'Toy Story': Variety critic Owen Gleiberman reveals his favorites

Owen Gleiberman reveals his favorite series from the Toy Story franchise, so far. He revealed a detailed analysis during a podcast.

Variety’s chief film critic, Owen Gleiberman, revealed in the recent episode of Daily Variety, “Toy Story 5′ is as fantastic as all the others. There’s never been a series in all of Hollywood history that is quite like that,” He continued. “People like to choose their favorite ‘Toy Story’ movie. A lot of people say ‘Toy Story 3’ is a masterpiece. I personally think the greatest ‘Toy Story’ movie is still the first one made back in 1995”.

Pixar’s pioneering CG animated series, which began in 1995, amounts to “some of the greatest movies ever made about childhood,” Gleiberman enthuses. The first “Toy Story” debuted in 1995, a landmark moment for computer-generated animation that came some 11 years before Disney acquired Pixar. In Gleiberman’s view, “Toy Story 5” is a worthy addition to the world of Buzz Lightyear, Woody, Jessie, and the gang.

Gleiberman emphasized that the five movies to date fit together as a larger piece. And he turned to a musical metaphor to underscore the depth of his appreciation for the artistry of “Toy Story.”

“Every one of these movies is amazing. They all work together. They’re greater than the sum of their parts,” he says. “That got me thinking that they’re kind of like the Beatles albums. They’re all different, and they’re all of a piece. Why choose? And to push that analogy into slightly ridiculous terrain, I thought if the original ‘Toy Story’ is ‘Meet the Beatles’ and ‘Toy Story 3’ is ‘Sgt. Pepper,’ then ‘Toy Story 5’ feels to me sort of like ‘Abbey Road.’ It’s this sublime summing up. It’s a movie that reflects the whole series, and it might just be the perfect ending.”

In Gleiberman’s role as a critic, it’s his job to question and interrogate material. But there are times when he gets to express unabashed love for a franchise that has now spanned a generation.