The Little Toys That Could
Ok, so everyone knows that third installments to movies usually suck (the only exception being Return of the King), but Pixar pulled it off, of course. All of your favorite characters have come back for a movie filled with laughs, cries and suspense, compiling the classic American movie. The Pixar revolution has never been about the graphics, in my opinion. Rather, it simply gives rationality to things without it, thus opening an entire interactive world for the viewer. Think about it. Cars, Fish, Bugs, Toys, etc... Pixar gives these things we crash, flush down toilets and squash on a daily basis human emotion, allowing the audience to catch themselves feeling empathy for things that ultimately don't matter. It's the Pixar formula and it has never failed. And that is why everyone is so damn excited when they see that little lamp hop across the screen.
Ok, so everyone knows that third installments to movies usually suck (the only exception being Return of the King), but Pixar pulled it off, of course. All of your favorite characters have come back for a movie filled with laughs, cries and suspense, compiling the classic American movie. The Pixar revolution has never been about the graphics, in my opinion. Rather, it simply gives rationality to things without it, thus opening an entire interactive world for the viewer. Think about it. Cars, Fish, Bugs, Toys, etc... Pixar gives these things we crash, flush down toilets and squash on a daily basis human emotion, allowing the audience to catch themselves feeling empathy for things that ultimately don't matter. It's the Pixar formula and it has never failed. And that is why everyone is so damn excited when they see that little lamp hop across the screen.
As most great movies, the characters drive it. But by a third installment wouldn't the characters get a little old? Probably, but the filmmakers wisely put a few spins on the old characters and introduce some new ones. I mean come on, how could a Buzz Lightyear in Spanish mode not be fresh? The introduction to Barbie and Ken's eternal meeting? Or even Mr. Potato head when he becomes Mr. Cucumber head? These knew introductions and take off of old classic toys are priceless. The audience sits there and says "Oh! I used to have one of those!" It brings the child to laughter and brings the adult back to the innocence of childhood.
The movie follows Woody and all our favorite toys to SunnySide daycare center, where toys can be loved forever. Andy's going to school and handing down the toys. The toys are excited about the daycare, except Woody, until they are beaten relentlessly to a pulp by the toddlers. The big kid room is ruled by a mafia of sorts of other toys. So they have to escape. Get it? Pretty simple. But who said simple can't be great? In my opinion usually the simplest of things is the greatest of things and Toy Story 3 follows suit.
Toy Story 3 is a wild adventure of laughs and cries. It manifests the ever-present human desire to be loved and leaves the audience loving their favorite toys more and more. It's incredible to me how Pixar has made a children's film that adults even like more. Of course Pixar succeeds again and leaves us wanting to go back in that old toy chest of ours to take a trip down memory lane, where imagination was the fun itself.
Jury's Verdict: A-
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