Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story

Disney's Animated Storybook:
Toy Story
CD cover art
Developer(s) Pixar
Publisher(s) Disney Interactive
Series Disney's Animated Storybook
Platform(s) Windows, Macintosh
Release April 24, 1996
Genre(s) Point-and-click adventure, interactive storybook
Mode(s) Single-player

Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story is the fourth entry in the Disney's Animated Storybook point-and-click adventure interactive storybook PC game series, based on theatrical and home video releases. The game was developed by a computer game development subsidiary of Pixar Animation Studios that existed at the time, and published by Disney Interactive. The game is based on Pixar's 1995 film, Toy Story, which was the first feature-length computer-animated film. It was released on April 24, 1996.[1] It is the only Animated Storybook title to be based on a Pixar (and, by extension, fully computer-animated) film.

Gameplay

The game is an abridged retelling of the Toy Story film, with various plot elements of the film changed. The story is narrated in-game by Hamm the Piggy Bank (voiced by John Ratzenberger). The game allows players to read and play along with the story, or just have Hamm read the story to them. When playing along with the story, players can click on various hotspots to trigger animations or sound effects. Additionally, some "pages" of the story feature optional minigames, such as a minigame involving matching different colored Squeeze Toy Aliens in the Pizza Planet claw game to matching colored backpacks. Much of the voice cast from the film reprised their roles for the game, although lead characters Sheriff Woody and Buzz Lightyear were instead voiced by Jim Hanks (Tom Hanks's brother) and Pat Fraley, respectively.

Development

The game was developed by Pixar subsidiary The Interactive Products Group instead of series developer Media Station. With a staff of 95, the subsidiary created Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story and Toy Story Activity Center in 1996 under intense time pressure, to meet the VHS release date for Toy Story. Between the two products, the group had created as much original animation as there was in Toy Story itself. While Steve Jobs thought the games would sell 10 million copies on par with the sales figures of successful direct-to-video releases, Pixar employee Pam Kerwin thought the games would be financially successful but not a runaway hit like the film as the market hadn't reached that scale. At the time, Pixar wanted to continue work on Toy Story 2, but the entire studio only had 300 people: 200 working on A Bug's Life and 100 at the new The Interactive Products Group division for interactive media. Therefore, Jobs made the decision to shut down the computer games operation and the staff became the initial core of the Toy Story 2 production team.[2][3]

Commercial performance

On May 13, 1996, PR Newswire reported that in the three weeks since the release of Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story, the game had sold more than 100,000 copies at retail.[4] Revenues from Toy Story were included in Pixar's second quarter financial report.[5]

Critical reception

Entertainment Weekly gave the game an A rating, commenting that Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story contained "all the familiar scenes" from the movie it was based on, albeit augmented by entertaining point-and-click activities. The site also praised the animation, noting "the sequences in Animated Storybook (which so closely mirror those in the film) have an immediate, you-are-there quality", in comparison to other video game adaptions of movies which "present scenes from the original flick in a truncated, non-interactive manner that can be mildly off-putting for both kids and adults".[6] WorldVillage gave Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story the ratings of: Ease of Use – 5, Learning Value – 3, Entertainment Value – 4, Graphics – 5, and Sound – 3. It added that the game is "indeed a work of art".[7] AllGame gave Toy Story a rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars.[8] The Washington Post said the absence of the flim's two main stars "does not diminish the enjoyment" of the game.[1] The Buffalo News said the game "captures the spirit and humor of the film".[9] The Record thought the game had "first-rate production values".[10] Robertson Stephens analyst Keith Benjamin said "This is the most compelling CD-ROM title I have ever seen".[11] The Mirror said the game was "brilliant".[12] MacWorld praised the game for its visual similarity to the film it was adapted from, commenting that "the 3-D imaging is superb".[13]

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
AllGame[8]
Entertainment WeeklyA[6]

References

  1. 1 2 "Disney's `Toy Story'". 1996-05-20.
  2. ↑ Price, David A. (June 22, 2008). "The Pixar Touch". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Five Ways Steve Jobs Changed the Movie Industry". The Moveable Fest. August 24, 2011. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  4. ↑ "DISNEY'S ANIMATED STORYBOOK, TOY STORY SETS SALES RECORD DURING FIRST THREE WEEKS OF RELEASE – Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  5. ↑ "Pixar Announces Financial Results for Second Quarter of 1996. – Free Online Library". www.thefreelibrary.com. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  6. 1 2 Bob Strauss (1996-05-17). "Disney's Animated Storybook: Toy Story Review". EW.com. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  7. ↑ "Disney's Animated StoryBook, Toy Story". Worldvillage.com. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  8. 1 2 House, Michael L. (2010-10-03). "Disney's Toy Story Animated StoryBook – Overview". allgame. Archived from the original on 2010-02-05. Retrieved 2013-05-16.
  9. ↑ "WOODY AND BUZZ GO ON AN ADVENTURE". 1996-05-09.
  10. ↑ "FROM DICK AND JANE TO BUZZ LIGHTYEAR". 1996-10-21.
  11. ↑ "California's Pixar Reports Solid Earnings.(Originated from Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.)". 1996-04-26.
  12. ↑ "Jurassic Lark's a Bite of History". 1996-12-06.
  13. ↑ "Toy Story Animated StoryBook". MacWorld. September 1996.
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