Pixar's CGI Has Come a Long Way Since Toy Story

It has been almost 26 years since Disney and Pixar released Toy Story. It was a revolutionary film for its time, the first entirely computer-animated feature film as well as Pixar's first feature as well. A massive box office success, the film went on to spawn an upcoming spinoff film, multiple television series, television specials, a short film, and three sequels, the most recent of which is Toy Story 4 released in 2019. But while Toy Story remains a timeless classic, the difference in the animation between the first Toy Story and the more recent Toy Story 4 from 2019 tells a tale about just how far Pixar has come.

On Reddit, u/EmeraldTimer shared a comparison of images between the two films, one of Scud the bull terrier from the first film and Dragon the cat from the fourth and while both look great, there's a huge difference in the realism between the two animal characters. Check it out for yourself below.

CGI difference between Toy Story (1995) and Toy Story 4 (2019) from r/interestingasfuck

As you can see, Scud looks a bit more computer-generated, especially when it comes to his fur as compared to Dragon. Dragon looks quite a bit like someone took a low-quality photograph of a cat stretching in the sunlight. It's a fascinating testament to just how far Pixar has come and, in a sense offers an idea of just how much further the studio can go as techniques and technology continue to evolve. It's impressive.

It will also be interesting to see what the animation looks like by the time we get to the next story within the Toy Story franchise, Lightyear. That film, which will tell the story of the original Buzz Lightyear, the test pilot who became the beloved Space Ranger, is set to open in theaters June 17, 2022, and stars Captain America star Chris Evans as the voice of Buzz.

"At first glance, you might think, 'Well, this is a Toy Story film. Well, not so fast," Pixar head Pete Docter said when the film was announced last year. "See, back when we created the very first Toy Story, we designed Buzz Lightyear with the idea that he was a toy based on some really cool character from an epic, blockbuster film. Well, all these years later we decided it's time to make that film."

What do you think about how Pixar's CGI has come since Toy Story? Let us know in the comments.