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ReBoot debuted on television in September 1994, more than a year before Toy Story opened in theaters on November 22, 1995. The distinction is about format: Toy Story is recognized as the first computer-animated feature film, while ReBoot was promoted as a half-hour television series produced entirely by computer.
What came first: Toy Story or ReBoot?
ReBoot came first by release date. Its television debut was in September 1994; Toy Story reached theaters on November 22, 1995. That does not make ReBoot the first CGI movie: it was a television series, while Toy Story was a feature film.
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Pixar describes Toy Story as the world’s first CG-animated feature, and the Academy identifies it as the first computer-animated feature film. Those claims concern an animated feature made with computer-generated imagery—not the first movie ever to include any CGI. Earlier live-action films had incorporated CGI, so “first CGI movie” is too broad unless it is qualified as a fully computer-animated feature. Pixar’s history and the Academy’s 1996 awards record support the feature-film distinction.
What made ReBoot a milestone?
A January 11, 1995 press kit from Alliance Communications and BLT Productions called ReBoot “a half-hour series produced entirely by computer” using CGI and 3D animation. That contemporaneous description is a precise way to state the show’s claim: it was a fully computer-generated half-hour TV series. The press-kit text gives the wording and date.
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![ReBoot: Seasons 1 & 2 [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51R7pL1vCpL._SL160_.jpg)
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Mainframe Studios later described ReBoot as the “very first fully-CG TV series.” That is the studio’s retrospective claim, and it aligns with the narrower half-hour-series framing in the original press kit. Mainframe’s press-release archive contains that description.
Why not simply call it the first CGI TV show?
“TV show” can include productions of different lengths and formats, including short-form animation. Other early computer-animated programs, such as Insektors, make an unqualified first claim dependent on what counts as a show and which formats are included. The available evidence establishes ReBoot as an early fully computer-generated half-hour series, but does not settle the earliest computer-animated television production across every format.
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There is also a difference between a studio’s milestone claim and a universal chronology. Mainframe calls ReBoot the first fully-CG TV series; the contemporary press kit specifies a half-hour series produced entirely by computer. Keeping those descriptions together avoids implying that no earlier computer-animated television work of any kind existed.
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How the two milestones fit together
| Production | Format | Release | Supported milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| ReBoot | Half-hour television series | September 1994 television debut | Promoted at the time as produced entirely by computer using CGI and 3D animation |
| Toy Story | Theatrical feature film | November 22, 1995 | Recognized as the first computer-animated feature film |
So the two claims do not conflict: ReBoot arrived first as a fully computer-animated television series, and Toy Story later set the feature-film milestone.
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