Ah, “In Ancient Times: the 90’s” The 1990’s . . . who truly remembers the events of such a distant time? Did we live in caves? Did dinosaurs walk the earth? Did we drive cars powered by our feet while yelling “yabba-dabba-doo”? Of course we did. We all know we did. But the 90’s was also the time before the rise of the Pixar Empire. Believe it or not, there was a time when Pixar was almost unknown; the only people who knew it were those pathetic nerds who went to every animation festival I could find . . . I mean, that they could find. Other people. Not me. Certainly not. Yes, Pixar was known then as that weird animation studio who had the absurd idea that you could make interesting animation using those new-fangled electronic computational devices (they’re just a fad, you know). That is, until that fateful day in 1995 when the first full-length computer-animated feature film was released: “Toy Story.” On that day, everything changed. Up became down. Blue became Thursday. Cowboys and spacemen living together . . . mass hysteria! And the unstoppable engine of innovation (and cash juggernaut) that was Pixar Studios rose to take its place among the animation giants . . . until it was bought by Disney and everything had to have nine sequels. But how does this, their first opus, hold up after a quarter of a century? Give a listen and pick up what we’re putting down (and then please put it back down; it’s there for a reason, thank you very much).
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Great episode!
Couple of notes: Sinclair actually came back into existence a few years ago – and they sell the dinasour banks. Also, both The Frog Prince and The Christmas Toy are on YouTube. It’s the only place you can find Frog Prince, as far as I know.
I figured “Frog Prince” would show up on YouTube, the caretaker of all we’ve forgotten, but it’s a shame that that’s the only place it lives. Sinclair rises again, huh? Well, good for them? I think we both had those dinosaur banks when we were kids.
Was it the green brontosaurus bank? I think they must have been required by law fro one in every household. Great discussion. I sort of soured on this movie over the years and the rest of the series. I don’t hate or think it’s bad it just doesn’t hold my attention all these years later. You have to give it props for what it achieved at the time. I started working in 3D software in the late 80s and a single simple image would take 24 hours to render so faults and all, this film was AMAZING at the time.
I agree. I liked the movies just fine until they became more, and more and more. The second one I think is better than the first, which is a nice change. Three was fine and a good end. Four…wasn’t BAD, it just wasn’t necessary. Thanks for chiming in, Vince!