Live Action Toy Story Explained

Director:
  • Jonason Pauley
  • Jesse Perrotta (assistant director)
Music:Randy Newman
Editing:Jonason Pauley
Cinematography:Jonason Pauley
Distributor:JP and Beyond
Runtime:80 minutes
Country:United States
Language:English
Budget:$1,000

Live Action Toy Story is a fan film produced by the Arizona-based Jonason Pauley and Jesse Perrotta. It is an unofficial recreation of the 1995 animated film Toy Story, with the toy characters animated through stop-motion or filmed moving with wires and strings.[1]

Production

Pauley and Perrotta began the project after the two viewed Toy Story 3 (2010), originally planning for one clip of Toy Story (1995) to be recreated, but later decided the entire film should be done.[2]

The majority of Live Action Toy Storys approximately $1,000 budget depended on loans from around 150 family members and friends from their church, some of whom also served as actors in the film.[2]

Pauley's home served as the location for both Andy and Sid's rooms.[2] Three places, two arcades in Mesa and Oregon and a Tempe Peter Piper Pizza restaurant, were the locations for Pizza Planet.[2]

Live Action Toy Story was shot over the course of two years, with editing done during filming. The first six months of shooting concentrated on scenes that took place in Andy's room.[1] More scenes were filmed in 2011 around the home and on the streets, with backgrounds of homes shot in neighborhoods close to the creators.[1]

Live Action Toy Storys accuracy to the original film was extensive to the point where the license plate text was the same.[1] Although toys of the main characters were already in possession of the two, other toys had to be purchased or created. Sid's toys were produced from parts of products purchased at a Goodwill store.[2] The bull-terrier dog was hired from Craigslist.[1] A challenge when scouting locations in Arizona was making the settings look similar to typical California suburbs,[1] including outdoor scenes.[2]

Reception

To drive interest in the project, the production process was documented on the film's Facebook page, and behind-the-scenes videos, plus a live-action recreation of the ending of Toy Story 3, were uploaded to YouTube.

In September 2011, Gizmodo published an article covering a sneak peek of the project uploaded to JP and Beyond.[3]

The Toy Story 3 ending remake was covered by New York magazine's Vulture blog[4] and the Pixar Times upon its May 2012 upload.[5] Upon the trailer's August 2012 release, the two filmmakers were interviewed about the project on Right This Minute.[6]

Upon its 2013 upload, Live Action Toy Story was covered by Boys' Life,[7] The Verge,[8] Collider,[9] NBC News,[10] Slate,[11] Laughing Squid,[12] MTV News,[13] The Huffington Post,[14] Gothamist,[15] Wired,[16] CNET,[17] Vulture,[18] NME,[19] and The Hollywood Reporter which claimed it to be "a crown jewel in the fan-made tribute video community."[20] It garnered more than 250,000 views in 24 hours[17] and reached 1.7 million views within two days[1] before surpassing the three million mark on its third day.[21] Two weeks after its upload, the video had more than eight million views.[22] It was tweeted about by Lee Unkrich on the day it was uploaded, describing it as done by a "VERY dedicated" team.[23] As Fast Company journalist Joe Berkowitz described the film's appeal, "Although the strings controlling Woody and Buzz Lightyear may be visible in nearly every frame, you can also see the creators’ giddy affection for the source material, and for the craft of filmmaking in general."[24]

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: McLaughlin. Erin. January 14, 2013. 'Toy Story' Gets Live-Action Treatment. ABC News. October 6, 2020.
  2. Web site: Peirano . Michelle . October 31, 2012 . A real 'Toy Story': EV friends recreate flick shot-for-shot, in live action . October 6, 2020 . East Valley Tribune.
  3. Web site: Chan. Casey. September 28, 2011. What Toy Story Would Look Like If They Filmed with Real Toys. Gizmodo. October 6, 2020.
  4. Web site: Glazer. Eliot. May 8, 2012. Watch Live-Action Reenactments of Scenes From Aladdin and Toy Story 3. Vulture. October 6, 2020.
  5. Web site: Rizvi. Samad. May 3, 2012. Video of the Day: 'Toy Story 3' Finale In Live-Action. Pixar Times. October 6, 2020.
  6. Web site: Live Action Re-Creation of Toy Story. August 10, 2012. Right This Minute. October 6, 2020.
  7. Web site: Watch This: Live-Action Toy Story. Boys' Life. January 14, 2013. October 6, 2020. September 26, 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150926123908/http://headsup.boyslife.org/live-action-toy-story/. dead.
  8. Web site: Pierce. David. January 13, 2013. Watch this: an incredible shot-for-shot, live-action 'Toy Story' remake. The Verge. October 6, 2020.
  9. Web site: Goldberg. Matt. January 14, 2013. Watch a Fan-Made, Full-Length, Live-Action Remake of TOY STORY. Collider. October 6, 2020.
  10. Web site: Dawn. Randee. January 14, 2013. 'Toy Story' live-action remake goes viral. NBC News. October 6, 2020.
  11. Web site: Haglund. David. January 14, 2013. Watch a Full-Length, Live-Action Toy Story. Slate. October 6, 2020.
  12. Web site: Blazenhoff. Rusty. January 13, 2013. Live Action Toy Story, A Shot-for-Shot Remake Using Actors & Toys. Laughing Squid. October 6, 2020.
  13. Web site: Hatfield. Don. January 14, 2013. Fans Create Full-Length, Live-Action 'Toy Story' Remake Using Actual Toys!. MTV News. October 6, 2020.
  14. Web site: Lee Yandoli. Krystie. January 14, 2013. 'Toy Story' Remake: Teens Film Feature-Length Live Version Of Pixar Classic (VIDEO). The Huffington Post. October 6, 2020.
  15. Web site: Yakas. Ben. January 13, 2013. Video: Watch A Live Action Shot-For-Shot Recreation Of Toy Story. Gothamist. October 6, 2020.
  16. Gigoux. Chris. January 13, 2013. Shot-for-Shot Live Action Toy Story Is Awesomely Cute. Wired. October 6, 2020.
  17. Web site: Musil. Steven. January 13, 2013. Amateur filmmakers remake 'Toy Story' as live-action movie. CNET. October 6, 2020.
  18. Web site: David Fox. Jesse. January 14, 2013. Watch a Live-Action, Shot-for-Shot Toy Story Remake. Vulture. October 6, 2020.
  19. Web site: Levine. Nick. January 15, 2013. 'Toy Story' gets a live-action remake using real toys – watch. NME. October 6, 2020.
  20. Web site: Zakarin. Jordan. January 14, 2013. Live-Action 'Toy Story' Remake Uses Strings and Stop Motion to Make Movie Magic (Video). The Hollywood Reporter. October 6, 2020.
  21. Web site: Ciarula Taylor. Lesley. January 15, 2013. Live action Toy Story by Arizona teen a viral hit. Toronto Star. October 6, 2020.
  22. Web site: Friends create buzz with live action 'Toy Story'. NAU News. February 13, 2013. October 6, 2020.
  23. leeunkrich. 290666069042032640. January 13, 2013. Live action Toy Story (re)made by some VERY dedicated guys: http://youtube.com/watch?v=5G0j_Huv2Fg&sns=tw @RealiveToyStory. October 6, 2020.
  24. Web site: Berkowitz. Joe. January 17, 2013. Meet the Creator: The 19-Year-Old Behind That Shot-for-Shot Live-Action "Toy Story". Fast Company. October 6, 2020.