Brinquedo de Lata

I love Pixar's shorts! I know this was one of their earlier ones. However, the baby was so unbelievably creepy that I couldn't even bring myself to finish it. I'm so used to their characters being likeable...even if they have a bit of a quirky, odd look to them, like Geri in Geri's Game. Despite Geri's large ears, large nose, bushy eyebrows, prominent chin and exaggerated eyes from his corrective lenses, he has a sweet, endearing quality to his face. But the baby in Tin Toy is so unsettling, he's likely to make a starring role in your next nightmare.

I wish I could review the whole short. I'm sure the content was good...it always is. This is just one you may want to take a hard pass on.

It's wonderful to watch a short animated film like Tin Toy and then watch one like Geri's Game or For The Birds, because you can really see how far Pixar has come over the years. In Toy Story, one of the things that they never got quite right was the look of human faces, but it is clear after watching Tin Toy that they have really improved in that area as well. What you have in Tin Toy is an extremely simple story of a new toy that is at first fascinated but soon understandably horrified by the hideously misshapen baby that he sees terrorizing toys all around him. Besides foreshadowing a huge amount of the plot of the later Toy Story, this short film also contains a lot of symbolism and adheres to a story structure that dates back to medieval literature.

This baby is the representation of the horrible monster that can be found in stories around the world, holding people in horrible fear under its control, waiting for some hero to come along and rescue them. The heroic tin toy spends a few minutes fleeing from the horrifying baby (whose approach is far more fearful than ANY Tyranosaurus Rex), but then when the massive baby falls and begins to cry, the toy realizes his purpose and goes out to amuse the baby ("You're a cool toy!"). Okay, this part never really happened in any of the classic romances where people are held captive by a huge monster, but this is where the film turns from the classic story structure and begins to concentrate on the reality of modern children.

One of the more appealing things about this short film is the closeness with which it portrays real children (although they were horribly far off on the physical appearance). Even the child's momentary pause before sneezing is surprisingly realistic, but there are also behavioral things that are captured here, such as the notorious habit of children becoming more interested in the box that their toy came in than they are in the toy itself. Pixar clearly started off early depicting the interests and behaviors of children on screen, and their films have progressed enormously from short films like this one. Tin Toy is not terribly remarkable compared to the later films from Pixar, but from shorts like Tin Toy it can be seen that they have always worked very closely within this particular genre, which is likely a good reason why they are now making children's films that easily rival even the classic Disney masterpieces.

The third notable short from everyone's favourite 3D animation studio (or fourth, if you're generous to 'Andre and Wally B'), 'Tin Toy' came about when Pixar were clearly gaining more confidence and expertise in their technical field, following 'Luxo Jr' and 'Red's Dream', two very simple but effective shorts revolving around inanimate object characters. Usually credited as the forerunner to the excellent 'Toy Story', 'Tin Toy' is a worthy predecessor even if it has long since been surpassed by the likes of Woody, Buzz and Mr Potato Head, and very enjoyable as a stand-alone film.

Unlike the following year's 'Knick Knack' (made famous once again by its recent theatrical coupling with 'Finding Nemo'), the animation isn't quite so timeless in all regards that it could easily pass as an animated short made in this day and age, but it's not too far off. There are many aspects which sport real flair and improvement over their previous efforts, but others which are only too telling of the limitations the studio was currently facing.

No complaints with Tinny, the 'tin toy' of the title - he's a very charismatic creation indeed, and extremely well-animated. This being a non-dialogue film, it's up to his facial expressions to do the talking, and they do it well – awe, confusion, pleasure, terror, empathy – rendering him another very memorable and sympathetic character in Pixar's canon, and at the same time setting the ball rolling for the wider range of emotions that would later immortalise the heroes of 'Toy Story'. The human baby, on the other hand, is the short's biggest visual weakness - a bold attempt to combine 3D animation with real human mannerisms, something which it isn't entirely successful in (compared to the vivid realism of all his inorganic co-stars, this chunky little infant can't help but stick out like a sore thumb). Some of his actions are nicely rendered, particularly the drooling and sneezing (pure gold), but on the whole he does look and move rather awkwardly - so, while a good effort, the end result there is a little patchy.

Once again, it's the original and surprisingly powerful story that we can really thank for still making this short such stellar viewing today - proving very thoroughly that plot and character are always the wisest investments. 'Tin Toy' presents us with a toy's eye-view of a curious new world that initially seems very inviting, but soon reveals a much more unsettling reality that all local toys live in fear of. Even something as benign and innocent as a human baby from our usual POV can seem positively terrifying from the perspective of a small toy, as this short deftly captures. Its overall air, however, is very sweet, gentle and endearing, and has enough basic charm to be a real winner in the feel-good field.

And I got the message well enough too - sometimes there better solutions to our problems than just running and hiding from them.

Grade: A-

Although some of their features/short films are better than others, anything by Pixar by my standards is worth watching. Tin Toy is one of their early efforts, and while not one of their best short films like Geri's Game or Presto it is definitely worth watching. The animation is not terrible, but their more later efforts had a more sophisticated look. There are some nice colours, and Tinny is beautifully done with dead-on facial expressions, but fluidity is lacking at times and the baby is more scary than cute. The music is beautiful though, there are a few amusing moments amidst the more compassionate tone and the characters are engaging with Tinny being one of the Pixar title characters I identify most with. Overall, definitely worthwhile, but Pixar have done better in my view. 8/10 Bethany Cox

Prequel or spiritual Predecessor to Toy Story.

Seriously, it's all right there. The nightmare fuel baby, first time the very dated CG in one of these early Pixar shorts feels completely appropriate to what tone they're going for, could easily be Sid as a toddler, with how much he terrifies the living toys.

This is the first of these in chronological order that actually got a chuckle out of me. The idea that the titular character literally struggles to move without playing his instruments, which attracts the unwanted attention of the monstrous, drooling, destructive creature, is genuinely funny. I appreciate a shot near the end of this that greatly increases the scope, without adding an inhumane load to the animator's work. This is found on Disney Plus for no additional fee after subscription payment.

I recommend this to completists. 7/10.