Pixar set a new gold standard in animation with their first feature-length film, Toy Story. Since then, they’ve established a track record like no other. They’ve made ten films and not a single one of them is a stinker. Even Cars, the most mediocre of Pixar’s oeuvre, is stronger than everyone else’s best. Now, Pixar releases their 11th film in Toy Story 3 and the bar has been set even higher than before. Despite the critical acclaim and box office success of all their pictures, Toy Story has been the only film that Pixar has spun off into a franchise. A Cars sequel is planned for next year, likely because it became a merchandising cash cow.
It’s been 15 years since the original Toy Story hit theaters with the even better sequel following four years later. Both films dealt with the toys worrying about abandonment by their owner Andy (John Morris). With Toy Story 3 that day seems to have finally come. Andy is now 18, too old to play with toys, and heading off to college.
Our gang of toys has grown smaller and small over the years. Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) are still around along with Jessie (Joan Cusack), Bullseye, Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles & Estelle Harris), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Hamm (John Ratzenberger), and Slinky Dog (Blake Clark taking over for the late-Jim Varney). The other toys, such as Wheezy and Bo Peep, have sadly been broken, lost, or given away. The survivors have only an uncertain future to look forward to. Andy decides he’ll take Woody with him to college, but the others are headed for storage in the attic.
After a series of unfortunate incidents, the toys go from the trash heap to the Sunnyside Day Care Center. There, Andy’s toys are greeted by another group of toys led by the folksy Lots-O-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty). He tells the new arrivals that they’ll never have to worry about being abandoned or outgrown. The center sees a constant stream of children coming in and out. All seems well except for Woody who wishes to return to Andy. He heads off and eventually winds up in the hands of Bonnie (Emily Hahn), a cute little tyke whose toys treat playtime like improv theater. Meanwhile, Buzz and the gang find Sunnyside isn’t so sunny when they’re left to fend for themselves against a classroom full of hyperactive toddlers.
It should go without saying that Pixar seems incapable of making a bad film. So it should come as no surprise that Toy Story 3 is another winner. The real question is: Does it live up to the lofty Pixar standards? The answer is a resounding yes.
John Lasseter, the head honcho of Pixar, directed the first Toy Story and co-directed the second with Lee Unkrich, who also co-directed Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo. This is Unkrich’s first solo effort and he works off a script by Michael Arndt who earned an Oscar for Little Miss Sunshine. These guys are master manipulators. They know all the right notes to hit to tug at your heart strings.
The work done here is incredible. Pixar has a real knack for characters. The toys aren’t just chunks of plastic, but fully formed and realistic characters. We’ve become completely invested in their journey and it’s a heartbreaker to hear we’ve lost a few along the way.
That journey brings us full circle with a wonderful opening sequence that calls back to the original film. It’s an action-packed prologue with runaway trains, exploding bridges, dinosaurs, monkeys, and a pig-shaped spaceship. It’s a set piece that rivals the Buzz Lightyear opening of the second film. The ending (which I won’t spoil) is a wonderfully touching resolution that caps off the trilogy at just the right note.
Technology has improved by leaps and bounds since we first met Woody and Buzz. As such, the animation in Toy Story 3 blows the other films out of the water. The third film is far more epic in scope, dealing with heady issues of toy existentialism. It doesn’t go into Jean-Paul Sartre territory (this is a kids’ movie), yet it does touch a tiny bit on the mortality of these toys. TS3 is also a little more mature with some dark moments, including a rather creepy baby doll with a wonky eye and an edge-of-your-seat trip to the landfill.
Toy Story 3 isn’t without its light moments. There are plenty of hilarious gags, most of which involve Michael Keaton who voices a metrosexual Ken doll (”I’m not a girls’ toy! I’m not!”). Have I mentioned Mr. Tortilla Head or Spanish Buzz? Pixar has also thrown in a few pop culture references on the sly, including a funny Return of the Jedi joke to go along with the Empire Strikes Back gag from the second picture. Also watch out for a quick cameo from the sadistic Sid as a garbageman.
Creating a sequel is a tricky proposition. Attempting a third film is an increasingly difficult task. It’s difficult to think of a great number three, aside from Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade and The Prisoner of Azkaban. I can think of plenty of bad number threes like Superman 3, Spider-Man 3, and Shrek the Third. Thankfully, Toy Story 3 is not among those poorly conceived productions. It doesn’t necessarily feel like a story that needed to be told, but it was told and told with amazing skill. Pixar will run you through an emotional gauntlet full of adventure, thrills, laughs, fears, and tears. Toy Story 3 will assuredly find its way onto numerous year-end lists.
P.S. – The short which played before the film, Night & Day, is definitely one of the best and most clever ones Pixar has produced. Also, the 3D effects are so subtle that I’d recommend you save the extra bucks and see it in 2D.
Rating: ****
1 comment:
I believe Temple of Doom was the 2nd in the series, with Last Crusade as #3.
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