How Color Transforms: Toy Story

Color is an essential part of life, but perhaps not one that people think consciously about on a regular basis. In the age of HDTV, it is hard to imagine black and white TVs.  With digital cameras that can print color photos in seconds, it is hard to imagine black and white photography as a main source of art and information.  Color is so abundant in our society that it is almost impossible to separate oneself from color.  And why would anyone want to?  Color conveys emotion and realism better than, arguably, any other design technique in the world.
Pixar is an amazing company that makes animated films so realistic (yet stylized) that viewers cannot help but be enveloped into the story being told as if they are a part of the fictitious world.  In Pixar's Toy Story trilogy, the animators create a world that is so realistic, that the images alone are enough to elicit an emotional response from the audience.  This is due in great deal to their amazing work with color.  Incredibly realistic lighting creates an illusion of realism by effecting the brightness, color intensity, and shadows of objects in the film.  When in bright light, colors appear more saturated and intense; in dim light or shadow, colors are muddier, darker, and less intense.  Bright light and its effects on color provoke a more positive, cheery emotion, while minimal light means moodier and sadder emotion.

So bright and cheery.  Colors are intense with some areas washed out to act as light itself.

You don't need to see the facial expressions to understand that this dark lighting means sadness and gloom.

Color transforms Toy Story into an amazing, realistic, engaging, and emotional film experience.  Without color, I imagine the film would come off as flat and less playful than the color makes it.  How can you have a movie about playrooms and toys and not incorporate bright colors?  I suppose one could do so, but the overall effect would not be as brilliant as the Toy Story trilogy.

Images are screencaps from Tory Story 3