Sydney Symphony Orchestra produced an absolute winner last night in the opening to it’s short season of Pixar’s TOY STORY, the animated film with live orchestra.
The season celebrates a 30 year anniversary (can you believe it) since Toy Story was first released. The Orchestra featured more than 60 of their regular classical musicians alongside guest artists playing electric guitar, drums, bass and Jazz saxophone.
The audience was filled with all ages. Parents bringing their kids along (looked like 10 years and up), parents with big kids, young adults tripping down memory lane and older adults who were likely parents at the time the movie was released. You can even wear your costume. A few Woody cowboy hats were spotted in the crowd.
TOY STORY was the second highest grossing film of 1995 (behind Die Hard with a Vengeance) and is the world’s first fully computer animated feature film. It was nominated for three Academy Awards – Best Original Screenplay, Best Original Song You Got a Friend in Me by Randy Newman and Best Original Score along with receiving a non-competitive Special Achievement Academy Award.
At the time, Pixar was fully owned and run by Steve Jobs after his exit from Apple. When he first came on board in 1985, he had big ideas that couldn’t be achieved by the power of the computers of the time. However, he was always a visionary. All he needed was patience and several million dollars to hold out until the time was right. Once the idea of seeing the world from a toy’s point of view was established, a short film called Tin Toy was pitched to Walt Disney Studios in 1988 to show the potential of computer animation.
It took many years of juggling and negotiating with Disney to get the movie released. Disney directed that Pixar include adult jokes along with the children’s storyline to make it appeal to parents. This has been a winning strategy for them through many films. Now, here we are in 2025 with many generations enjoying the film all over again. You can buy popcorn, Coke and slushies from the foyer to bring into the Concert Hall for the movie.
There is nothing quite as thrilling as having such a large orchestra alongside the original recorded voice cast. It’s such a great idea and one that can be duplicated around the world with many Symphony Orchestras. Conductor Nicholas Buc has a laptop placed above the score with a click track to match for tempi.
Randy Newman’s score is diverse, ranging from easy paced Americana style to comedy to Jazz to what you’d expect from a scary horror movie. Sometimes the orchestra fits in so smoothly, you forget they are there. Other times they are completely thrilling when the live music comes to the forefront alongside the action.
The musicians were having a great time, the audience was having a great time. Everybody came away smiling.
TOY STORY with the Sydney Symphony runs every night until Saturday 19 July 2025. Yes, it’s more expensive than a Premium movie theatre but, wow, it will blow your socks off. This is far better than any other way you can view a cinema movie.
Highly recommended.
Book your tickets here: https://www.sydneysymphony.com/concerts/toy-story-in-concert#
What else is on with Sydney Symphony? https://www.sydneysymphony.com/#whatson
More about Conductor Nicholas Buc. https://www.nicholasbuc.com/
