Toy Story 3 (Lee Unkrich, 2010)

[THX1378]

I didn't see a thread so I thought I'd start one since I saw the midnight screening last night. It's still amazing that Pixar has never done me wrong and makes amazing films like this. I don't know yet if it's the best one in the series like some people are stating, I need to see it again before a make up my mind. The first one still holds up after 15 years, and while the second one isn't as good as the first, still has parts make you laugh and one of the best sequels I've ever seen. This one is just pure emotion if your a fan of these films, since it seems like we have taken a long journey with the characters, and this is where we end up. There was even one part that I thought was pretty intense for a Pixar film, which surprised me to see. And most everyone had a tear in their eye when

Spoiler

Andy finds Woody in the bottom of the box, you'll know what I'm talking about when you see it.

You can tell when you see the end that this is as much about Andy's love for his toy's, as it is our love for these characters, as it is Pixar's, who love and respect the fans of the series to make something great like this. I would hope that they would make a fourth film, but after how long it took to get this one made, this is a fantastic conclusion to an amazing trilogy. It also breaks the rule that the third movie in a trilogy nine times out of ten isn't as good as the first two, or is the worst out of the trilogy. I haven't seen a lot of movies so far this year, but this is the best by far I've seen.

And one note: I saw the 3D version, and while I'm still on the fence about the use of 3D in films, for a film like this the 3D is used well. There is also a short call Day & Night before the film. While it's not the best Pixar shorts I've seen, I have a feeling the message will go over most kids heads.

[jojo]

Looking forward to checking this out.

While I still enjoy Pixar, their rigid formula for success has become something I've noticed more and more lately. And I don't think I've really seen a real critical look at what Pixar has been actually doing. For some reason, criticism for animated films are still real soft in today's film critic community.

Armond's performance art reviews don't count either.

[Finch]

Slant calls the film "sketchy and profoundly moving"

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/revie ... ory-3/4869" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What keeps my expectations in check a little is this snippet from Ed's review

Fans of the Toy Story films will bemoan how this third film frequently indulges the snarkiness that completely dictates the world of the inane Shrek movies, most evident in the predictable exchanges between Ken and Barbie (not once, but twice do characters—including Woody—recoil at what is perceived to be Ken's effeminacy) and the Latin-lothario behavior that grips Buzz when he's unscrewed and switched to "demo" mode.

[THX1378]

What you posted above Mr. Finch is pretty much the only problem anyone may have with the film. I'm willing to overlook that because it isn't the eye rolling bemoan I get from watching the Shrek films. I do like the first one, but after the second film I was pretty much done with the whole series. Pixar has always given people what they want and made amazing films. In fact I think the only film that I didn't really care for, and would just give a B- to was A Bugs Life, but then again I haven't seen it in almost ten years so I may have to go back and rewatch it again.

[MoonlitKnight]

Slant calls the film "sketchy and profoundly moving"

http://www.slantmagazine.com/film/revie ... ory-3/4869" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What keeps my expectations in check a little is this snippet from Ed's review

Fans of the Toy Story films will bemoan how this third film frequently indulges the snarkiness that completely dictates the world of the inane Shrek movies, most evident in the predictable exchanges between Ken and Barbie (not once, but twice do characters—including Woody—recoil at what is perceived to be Ken's effeminacy) and the Latin-lothario behavior that grips Buzz when he's unscrewed and switched to "demo" mode.

Well, that at least sort of goes in line with what Ken and Barbie have come to represent: shallow American materialism it its worst. 8-[ But, yeah, Buzz-thinking-he's-an-actual-space-ranger for yet a THIRD time was the one thing I wasn't looking forward to from the trailers. However, people have said it's only a brief transformation.

[knives]

Third time? It's been a while, but I believe that was an entirely different Buzz and that the joke was how much Buzz v1.0 has changed.

[Finch]

Excellent review by Walter Chaw (3.5 out of 4)

[MoonlitKnight]

Third time? It's been a while, but I believe that was an entirely different Buzz and that the joke was how much Buzz v1.0 has changed.

Yeah, OK, technically it was a different Buzz experiencing the delusion in the second one. Even if it was a different slant on it (as it also appears to be in this new one), it was STILL basically the same concept. I'm not knocking it, just making an observation.

[Roger Ryan]

It's a very charming film and very close to the first two in quality. The transformation of Buzz is worth it for how his new Latin moves are animated. The best stuff in this second sequel belongs to the new characters and the ingenious ways they are incorporated into the set pieces. I found all the scenes involving Ken to be brilliantly executed. He is not a simple stereotype to be made fun of by others, but a multi-dimensional character. You can see the anxiety in his eyes as he struggles with his identity as a "girl's toy", his asexual relationship with Barbie and his love of things "cool and groovy"; very ambiguous stuff for a children's film (but something I would expect from Pixar).

The film pushes a little hard to give the final moments some emotional heft. Part of the problem here is that Andy has never really been given much screen time in the previous films, so it feels a bit manipulative to show an emotional connection so late in the series. But this is a minor quibble; TOY STORY 3 is great fun. I shudder to think what Disney would have done with this sequel had the deal with Pixar fallen through a couple of years back!

[Tom Hagen]

I was really underwhelmed by this; too many "easy" jokes and pop music cues. For a lack of a better term, it seemed too "Dreamworkian" for me, too MOR. I enjoyed myself, but this is a step sideways (or even backwards) from the cinematic and emotional heights of the last three Pixar films.

Of course the animation looked great. And the short is exquisite!

[MoonlitKnight]

Holy crap! I believe this is the first movie that's ever made me shed genuine tears. The climax and the final scene shortly after were nothing short of brilliantly wrenching. As with the second one, never has a sequel used its familiarly to its advantage to beautifully. And never has a set of movies nailed the relatively simple themes of friendship and devotion so uncannily. As much as I missed

Spoiler

seeing some of the more minor characters from the first 2 movies again, e.g. Bo Peep and her sheep, Etch, Mr. Spell, Mr. Shark, Rocky Gibraltar, Wheezy, Robot, Snake, RC (though he wasn't in the second one, either), Lenny, etc.

in addition to the main ones, their absences were more than made up for by the story. As much as I wouldn't mind another installment, I feel it would be artistically unnecessary, since the whole childhood/toy life cycle comes full circle with this one and anything else would likely feel repetitive.

10/10

P.S. Indeed, Blake Clark is a dead ringer for Jim Varney.

P.P.S. The

Spoiler

staging of Andy's 'playtime sessions' from the first 2 movies as imagined the toys' minds at the beginning

was pretty cool, too.

[domino harvey]

The film doesn't come anywhere near the genuine pathos of the first Toy Story, but it is by a pretty wide margin better than the previous sequel. Like the previous poster, I thought the beginning sequence was a great idea, though I wish they'd pushed the absurdity of playtime even further. Indeed, it's one of the few times the characters act like toys rather than doing human things and then adding "--and I'm a toy!" I found myself genuinely enjoying rather than sitting through the film only in those moments where the film stopped providing action sequences and tired jokes and found inherent humor and interest in a given situation-- pretty much any scene with the little girl, for instance. Her scenes were so much more observant than the obvious and clunkily adult nature of the daycare center (a sharp contrast to the keenly depicted adult nature of the first film, which is why that one holds up to a closer scrutiny than the more technically proficient but lacking subsequent entries from Pixar) that I couldn't figure out why so much time was spent elsewhere. Why go through all the trouble of setting up toys as your characters, only to turn them all into John McClanes in the film's last third?

[knives]

Toy Story 3 stole the unions health care or something like that.