Typically in animation, to have non-human characters to have personality and be able to do what the animators want them to do for the script of the movie, non-human characters are manipulated past what they would normally be able to do for the purposes of the movie. What makes Toy Story 2, and subsequently Toy Story and hopefully Toy Story 3 this summer, great is that the toys do not move in any way that a child playing with that toy would be able to move them. This ability is a speciality of Pixar’s and is seen throughout the entirety of Toy Story 2.
One of my favorite toys that exhibits this great feat of animation is the dinosaur. This animation of this toy, and the straight drawing of the character, shows the typical lines and points of movement for the toy: his head, his legs, his arms, and his tail, and these are the only parts that move during the movie. Not only are they the only parts of his body that moves, but they move, not in a human way, but in the jerky way that the toy is placed together. For instance, when he moves his head, he is only able to move it side to side and only to a certain point, just as if you were playing with the toy yourself.
It is this attention to detail that makes the animation of this movie so great. If the toys moved in any way other than how they are played with, the characters would not look like toys and would only look toy-like.
I commented on Rebecca Townsend’s blog and Brenda Weber’s blog
Wittel's Blog 
April 19, 2010 at 8:59 am |
I’ve always adored this element of the Toy Story series. I’m sure one of the more difficult characters to animate would have to have been Woody (and later Jessie) since he didn’t have the structure many of the others did. Buzz, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and even Slinky all had very clearly predefined ranges of motion available to them, but a “rag doll” sort of character like Woody just flops, so it was interesting to see the very loose, flexible skeletal structure that was given to Woody in his awake state that allowed him to still appear floppy in action, yet firm enough to move and interact with the others
April 19, 2010 at 9:17 am |
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April 20, 2010 at 11:57 am |
I love how Pixar animates the movement of the toys. They mimic the movement the toy would have if a child was playing with it. Woody flings his body the way a kid would swoop a doll across the floor. I think its the attention to these details that make the film so special and innovative. Nothing was overlooked in the animation of each toy.
April 20, 2010 at 12:07 pm |
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April 21, 2010 at 7:15 am |
I have always loved the toy story movies. The way that pixar animates the otherwise stiff toys is amazing. I agree that with this talent they make the audience appreciate the characters’ personalities more than their physical appearence. Life is brought to the toys in great ways. I love the Army men…their base is always flat and unable to bend, but the rest of them is SO animated that they almost look like real people.