TV Tuesday: Toy Story That Time Forgot (2014)

 

Toy Story That Time Forgot - 2014

Coming up on this edition of TV Tuesday, we have 2014's "Toy Story That Time Forgot", which sees Buzz, Woody, and the gang head to one of Bonnie's friend's houses for an after-Christmas playdate.

The film's voice cast includes Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, Kristen Schaal, Timothy Dalton, Kevin McKidd, and Emma Hudak.

After Christmas, Bonnie is busy playing with her toys.  She has an active imagination, and she casts her toys as characters that are quite different from what they really are.  Trixie has hopes that one day she'll get to be an actual dinosaur in one of Bonnie's adventures.

It looks like her dreams are about to comet true, until Bonnie chooses some sort of Angel Kitty for the role of dinosaur.  Trixie is relegated to the role of reindeer.  Needless to say, Trixie is very disappointed.

Bonnie is invited on a playdate at her friend Mason's house.  She takes some of her toys with her, including the Angel Kitty, who says little maxims like "Limitations are the shackles we bind to ourselves".

While Bonnie and Mason are occupied with a new video game console, the toys are left in Mason's seemingly deserted playroom.

However, it is not deserted.  The room has been overtaken by Mason's new "battlesaurs", which he got for Christmas.  They have never been played with and don't know they are toys.

The leader of these "battlesaurs" is a guy named Reptillus Maximus.  He takes quite a shine to Trixie and pronounces her very different from the females in his tribe.

We cut to a closeup of one of these tribal females, who lets out a terrifying scream.

The battlesaurs are led by a scary guy known as "The Cleric", who wants to keep a tight rein on his forces.  He kidnaps Woody and Buzz when Trixie is not looking.

Trixie is so excited to finally be playing a dinosaur.  The battlesaurs deck her out in the latest military wear for dinosaurs.

Rex is overjoyed, too.  He gets a pair of fancy new arms, and he ecstatically flexes his new "muscles" for the battlesaurs.

Reptillus takes Trixie to his home and lets her survey the area from that vantage point.  She is dually impressed when the battlesaurs burst into a theme song.

Trixie talks with Reptillus about what it means to be a toy.  However, an alarm sounds before they can finish their conversation.

A terrible battle is waged at an arena, with The Cleric making sure that the other toys in Mason's collection are terrorized as a horrified Trixie watches.

Eventually, Buzz and Woody are brought in to fight against Reptillus.  Trixie tries her best to defend them.

The Cleric has them do battle against a beast known as the "Goliathon".  Buzz and Woody have quite a time trying to evade its jaws.

Bonnie knows that the only way she can save her friends is if she can somehow get Bonnie and Mason away from the video games.  She gives an impassioned speech to Reptillus about the joys of being part of a child's imagination.  He helps her to shut the video gaming system off.

Bonnie and Mason go to the playroom, where everybody has a great time playing together.  Reptillus deems the event "glorious".

After Bonnie and the toys return to their house, Trixie tells everyone that she likes being Bonnie's dinosaur, because that means she can be whatever Bonnie dreams up for her to be.

Cast rundown:

   Tom Hanks...........................................Woody

   Tim Allen..............................................Buzz Lightyear

   Joan Cusack.........................................Jessie

   Wallace Shawn......................................Rex

   Don Rickles..........................................Mr. Potato Head

   Kristen Schaal.......................................Trixie

   Timothy Dalton.....................................Mr. Pricklepants

   Kevin McKidd........................................Reptillus Maximus

   Emma Hudak........................................Angel Kitty

And that's it for Toy Story That Time Forgot.  It was originally conceived as a six-minute short film.  However, producer John Lasseter liked the idea so much that he decided to expand on it and make it into a holiday special.  It took three years to make.

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The Santa Clause (1994)

 

The Santa Clause - 1994

Coming up next is 1994's Christmas classic "The Santa Clause", which sees an ordinary man become Santa Claus after he knocks the Christmas icon off of his roof and dons the suit and jacket.

The film's cast includes Tim Allen, Wendy Crewson, Judge Reinhold, Eric Lloyd, David Krumholtz, Mary Gross, Peter Boyle, Jayne Eastwood, and Judith Scott.

Single dad Scott Calvin is a bit out of his element this Christmas.  His son Charlie is spending Christmas Eve with him, and the two haven't really been connecting as of late.

Matters aren't helped when Scott burns the Christmas Eve dinner and the two of them have to eat their holiday meal at local restaurant Denny's, an American institution.

Later that night, things take a drastic turn when Scott and Charlie hear a noise on the roof.  Upon investigation, Scott sees a man prowling around.  He calls out, startling the man, which causes him to come crashing down into the snow below.

Looking for some identification, Scott comes across a business card which says the man is Santa Claus.  It also comes with some instructions.

Charlie and Scott find a bunch of reindeer and a sleigh on their roof, and Scott is at a loss to come up with an explanation for all of this.

Before he knows it, the sleigh is off and sailing through the night.  There are packages to deliver after all.

Wanting to make Charlie happy, Scott puts on the suit and delivers the goodies in Santa's bag.  Naturally, he's a bit unhappy about being stuffed down a chimney time and time again.

When the last toy is delivered, Scott and Charlie find themselves at the North Pole and they enter Santa's workshop.  They marvel at all the things they see.

They meet head elf Bernard, who shows Scott the fine print on Santa's business card.  Since he put on the hat and jacket, he's now Santa himself.  Scott does not want to be Santa.  He keeps thinking that all of this is just a bad dream.

Bernard tells Scott he's got eleven months to get his affairs in order so that he can return to the North Pole at Thanksgiving.  Scott has a lot of trouble believing this is all really happening.

Christmas morning arrives, and Scott awakens to find himself wearing the pajamas that he was given at the North Pole.  Charlie is firmly convinced that everything is real.  Scott's ex-wife Laura is a little annoyed.

As time goes by, things start happening to Scott.  Reindeer begin following him for no reason, he puts on a ton of weight, and kids line up to sit on his lap to tell him their Christmas wishes.

Laura and her husband Neil cannot get over the change they see in Scott.  Neil even recommends that Scott get professional help from a therapist.

As Christmas approaches, head elf Bernard has the naughty and nice list delivered to Scott's house.  Scott is a bit overwhelmed when he sees just how long the list is.

Because of the changes with Scott, Laura has his visitation rights suspended.  Charlie gets Scott to believe that he is actually Santa and spends Christmas Eve with him at the North Pole.  Laura and Scott frantically try to locate Charlie, and they even get a massive police search and manhunt started.

Scott brings Charlie home.  Laura and Neil are shocked to discover that Scott is actually Santa Claus.  Laura gets rid of the custody papers and tells Scott that she wants him to see Charlie just as often as possible.

Charlie goes with Scott on one last ride for the night high above the city lights.

Cast rundown:

   Tim Allen......................................Scott Calvin

   Wendy Crewson.............................Laura Miller

   Judge Reinhold..............................Dr. Neil Miller

   Eric Lloyd......................................Charlie Calvin

   David Krumholtz............................Bernard

   Mary Gross...................................Miss Daniels

   Peter Boyle...................................Mr. Whittle

   Jayne Eastwood.............................Judy The Waitress

   Judith Scott...................................Susan Perry

And that's it for The Santa Clause.  Initially, Chevy Chase and Bill Murray were offered the role of Scott Calvin, but both declined.  Other actors who were considered included Tom Hanks, Tom Selleck, and Mel Gibson.  Personally, I can't see anyone other than Tim Allen in the role.  This film performed exceptionally well at the box-office and launched two successful sequels.

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