", in TS2.

No tonal difference.

"No one would know us there."

-Far From Heaven- (2002)

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#7
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7/7/08 at 9:57am
  • Joined: December 1998
  • Location: Little Rock, AR
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Re: Before "Toy Story"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Henry Gale
If you get another chance to see "Five Characters In Search Of An Exit", compare the ballerina's emotions with Jesse singing "When She Loved Me", in TS2.

No tonal difference.
I'll have to put in a search for it on my HR20. It's my recollection that the "toys" in the box don't know they are toys and feel trapped. They want to escape. In TS, the toys know what they are and much of the plot revolves around staying, not escaping. They want to remain Any's toys.

Johnny
www.teamfurr.org
Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a wornout coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that...

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#8
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7/7/08 at 4:36pm
  • Joined: January 2003
  • Location: Orlando, FL
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Re: Before "Toy Story"

Quote:
Originally Posted by Johnny Angell
I'll have to put in a search for it on my HR20. It's my recollection that the "toys" in the box don't know they are toys and feel trapped. They want to escape. In TS, the toys know what they are and much of the plot revolves around staying, not escaping. They want to remain Any's toys.
That's exactly it. I just watched it at cbs.com. Good episode.
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