Toy Story kicked off the Pixar run of highly successful animated films back in 1995, and 24 years later the franchise is still going strong, based on solid storytelling, breakthrough animation, and action-filled, big-movie soundtracks. In fact, the two most consistent elements throughout the quarter-century have been the magical music of Randy Newman and the contributions of a rotating team of sound professionals at Skywalker Sound, from Gary Rydstrom sound designing and re-recording the original, through Tom Myers, Gary Summers and even Ben Burtt, then on to Ren Klyce supervising and sound designing the latest, with a mix team led by Michael Semanick. (A special nod to dialog editor Doc Kane, who worked on all four films.)
It’s easy to forget what a breakthrough film Toy Story was for its time. But it wasn’t just the new style of Pixar animation, it was the sophisticated, humorous, never-dumbed-down script and storytelling, coupled with a realistic-sounding soundtrack that rivaled any live-action film. Woody and Buzz became iconic characters through the excellent voice recordings and their integration into a dense (yet very real) effects track and the unforgettable music of the master, Randy Newman.
There are new characters, including the child-friendly Forkie, in Toy Story 4, as there have been at every step of the growth of the franchise. But the rest of the film, especially the sound, feels as familiar as a childhood home.
Director: Josh Cooley
Movie Studios: Walt Disney Pictures/Pixar
Re-Recording Mixers: Michael Semanick, Nathan Nance
Supervising Sound Editor/Sound Designer: Ren Klyce
Supervising Sound Editor: Coya Elliott
Dialogue/ADR Supervisor: Cheryl Nardi
Foley Artists: John Roesch, Shelley Roden
Music By: Randy Newman
Scoring Mixer: David Boucher
Music Editor: Joe E. Rand
