How Toy Story Changes The Way We Think

Toy Story is a 1995 American computer-animated film which was the first fully animated film using CGI. It was a story about Andy and his toys which to our surprise, are just like you and me, able to talk, walk and love. In another word, being alive. Most of us have been brought up in an environment which treat toys as just a plaything, another lifeless object which doesn’t really relate that much to adult.

Toy Story

So are they really as lifeless as we allow ourselves to believe? To answer that let us ponder upon another question. Why do we need toys in the first place?

Adults play an important part in the development of our child’s human interactive skills but unfortunately, we are not able to provide the undivided attention our child needs. Toys were used as a convenient substitute for children to learn this interactive skill in place of adults. I bet most of us have talked with our teddy bear or toy soldier before. We even developed such a strong feeling that we even called some of them as our best buddy. So to a child, their toy is very much alive just like you and me.

Child' Play, Chucky

My first toy related movie was about a murderous doll called Chucky. Child’s Play is a horror movie about a serial killer who is also a practitioner of voodoo. During one of his runs in with the authority, he was shot and mortally wounded. He took cover inside a toy store and uses a voodoo ritual to transfer his soul to a doll before his body expired. This doll was later given to… surprise surprise… a boy named Andy. It was one of the most shocking and frightening movies that I ever watched as a kid. It is a scary thought to think that the toy that you are playing with could very well be a psychopathic killer!

So are they really as lifeless as we allow ourselves to believe? In Shinto, we believe that spirits or gods exist in each and every object in the world. That will very much include the toy. On the other hand, did we not said that an artist always express themselves through their work? Mona Lisa was known as a great piece which mirrored the thought and heart of Leonardo da Vinci. Some said that it’s a reflection of his soul. The exact same thing would be true to a toy. The designer/sculptor pours his/her life and effort into it so that it is an extension of his/her soul.

So next time before you go to bed, imagine what your figure/toys might be doing while you are sleeping. What is that Pikachu doing inside the display cabinet? What about the Alien who has been sulking on that corner? Will my Predator goes on a killing rampage? Are they going to throw a party with my absent?

Well who knows? They might embark on an adventure which will lead them to affinity and beyond! So tug in tight and sweet dreams! =D