Happy birthday to me! I'm 24 now!
I wanna reflect on two birthday parties I had in the past.
One of which was November 2, 1996. I had turned eleven. Now, anytime before this, when I got presents for either my birthday or Christmas, the memorable present was always either a video game or a game console. Not so for my 11th. My most memorable present was something else. I don't even remember what else I got that year; all I remember was my favorite present from that birthday:
A VHS copy of Toy Story.
Remember, I don't watch movies in the theatre very often, so I hadn't seen the movie then. Also, Toy Story came out on video on October 29, four days prior to my birthday. How my parents snagged a copy of that, I don't know. (I should ask, though.)
Well anyways, I watched Toy Story for the first time right afterwards, and needless to say, I was floored. My eleven year old self had never seen CGI like that, and everything about the film gelled together so well, it was a complete experience, not just for me, but for the rest of my family. I still have that tape today, thirteen years later.
Four years after that exact date, I turned fifteen on November 2, 2000. (In the year, two thou-saaaaaaaaaand.) Guess what my best present was then, too? Toy Story 2 on VHS. Again, the film had just come out on video (on Oct. 17th, according to The Other Wiki), and yet again, my parents snagged a copy for me. And again, we watched, and we loved. I think the reason why Toy Story 2 works so well as a sequel is because it's not like a traditional movie sequel; it's more like a continuation of the original film, and I wouldn't have it any other way.
I've seen the trailer for Toy Story 3. Now granted, it's not coming out until next year, but when I saw that trailer, I felt as though, I was seeing old friends again. Woody, Buzz, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, they're like old friends I haven't seen in years, and they're friends I'm still on good terms with.
I guess Randy Newman meant it when he wrote and performed, "You Got a Friend In Me."
