Parent reviews for Toy Story (1995)

Lots of name-calling and the like (“shut up”; “you idiot”) and the only female character of note is Bo Peep who wanders through a couple of times as a kind of comedic femme fatale to make sultry side comments to the (white, male) main characters. Not what I want my 5 year old to imprint on.

I remember seeing this movie in the theater as a young adult in the 90's and thinking it was lots of fun, and even heartwarming. Watching it with my almost-6-year-old, I felt differently. This movie is a lot more dark and negative than you may remember. The whole plot about Woody "murdering" Buzz, and how the other toys gang up and push him from the moving truck, the whole long sequence with Sid torturing and destroying toys... And the good guys are constantly bickering (lots and lots of times characters called each other "stupid" and "idiot") or making obnoxious adult-themed jokes ("laser envy", etc.). There's very little in the way of love and compassion, and LOTS in the way of 90's cynicism. Avoid this one for pre-elementary kids, and wait until they're older if you feel like you need to watch. Recommended alternative: "Monsters, Inc." -- a much sweeter story with good-hearted characters and a positive message.

I LOVED Toy Story when I was a kid but we’re raising our kids more conservatively and I see alll of these issues I never realized when I was young. The scene where Mr Potato head sees Bo Peep and his hatch falls open and his eyes fall out and he says over and over, I’m a married potato…. Not appropriate. Also my kids watched it with me in the dentist and were scared and confused by a number of parts. Sid’s sadistic and rude attitude isn’t behavior I want my kids copying. I could think of a lot better things to do with my kids than watch Toy Story!

WOODY DABS IN THIS MOVIE SO EPIC

I am disturbed by this franchise. My 8 year old son is now is a relationship with his toys. So yeah I'm pretty disturbed by this film. Please watch with catuion with young kids!

My 4.5yo daughter was so scared she asked us to turn it off about half way through. The boy next door is outright scary and violent towards his toys. The language is inappropriate as mentioned by other reviewers. When Woody and Buzz have a physical fight under the car my daughter was confused, and then afterwards started imitating the behaviour trying to play fight me which she has never done before. She was trying to process a whole lot of foreign concepts. This movie was entertaining for us as adults but I don’t think is suited to younger kids at all. The lack of meaningful female characters was also striking.

Entertaining film for all ages that still holds up today. Lots of good themes about helping others, friendship, courage, etc.

Toy Story is the film that started Pixar Animated Studios into its long string of never ending success. What Pixar does is not just absorb the younger demographic and keep the older ones mildly entertained. It completely absorbs everyone watching no matter the age or the level of maturity, films of Pixar, starting from Toy Story, have kept a certain magical touch around it with an unexpected amount of depth. Everyone as a child imagines their toys will come alive and go on their own adventures. One of the great things Pixar does is that it does not attract audiences with its overloaded superstar casts but rather with its material. The only superstar here is Tom Hanks and Tim Allen is the next most aforementioned voice over. Unlike what most people think their is an actually a method to casting for animated films as there is to a live-action one. As a result of this Pixar stays faithful to its material and creates a great genuine and warm feeling around the film and its characters.