Toy Story at Twenty: To infinity and beyond!

Toy Story / A great story with great characters.

With the release of The Good Dinosaur over Thanksgiving weekend, it's hard to believe that it's been 20 years since the debut of Toy Story, the memorable tale of a group of toys that come to life which was the first feature-length computer-animated film and the first theatrical film produced by Pixar.

At San Francisco International Airport, I recently happened upon SFO Museum's newest curated exhibition, "Toy Story at Twenty," which tells the story behind the story of this wonderful buddy-comedy adventure film through a variety of artifacts -- early sketches, toys and sculptures of the unforgettable characters Woody, a pull-string cowboy doll, and Buzz Lightyear, an astronaut figure -- as well as sharing backstories from many of the principals at Pixar such as director John Lasseter, producer Ralph Guggenheim, and story co-creator Andrew Stanton, who were involved in the production that forever changed the landscape of feature animation.

Toy Story / A buddy movie where the buddies are toys.

"It'll be a buddy movie: a banter-laden tale of a bitter alliance blossoming into a true friendship," said Toy Story director John Lasseter, as quoted in the exhibition. "It'll have a few unusual twists. First, the buddies will be toys. And second, it will be the first time an entire movie will have been created using computer animation."

According to Toy Story producer Ralph Guggenheim, "Nobody knew what skills we'd need when we started. It was a completely new series of combinations that had to add up to more than the sum of its parts." Added story supervisor Joe Ranft, "If the story isn't there, all the breakthrough computer graphics in the world piled onto it won't matter. You'll have made a piece of passing fashion."

Fortunately, the vivid, entertaining and moving story was there and it resonated with its audience. The iconic and timeless Toy Story had its theatrical debut on November 22, 1995, and went on to earn over $361 million worldwide.

Toy Story / An early sketch image of Woody.

The voices Woody and Buzz Lightyear are familiar ones belonging to actors Tom Hanks and Tim Allen.

"Getting a line reading from Tom Hanks is like getting this big, incredibly wet sponge," remembered animator Glenn McQueen. "It's overflowing with different possibilities for you to wring out." Meanwhile, as John Lasseter described it, "Casting Tim Allen to voice Buzz gave us that quality we wanted of a macho guy with a soft underbelly. Tim's perfect at doing an everyday guy."

Toy Story story co-creator Andrew Stanton said: "We never thought Woody and Buzz's repartee would hold the spotlight in and of itself. But once they were animated, suddenly the chemistry between them was the highlight of the movie."

Toy Story / A prototype of Buzz Lightyear.

The film received three Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song for "You've Got a Friend in Me" written and performed by Randy Newman. It won a Special Achievement Academy Award.

"Randy (Newman) turned out to be a great help to us when we needed a lot of emotion told to the audience, and accepted by the audience in a short amount of time," said Andrew Stanton.

"'You've Got a Friend in Me' speaks volumes about the love between Andy and Woody, better than we ever could tell it in dialogue. The way you feel it at the end of the song, we would have needed two more sequences without a song to get that point across."

Peter Schneider, president of Walt Disney Feature Animation, summed it up best: "At the end of the day, it's not the technique that the audience cares about; it's a great story, a visual feast, and great characters. They want to be taken on an emotional journey they've never been on before."

"Toy Story at Twenty" opened last week and it's on continuous display daily through May 22, 2016, for free, pre-security, in the SFO International Terminal main hall departures lobby. It is accessible to all airport visitors, and I highly recommend it.

To infinity and beyond!

Images: Courtesy of Pixar and Toy Story at Twenty.

Art for travelers: From traditional to whimsical

Whimsical art / This guardian dog is among
 the most popular Japanese folk toys.

OK, I'll admit it. Over the last decade, post 9/11, flying has lost a lot of its glamor and lustre for me. It's a tiring exercise to jet from one city to another no matter the season of the year. First, there's dealing with long queue lines to check bags and clear security. Then, there's more queue lines when it's time to actually board the airplane. These days, there's nary an empty seat to be found on most flights let alone a free snack.

Given the choice, I much prefer flying out of the remodeled Oakland International Airport than from the older and more expansive San Francisco International Airport (SFO). After all, it's closer to my home, and because it's easier to navigate Oakland's terminals, it's a less stressful setting for me. Unfortunately, when it comes to flying to Minneapolis -- which I do yearly -- I'm forced to fly out of SFO.

Last week, my wife and I traveled to Minnesota for the Thanksgiving holiday, which meant flying from SFO. We allowed ourselves ample time to drive across the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Francisco and reached the airport about 90 minutes before boarding our United Airlines flight to the Twin Cities. With time as our ally, it gave us a chance to see and experience a variety of public art on display at the airport, something we usually don't have time to acknowledge or enjoy. Public art is becoming more commonplace among larger metropolitan airports across the U.S. and internationally, too. And, I'm happy to say that it not only brightened my day, it put me in the right mood for flying across the country.

Fostering an environment that is as entertaining as it is educational, San Francisco International Airport's public art program offers travelers -- and residents who visit SFO -- a chance to see a variety of paintings, sculptures, mosaics and environmental works representing a diversity of styles and full of vibrant colors.

At SFO, there's a permanent aviation museum and library that provide opportunities for learning about the development of commercial aviation and the role it plays in our lives. Also, there are fine arts photography galleries dedicated throughout the airport which enable visitors to understand the critical role of the city of San Francisco in the origins, development and evolution of photography as a fine art and means of expression. Student art exhibits and kids' art spots are also featured and included in various locations within SFO.

Visual arts humanize the airport environment and make it a much friendlier atmosphere. At SFO, the installation of art exhibits takes advantage of many wide open spaces. The works of art on display at SFO -- there are more than twenty galleries through the various airport terminals -- are curated through the auspices of the SFO Museum and the San Francisco Arts Commission. In 1999, SFO Museum became the first airport exhibitions program to receive accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums. Today, it is a widely imitated model for other museums that operate in public spaces.

A rotating schedule of art, history, science and cultural exhibitions can be seen and appreciated when visiting or passing through SFO. Now through next April, travelers venturing through Terminal 3 (departures level, post-security) will be delighted with a feast for both their eyes and their imagination with Japanese Toys! From Kokeshi to Kaiju. 

It is because I had arrived at SFO early to avoid being hurried for my flight that I was able to enjoy the Japanese Toys! From Kokeshi to Kaiju exhibition and to learn from it. Visually, the exhibit's toys and movie posters were full of bright colors and filled with whimsy. Vinyl kaiju figures, Ultraman novelties, Godzilla movie posters and a dress made entirely from plush Hello Kitty dolls are among the many items on display in the exhibition. From this enjoyable experience I got to see firsthand the remarkable evolution of Japanese toys.

Who says you can't fly and explore?

Photograph of Japanese guardian dog sculpture by Michael Dickens, copyright 2013.