Review: TOY STORY 3
Toy Story 3 is a film that shouldn’t exist. The rumor of the toys going to a daycare after Andy leaves for college has been floating around since the early 2000s. There has always been the fear of a second sequel tanking, at least in the hearts of the fans of the series, because how could you possibly top the first two? I think the fear surrounding TS3 is the same fear that surrounds the countless remakes and sequels that we’ve been flooded with for so long now; it’s the fear that they are going to screw up something that we love. And maybe with this film more than most sequels, because there’s such magic surrounding Pixar films, where there’s always the fear that the next one is going to be the one that’s bad, that the streak is going to finally end, and it’s going to take Toy Story along with it. Most movies don’t have to worry about, because who really cares if Random Sequel #4 sucks? There’s going to be another one coming down the pipeline eventually, and maybe that one will be better.
The fact of the matter is up until a couple of years ago, the world thought that Toy Story had finished with Jessie and Bullseye joining Andy’s family of toys. For those of us who grew up in the ’90s, when Toy Story was such a pop culture staple, a continuation of what we had all accepted was a conclusion is kind of terrifying, because there’s always a chance — that fear — that one more Toy Story was going to be one too many.
With that sad, Toy Story 3 is a phenomenal movie. It’s fantastically made, well-written, timeless, funny, heart-wrenching, and even at times heart-breaking. It’s Pixar at its best, perhaps its very best, but more importantly, it’s unquestionably, undoubtedly Toy Story.
I won’t bore you with a plot synopsis, and you already know that the film has a simply classic story with classic characters, but I want to focus on one character specifically. Lotso is the seemingly sinister, but ultimately heart-broken, “villain” of TS3. His back story is like Jessie’s from Toy Story 2; he was in love with a little girl who accidentally lost him and two others (Big Baby and Chuckles the Clown). When the trio make it back to the girl’s house, they discover that her parents have already replaced them with new toys. Well, they replaced only Lotso, but he keeps that information to himself. He harbors that anger, the assumed betrayal, and turns the Sunnyside Daycare into a prison camp, where he rules with an iron fist (read as: stuffed, fluffy paw). Lotso is a brilliant, new addition to Toy Story, that isn’t entirely unlike Stinky Pete of TS2, but is less desperate and far more tragic and compelling.
Toy Story is no stranger to 3D — we saw the first two movies re-released as a double-feature in gorgeous 3D last year — but TS3 is the first that went into production with that extra dimension in mind. Now the converted presentation that I saw last October was pretty spectacular, but the same could be said about any animated film that’s been converted after the fact. Though, what Toy Story 3 does is nothing short of phenomenal with its 3D. It’s never intrusive or distracting, and is at all times immersive and engaging. You can easily forget that you’re watching the film in stereo, but as a momentary removal of your 3D glasses will prove, there is an astonishing amount of depth.
If ticket sales and global box office are any indication, then 3D is here to stay, but what filmmakers (and audiences) need to realize is that adding that third dimension is never going to improve your story. Never. 3D is akin to color, IMAX, or high-definition, where the sole purpose is to make the world you are seeing on screen appear to be more realistic. You don’t need color to tell an amazing story, just look at contemporary films like Schindler’s List or Good Night and Good Luck, and if you look at classic visionaries like Charlie Chaplin, then you could argue that you don’t even need sound to tell a brilliant story.
If you saw The Dark Knight in IMAX, then I’m sure that you were as blown away as I was when the prologue of the film erupted onto the screen with such vivid detail. Literally, it’s a shocking display of cinematography skill and technological achievements, but those IMAX shots that are scattered throughout the film will never make The Dark Knight tell a better story, but what it will do is enhance your viewing experience.
Regardless if it’s live-action or animated, 3D wants to catch you up into the story and into the world that’s being projected in front of you, so you can either enjoy the ride, or stop complaining and see it in 2D. To say that Toy Story 3’s 3D world is anything but masterful and subtle is either an insult to Pixar’s work or a lie. I guess, you could always not be a fan of the format, which is fine, but don’t insult great work as a gimmick, because you’ll always have a choice to watch it in your desired format.
Finally, I want to discuss the last few minutes of the movie, which may well be considered one of the finest conclusions to any film ever (either that or it’s my euphoria talking). I say that, because the ending just felt right. Any movie can have a good ending, where everything has been leading to a specific moment and that moment serves as a payoff for the entire setup of the film, and then we’re done. Everybody can go home happily, and we might even get a sequel out of it if we make enough money on opening weekend. That’s not the kind of ending I’m talking about here. TS3 has an ending that makes perfect sense, because no matter how heart-breaking it is to see Andy say goodbye to Woody for the last time, which in turn felt like I was also bidding my final farewell to the cowboy, Toy Story has always been about being there for each other (no toy ever getting left behind), and thematically, the ending doesn’t betray what the entire series has led up to.
Movies have a hard time saying goodbye, properly. I remember watching Return of the King for the first time, and just feeling my stomach sink as Frodo turned toward the camera for the last time before setting sail toward the Grey Havens. That’s a powerful moment, because we’ve been on a three-film journey to save Middle Earth with him, and at that moment, we realize that it’s finally over. To me, that’s a real goodbye. If a film can instantly transport me through an entire adventure with a single glance, then that movie deserves to be recognized among the best. I’m not even hesitating when I write that Toy Story 3 has an ending that blows that away; it’s perfect.
Overall: 10 out of 10
Directed by Lee Unkrich. Written by Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich. Produced by John Lasseter and Darla K. Anderson. Music by Randy Newman.
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, Estelle Harris, John Morris and John Ratzenberger.
