| Toys To Life | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Tom Owens |
| Produced by |
Teresa Cheng Chris Jenkins |
| Screenplay by | Frank E. Flowers |
| Story by |
Tom Owens Frank E. Flowers Irene Mecchi |
| Starring |
Jimmy Fallon Claire Crosby Warwick Davis Idina Menzel Catherine O'Hara James Corden Christopher Lloyd Will Arnett Jenny Slate |
| Music by | John Powell |
| Edited by | Andy Keir |
| Production company |
HumboldtMation |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Release date | January 25, 2019 |
| Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $71--75 million |
| Box office | $710 million |
Toys to Life is a 2019 American animated comedy film directed by Tom Owens in his directorial debut from a screenplay by Frank E. Flowers, and a story written by Jenkins, Flowers, and Irene Mecchi. Produced by HumboldtMation as its first feature-length film, the film features the voices of Jimmy Fallon, Claire Crosby, Warwick Davis, Idina Menzel, Catherine O'Hara, James Corden, Christopher Lloyd, Will Arnett, and Jenny Slate. Set in a world inhabited by anthropomorphic toys, the story centers on a museum tour guide who searches for the long lost "Lamp of Amazement" to save the museum from closure. However, he has two problems: The supposed "giant lava lamp" turns out to be small, and accompanying him is an orphaned girl who wishes to find a new parent.
Toys To Life was released across the United States on January 25, 2019 by Warner Bros. Pictures. It became a critical and commercial success, grossing over $710 million worldwide. Toys To Life was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. It started the Toys to Life franchise with three sequels, Toys to Life 2, Toys To Life 3, and Toys To Life 4, on October 6, 2023, May 7, 2027, and August 3, 2035, and a spin-off prequel, Toys To Life: Murray's Beginnings, on August 3, 2029.
Plot[]
In Toytown, a small town inhabited by anthropomorphic talking toys, a blue snowboarder toy named Murray Playskool is a tour guide at the Toytown Museum, who works with its owner, an elderly old man toy named Mr. Rutherford and his co-workers and friends: Ian the lion, Tina the train, Ouch the giant pillow penguin, and Robone the robot dog. Anji the Christmas ornament and her students are the only regular visitors. In a far-away toy orphanage, an orphaned 5-year-old toy girl named RaeLynn grows weary of living in the orphanage without a parent to be adopted, loved, and cared for by, and sets out on a journey to find one.
One day, Murray learns from Rutherford that the museum might shut down due to declining in popularity. Saanvi, a selfish Bionicle toy, plots to turn the museum into a bicycle parking storage the next week. Saanvi suggests Murray retire, but he concocts an idea to bring in the Lava Lamp of Amazement, which he hopes will attract customers and save the museum from foreclosure. While Mr. Rutherford is delighted, as he had been searching for it years ago, Saanvi agrees to give him a whole week to do so on the condition that shall he fail, the museum will be torn down. With the week to spare, Murray travels to a toy forest and finds the Lava Lamp of Amazement, but it turns out to be small. A despairing Murray sends a photograph of the Lava Lamp of Amuzement, but the photograph's angle leads Rutherford to believe it is larger than he thought. Murray returns to Toytown with the small Lava Lamp of Amazement. RaeLynn, not wanting to be alone in the orphanage and having met Murray during his journey, follows him in hopes of being adopted.
Back in Toytown, Murray finds advertisements for the lava lamp all over the place. In Murray's apartment building, RaeLynn explores around the apartment, eventually making her way to the penthouse, where she paints the walls of Murray's neighbor, Mrs. Natasha, with paint. When the doorman, Vygo, discovers RaeLynn, he evicts Murray, due to children being strictly prohibited from the apartment. At the museum, Murray reveals the lava lamp's size to Mr. Rutherford. Saanvi gathers the crowd for questions when Toytown will see the lamp. Murray is reluctant to answer, believing everyone seeing the lava lamp's small size would jeopardize the museum's future and his career. He is kicked out by Saanvi after Rebecca accidentally destroys a huge cardboard Argentinosaurus skeleton by climbing on it.
When Murray and RaeLynn are forced to sleep outside, RaeLynn optimistically assures Murray that they can solve the Lava Lamp of Amusement's size issue, and he reluctantly agrees to let her help him. The next day, Murray decides to take the lava lamp to his friend Mad, an inventor, to find a way to make the lava lamp bigger. However, RaeLynn sees a playground and decides to go there to make friends with other kids. Murray and the gang follow her into the playground, finding her playing with the kids from Anji's class, who are there for a field trip. RaeLynn floats away on helium balloons that are popped by bird control spikes, but Murray uses some balloons and a kite to float after her come to her rescue. As they fly over Toytown using Murray's kite, Murray begins to bond with the girl.
