Walt Disney Records' Legacy Collection marches on.  The next project in the series spotlights a movie of relatively more recent vintage than some of the other releases this year.  Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Toy Story will be the recipient of the 2-CD soundtrack treatment which is due out on July 10.

Who would have thought in 1995, just one year after Disney's blockbuster The Lion King that the direction of the animated studio would be forever altered by a computer-animated film about talking toys with songs written by the man who composed "Sail Away" and "Short People?"  But that is what happened upon the release of Toy Story in November, 1995.

Spun out of the computer division of Lucasfilm, Pixar Animation Studios began producing short films in the mid-1980s.  Eventually fully owned by Apple's Steve Jobs, Pixar made a deal in the early 1990s to produce feature-length films.  The first of these would be Toy Story.  It would be the first feature-length computer animated film in history.  Director John Lasseter and a team of screenwriters crafted the tale of what a child's toys are up to when the child is not around.  Starring the voices of Tom Hanks as the cowboy toy Woody and Tim Allen as the space ranger toy Buzz Lightyear, the story revolves around the group of toys accepting Buzz when their owner receives him as a gift on his birthday.

Lasseter and the team at Pixar decided that Toy Story should not be a musical like the animated films of Disney's past.  Instead, songs would be sung over the action to convey emotion.  Singer-songwriter Randy Newman was tapped to compose the score and songs.  Newman crafted an emotional and sweet score which was very different than the bitingly acerbic style of many of his most famous works.  The film's signature song, "You've Got a Friend in Me," became one of Disney's most iconic tunes.  This collaboration marked the beginning of long relationship between Newman and Pixar.  He has scored six more of their films with a seventh on the way.

Upon its release, Toy Story was greeted with much critical praise.  It was nominated for three Academy Awards and received an Academy Special Achievement Award "for the development and inspired application of techniques that have made possible the first feature-length computer-animated film."  The film also was a hit at the box office, scoring $362 million in its initial release.  This began a streak of commercial and critical hits for Pixar which continues up through today with last weekend's opening of Inside Out.  Toy Story itself would generate two sequels (with a third scheduled for 2017).  It also spawned television specials, video games, rides at Disney Parks, and, of course, toys.

The original soundtrack to Toy Story was released on November 22, 1995.  The 16-track score and song album would peak at No. 94 on the Billboard chart.  It was remastered in 2006 but featured no additional material.  For this new Legacy Collection edition, the full score is being presented for the first time.  Coming in at 51 tracks, the new CD presents the score and songs in sequential order.  The second disc adds eight of Newman's demo/instrumental versions of the songs.  The CDs will be housed in the same hardback digipak style as the rest of the Legacy Collection series.  It will also contain a 20-page booklet with liner notes by John Lasseter and Randy Newman.

It is hard to believe that it has been twenty years since Toy Story was first released.  Pixar, now a full-fledged part of the Walt Disney Company, is still going strong today.  If you would like to have a look back at where it all started, we've got order links below together with the complete tracklisting.  The release is due on July 10!

Randy Newman, The Legacy Collection - Toy Story Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (Walt Disney Records, 2015) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K.)

CD 1

1. Opening Instrumental
2. You've Got a Friend in Me Randy Newman
3. Andy's Birthday Is Today Instrumental
4. They're Alive! Instrumental
5. "Staff Meeting Everybody!" Instrumental
6. "You Too, Bo Peep" Instrumental
7. Andy's Birthday Party Instrumental
8. Code Red Instrumental
9. A Good Soldier Never Leaves a Man Behind Instrumental
10. Presents: Who Invited That Kid? Instrumental
11. Surprise Present Instrumental
12. "What Are You Doing Under the Bed?" Instrumental
13. Buzz Revealed Instrumental
14. Buzz Flies Instrumental
15. Strange Things Randy Newman
16. Woody/Bo Peep Instrumental
17. Sid Instrumental
18. Virtual Realty Instrumental
19. Woody Plots Instrumental
20. Rube Globeburg Instrumental
21. "Woody Did It!" Instrumental
22. Rescue Attempt Instrumental 
23. "Buzz, You're Alive!" Instrumental
24. Buzz and Woody Fight Instrumental
25. Buzz's Mission Instrumental
26. "It's a Spaceship, Buzz" Instrumental
27. Pizza Planet Rock Instrumental
28. "What? Hello? A Space Port!" Instrumental
29. The Claw Instrumental
30. Sid Instrumental
31. Mutant Toys Instrumental
32. Woody's Gone Instrumental
33. "Sorry Guys, Dinner's Canceled" Instrumental
34. Scud Instrumental
35. Buzz Lightyear Commercial Instrumental
36. I Will Go Sailing No More Randy Newman
37. Out the Window Instrumental
38. Sid's Toys Fix Buzz Instrumental
39. The Big One Instrumental
40. Sad Andy Instrumental
41. "Buzz, I Need Your Help" Instrumental
42. Working Together (Leads to Failure) Instrumental
43. The Rescue Pt. 1 Instrumental
44. Sid Counts Down Instrumental
45. The Rescue Pt. 2: Play Nice, Sid Instrumental
46. Chasing the Van Instrumental
47. RC to the Rescue Instrumental
48. To Infinity and Beyond Instrumental
49. Together Again and a Very Merry Christmas Instrumental
50. You've Got a Friend in Me Lyle Lovett and Randy Newman
51. End Credits Instrumental

CD 2

1. Strange Things Piano/Vocal Demo
2. Plastic Spaceman Piano/Vocal Demo
3. I Will Go Sailing No More Piano/Vocal Demo
4. Fool Piano/Vocal/Background Vocal Demo
5. You've Got a Friend in Me Instrumental Version
6. Strange Things Instrumental Version
7. I Will Go Sailing No More Instrumental Version
8. Thanking the Orchestra Spoken