Analysis of childrens film opening

Toy Story - Will Ritson



To begin with, the opening to Toy Story has an all round happy and warm atmosphere. One elements that relates to this are the colours in the sequence. They consist of mainly light blues, browns and yellows. These colours appear quite neutral, and unimposing, as opposed to colours such as red. This also hints at a sense of security with the toys, and that alot of fun can be had with them. In addition to this, the cloud design of the wall paper on screen adds to this, as clouds and blue sky tend to be associated with warm summer days and fun. The opposite effect would happen if the skys were grey and gloomy.

In addition to this, the non-diagetic sound, the music in particular, is very upbeat and happy. This also adds to the sense of fun and security, and adds to the films all round atmosphere. In addition to this, the words "you got a friend in me" suggest an actual friendship with the toys themselves.

The mise-en-scene within the sequence is all of toys. The "buildings" made from the boxes suggest to children waching that fun can be had with everything. In addition to this, the room has toys everywhere, and in a way, the room looks like a miniature landscape, with the blue sky wallpapers, the boxes, and the toy race track. It is almost surreal.