Murray and RaeLynn meet up with Mad and the group at his apartment. RaeLynn discovers that an overhead projector makes the lava lamp appear 25 feet tall. Murray, RaeLynn and his friends drive to take the projector to the museum. At the museum, they use the projector to make the lava lamp appear the right size to show Saanvi and Mr. Rutherford. Though Saanvi tries to convince Mr. Rutherford that this would fool the public, Mr. Rutherford is oblivious, seeing this as the only way to save the museum. When RaeLynn takes Saanvi's drink of latte, she accidentally spills some latte on the projector, causing it to explode. With his plan derailed, Murray sadly addresses the crowd outside, saying the museum is to close forever, and revealing the lamp's small size to the crowd. Disappointed that the lava lamp isn't as big as they hoped, the toys leave. Because RaeLynn caused him to lose everything, Murray disowns her and allows Ms. Meg (who he called the night before) to retrieve and take her back to the orphanage, believing it to be for the best.
Alone, Murray is constantly reminded of his fun with RaeLynn. Murray talks with Anji, who helps him understand what is more important in life than the museum. Regretting his decision to let RaeLynn be taken back to the orphanage, Murray races after RaeLynn. He approaches a huge cargo aircraft headed for the orphanage which RaeLynn has been stored in. Murray sneaks onto the plane just before it takes off. Murray sets RaeLynn free, explains to her that nothing (including the museum's closure) matters besides the two of them, and accepts her as his daughter. RaeLynn discovers that the small lava lamp reveals a pitcogram when turned to sunlight. The two realize the inscription: when held up to the sun, the small lava lamp is actually a map to the real lava lamp. Murray and Raelynn head back to the forest and finally find the real Lava Lamp of Amusement.
The real Lava Lamp of Amazement is finally put in the museum, which goes back in business and becomes more successful than ever, and a new kids' zone is opened, frequently funded by Murray, RaeLynn, his friends, Mad, and his inventions. Saanvi gets a job as a bike valet, and, despite being distraught over not getting his bike storage, finds joy in Mr. Rutherford finally being proud of him. Vygo also allows Murray to move back into his apartment out of a new fondness for RaeLynn. The toys praise Murray and RaeLynn (now father and daughter) as heroes, and Mr. Rutherford decrees the museum is to permanently stay open.
Cast[]
- Jimmy Fallon as Murray Playskool, a blue snowboarder action figure and a museum tour guide.
- Claire Crosby as RaeLynn, a young girl who Murray has to adopt.
- Christopher Lloyd as Mr. Rutherford, the elderly owner of the Toytown Museum.
- Will Arnett as Saanvi, a Bionicle toy who intends to replace the museum with a bicycle parking storage.
- Warwick Davis as Ian, a toy lion and one of Murray's friends.
- Idina Menzel as Tina, a toy train and one of Murray's friends.
- Catherine O'Hara as Ouch, a pillow-sized toy penguin resembling a Dachshund who is one of Murray's friends.
- James Corden as Robone, a robotic dog and one of Murray's friends.
- Chris Jenkins as The Fishies:
- Yellow
- Red
- Blue
- Green
- Brooklynn Prince and Ana Ortiz as Little Spence and Mamo, a dump truck mother and daughter duo who are friends of Murray.
- Sarah Vowell as Mousey, a 2-inch-tall elephant toy and Little Spence's best friend.
- Jenny Slate as Anji, a Christmas ornament who is a teacher and Murray's love interest.
- Bill Hader as Mad, a genius inventor and John's friend.
- Michael K. Williams as Vygo, an often hot-tempered doorman who dislikes children and strictly enforces the apartment's "no children allowed" policy and suspects Murray of having one with him.
- Jodie Whittaker as Ms Meg, the owner of the orphanage where RaeLynn grows tired of living in.
- Estelle Harris as Mrs. Natasha, Murray's wealthy neighbor whose walls are painted by RaeLynn. This was Harris' last animated feature before her death in 2022.
Reception[]
Box office[]
Toys To Life opened on January 25, 2019 in the United States and was projected to gross anywhere around $40--45 million in its opening weekend. After earning $180 million in its opening weekend, the film has grossed $231 million in North America and $479 million internationally, for a total of $710 million worldwide, against a production budget of $71--75 million.
Critical response[]
Toys To Life received near-universal acclaim from film critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 94% approval rating based on 239 reviews. The consensus reads, "With an all-star voice cast, a well-though-out narrative, spectacularly-crafted animation that's a feast for the eyes, Toys To Life is something deserving of a successful animated debut of HumboldtMation". On Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, the film has a score of 81 out of 100 based on 30 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film a grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.