People are comparing Pixar's digital Toy Story with a scan of the original 35mm film, and they're stunned by what they found
Entertainment Film & Video Movies & TV Shows People are comparing Pixar's digital Toy Story with a scan of the original 35mm film, and they're stunned by what they found News By Joe Foley Published 14 July 2026 Does Pixar's digital version of Toy Story "look wrong" to you? When you purchase through…
Entertainment Film & Video Movies & TV Shows People are comparing Pixar's digital Toy Story with a scan of the original 35mm film, and they're stunned by what they found News By Joe Foley Published 14 July 2026 Does Pixar's digital version of Toy Story "look wrong" to you? When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works. (Image credit: Pixar) Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Pinterest Flipboard Email Share this article 1 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter There's been a lot of debate lately about what's the best way – or even the right way – to watch a movie. Aspect ratio is one bone of contention, as demonstrated by the controversy over The Odyssey trailer. 35mm film vs digital remasters is another.It seems that even Toy Story can't escape the latter dispute. As Toy Story 5 passes the $800 million milestone to become already the ninth highest-grossing Pixar movie, social media is engrossed in a debate over how the original movie is supposed to look. The Pixar rules of storytelling might be timeless, but what's the best way to enjoy them? Woah this is a hauntingly gorgeous render pic.twitter.com/GqMnazVZz8June 25, 2026Toy Story was a revolution when it arrived in cinemas just over 30 years ago as the first CG 3D animated movie. It introduced a new process and aesthetic that would come to dominate the industry and define the direction of mainstream animation up to the present day.Latest Videos FromWatch full video here: But although Pixar made Toy Story digitally, the movie couldn't be shown as pixels in cinemas back in 1995. Every frame from the world's first feature-length 3D digital animation would have to be printed onto traditional analog 35mm film – a process that took many, many hours of work.Pixar knew that the movie shown in cinemas would look different to how it looked on a digital monitor, so it graded Toy Story accordingly. The digital colours were chosen based on how they would change after printing. The aim was to get the best look on 35mm film. You may like A rare glimpse into how this iconic Toy Story scene came to life from the original storyboards Pixar's ASMR Toy Story throwback is the most satisfying thing you'll see (and hear) today Toy Story meets Fantastic Four as Marvel celebrates 40 years of Pixar In an interview with Cinefantastique magazine at the time, art director Ralph Eggleston commented on the challenges this involved. “Blues have to be less saturated to look fully saturated on film, while the oranges look really bad on computer screens, but look really great on film,” he said, also noting that greens would "go dark really fast" on film.The 35mm Toy Story was later also used as the source for VHS copies for home video. But within a few years later, digital technology had advanced. Today, films are screened digitally in cinemas and Pixar handles its own transfers. If you watch Toy Story on Disney+ or on DVD, you'e not watching a copy of the 35mm film but a newer direct digital transfer.Get the Creative Bloq NewsletterSign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology.Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.Here's where the controversy arises. Pixar used monitors calibrated to mimic film stocks to perfect the look of the 35mm Toy Story, but they didn't try to give the later digital transfer the colours that fans remember.When the digital version of Toy Story was first released, it was hailed as a thing of beauty, free of the grain and other artifacts that blighted film. But today, through the gaze of nostalgia, opinions have changed. Fans rediscovering the 35mm version through scans doing the rounds on social media suddenly see the Toy Story they remember: brighter, softer and warmer.The harsher lighting looks much better in 35mmJune 1, 2026Así luce el scan de 35 mm de Toy Story (1995). Una belleza. Y muy diferente a la versión digital con la que muchos ya estamos acostumbrados pic.twitter.com/msjNLnuPRUJune 24, 2026Love this version of Toy Story. The lighting and characters look so much better in a warmer tint, and the fuzzy softness of film hides the lower quality textures. https://t.co/l9AirjF4rK pic.twitter.com/ABTIYF0qxBJune 24, 2026"I thought Toy Story’s animation aged poorly, but 35mm scans show it was mostly the render for digital that was botched, this movie is actually gorgeous," one person writes on X. "The digital remaster was great but made it look more plastic, 35mm is better," someone else thinks. What to read next Pixar ditches its 3D look for the first time – and it's glorious Those Toy Story 5 plagiarism accusations explained Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey trailer sparks fierce debate about the “right way” to see a movie One fan goes further: "I believe seeing images in this format does something good for your soul, the grain and color mimics what we actually see with our eyes."So what’s really the best way to see digital movies that were designed with 35mm film projection in mind? The Blu-ray Toy Story seems to look more like the 35mm movie but still feels colder. If the 35mm version is so universally preferred, it feels like Pixar's missed a trick by not making the film readily available in the version that so impressed audiences in 1995.But like with other examples in the 35mm vs digital debate, from Seven to The Matrix, the apparent preference for physical film may be more to do with nostalgia and how people remember the movie making them feel than about how the filmmakers themselves think it should be seen.Before digital projection, filmmakers often weren't very happy with the prints of their movies. The 35mm scans that used for restorations are often copies of copies, and the look of scanned images from original prints of the same movie can vary wildly between sources, casting doubt on which one is closest to the original film. We might subjectively prefer the look of a 35mm scan, but that doesn't mean it's the definitive version of the movie.As more proof of the current interest in retro animation tech, check out the Disney special effect from the 1930s that's still blowing people's minds on Reddit. TOPICS Disney Animation Joe FoleySocial Links NavigationFreelance journalist and editorJoe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango. 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