Toy Story 3: The Geekscape Review
I am not entirely sure what strange Faustian pact John Lasseter and the other artists at Pixar Studios made to have their perfect track record. Starting in 1995 with the original Toy Story, for the past fifteen years Pixar has had an unbroken string of critical and commercial hits, something practically unheard of in modern Hollywood. Everything that Pixar touches turns into gold. I was starting to wonder if Pixar would meet their match with Toy Story 3; after all, it had been 11 years since the last movie, And the director of the first two movies John Lasseter, did not return as he is sort of busy these days running all things creative for Walt Disney Animation AND the Theme Parks as well. So I get, he is kinda busy these days. But having a new director at the helm (Lee Unkrich) didn’t inspire the same confidence.
And let’s face it; in modern movie franchise history, the third part of the Trilogy is almost always a disappointment (think Spider-Man 3, X3, Terminator 3, Back to the Future III) or a total clusterfuck (Alien 3, Batman Forever, etc. ) Even the precious few solid third chapters like Return of the Jedi pale in comparison to their previous installments. One might argue The Return of the King is the sole exception to this rule, but seeing as that film was written and directed at the same time as its previous chapters, the entire Lord of the Rings saga feels like one long movie with one year intermissions in between. So as far as I’m concerned, the “Trilogy Rule” has stood unbroken. Until now.
Leave it to Pixar to shatter that rule once and for all.
Toy Story 3 is, in my eyes, and unqualified success. It might not have the freshness or high concept as recent Pixar movies like WALL*E or Up or Ratatouille that kind of elevate those films to higher art, but being the third part of a series with an established tone and feel already, it would have been really out of place for the makers of this film to get too out of left field on us all of a sudden and do anything too experimental. Toy Story 3 is a rousing adventure, a smart comedy, and a love letter to these characters that will leave you more than a little teary eyed at the end. Toy Story 3 manages to do what every great sequel does; continues to develop the characters you already know and love and introduce a who new set of characters that by the end of the movie, you love just as much as the old ones. In this regard, Toy Story 3 actually manages to out do the brilliant previous sequel, and they do it all making it look effortless. Again, I’m convinced Pixar has made some kind of pact with devil. Pixar and Hugh Hefner.
The plot is really pretty simple: After a rousing opening sequence that reintroduces us all to the main characters again (and I won’t spoil anything about that sequence, except to say that it ranks up there with some of the great opening movie sequences of all time) we find out that toy owner Andy is turning 18 soon and going away to college. Buzz, Woody and the rest of the gang are barely thought of by Andy anymore, much less played with, and manage to stage sad, desperate attempts for attention from their owner. And with Andy growing up and moving away, they know their fate is either the attic, hanging out with the Christmas ornaments, or worse…the dumpster. But Andy’s mother presents a third option, one that seems more appealing to some of the toys…being donated to the local Sunnyside daycare center.
At first, the Sunnyside day care center seems like paradise. After all, you never get outgrown, as there are always new kids replacing the old ones. But what first seems like heaven turns out to be anything but, and Toy Story 3 becomes one of the most entertaining prison break movies I’ve seen in forever. There are other twists and turns to the story, like who the true villain of the movie is, and just what kind of new toys Woody meets on his adventures while trying to get back to Andy’s room before he moves away. The filmmakers are constantly throwing out hilarious gags and new (sometimes twisted) takes on classic toys. Let’s just say if you thought those old school baby dolls were kind of creepy before, this movie will do nothing to convince you otherwise.
It goes without saying that all the old voice actors fall back into place like no time at all had passed between films. I’m sure Tom Hanks and Tim Allen and Wallace Shawn could play these guys in their sleep at this point, but it never feels like lazy voice acting from some celeb looking for an easy paycheck (think most of the Dreamworks animated library, with the notable exception of How to Train Your Dragon) While Woody and Buzz might indeed be the main stars of this movie, it isn’t like the rest of the toys are just there. All the toys have a part to play, a contribution to the plot. Hell, even the little Pizza Port aliens do things that matter this time. And the new toys are just as great, fully worthy of future sections of the Disneyland parking lot named after them, like Ken (as in “Barbie and…” ) voiced by an awesomely smug Micheal Keaton, Chuckles the Clown, Mr. Prickle Pants the porcupine, and most memorably, Ned Beatty as Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear.
Check Out These “Vintage” 1983 Lots-O’-Huggin Bear Commercials
I could continue to heap praise on this movie, like praising the animation (this is Pixar, of course the animation is stellar) or the score, or a million other things. But you don’t need me to, because you are gonna see it anyway. My only concern is not so much about this movie, but with the fact that Toy Story 3 seems to signal a whole slew of upcoming sequels from the formerly mostly original product studio. The next two years bring us Cars 2 and Monsters Inc. 2. While I will see those movies, I shudder to think that Pixar, the one studio that we could always count on for original stories in summers filled with re-hashes, remakes and sequels, is going the route of everyone else. But, if Toy Story 3 is any indication, their sequels will still be better than 90% of most studios original output.
It should also be worth mentioning that once again, Pixar has provided a short before the actual film, and Night and Day may well be my favorite of the bunch. Combine it with a really awesome 3D IMAX presentation, and Toy Story 3 is Summer movie Heaven.
