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Toy Story
A Critical Reading
Series: BFI Film Classics
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Toy Story
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?
Ideal for readers interested in film studies, animation history, and cultural critiques, particularly those intrigued by the evolution of animated cinema and the intersection of pop culture and art.
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See moreThe first computer-generated animated feature film, Toy Story (1995) sustains a dynamic vitality that appeals to audiences of all ages. This lively study explores how its depiction of a glimmering commercial world both deconstructs and affirms modern popular culture and in doing so provides a distinctive alternative to the usual Disney formula.
I've read plenty of the BFI's excellent Film Classic series, but Tom Kemper's take on Toy Story is up there among the very best.' - The Crack Magazine 'One of the many praiseworthy things about the BFI's Film Classics series is that it has not shafted animation...Toy Story inspired so many [animated films] as to be genre-defining, so it is often easy to lose sight of what made the film stand out on its first release twenty years ago. With Toy Story: A Critical Reading, Kemper has given the film the in-depth analysis it deserves.' - Cartoon Brew 'A masterpiece of film criticism' - Toronto Film Review 'Tom Kemper's new critical monograph on Toy Story stands out from its fellows in the British Film Institute's Film Classics series not only in its choice of subject - a beloved and massively successful children's film, as opposed to the established classics or "cutting-edge" modern films typically featured in the series - but in the sophistication and persuasiveness of its argument. Kemper offers a wealth of insight on this foundational film in the Pixar canon, contextualizes it within the history of animated films and the pictorial arts, and highlights the film's surrealist touches. Most importantly, it accomplishes what any good single-film monograph should do: make you want to go out and watch (or re-watch) the film immediately.' - David Davison, Toronto International Film Festival
Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and
still learning, it may not be perfect - your
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Description
The first computer-generated animated feature film, Toy Story (1995) sustains a dynamic vitality that proved instantly appealing to audiences of all ages. Like the great Pop Artists, Pixar Studios affirmed the energy of modern commercial popular culture and, in doing so, created a distinctive alternative to the usual Disney formula.
Tom Kemper traces the film's genesis, production history and reception to demonstrate how its postmodern mishmash of pop culture icons and references represented a fascinating departure from Disney's fine arts style and fairy-tale naturalism. By foregrounding the way in which Toy Story flipped the conventional relationship between films and their ancillary merchandising by taking consumer products as its very subject, Kemper provides an illuminating, revisionist exploration of this groundbreaking classic.
Series: BFI Film Classics
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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?
Praised as one of the very best in the BFI's Film Classic series, Kemper’s analysis offers a sophisticated, insightful critique that contextualises Toy Story within animation history and the pictorial arts. Reviews highlight its deep exploration of the film’s genre-defining influence and surrealist touches, appealing to both animation fans and film scholars.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9781844576678
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 15 May 2015
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: BFI Publishing
Illustration: Contains halftones
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 10.0mm
Width: 134.0mm
Height: 188.0mm
Weight: 132g
Pages: 112
About the Author
Tom Kemper is Lecturer at the School of Cinematic Arts, University of Southern California and Teacher at the Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences, USA. He is the author of Hidden Talent: The Emergence of Hollywood Agents (2009).
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