I want you to think of every threequel you've seen. How many of them were bad? How many of them were mediocre? How many were good but not as good as its predecessor(s)? How many of them were the best in the trilogy? Movies like The Bourne Ultimatum, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, or Die Hard with A Vengeance both had great first entries, but so-so second entries, so a superior third was not too difficult to imagine. Then you have Spider-Man or X-Men which both had great first entries, superior seconds, but a mediocre third part. How about Return of the Jedi, a great film, but is seen as the weakest link in the original trilogy (mainly due to coming off the heels of its two fantastic predecessors.) So with that in mind, think about the past two Toy Story movies. The first was excellent, the second was even better... so when I say Toy Story 3 is the best in the trilogy... that's one hell of a compliment!The movie picks up 11 years after Toy Story 2. Andy is all grown up and is days away from leaving for college. His toys have dwindled in numbers and haven't been played with for years. There's a growing concern among the remaining toys (which includes Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Slink, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Hamm, Rex, and a few others) regarding their fate. Will they be left in the attic, will they thrown away, or will they be donated or sold?
I don't want to give too much more of the plot away then that. I'll start by saying, Toy Story 3 is one of the most profo
und, deep, and flat out entertaining family mov... actually just movies in general. Pixar has one of the greatest track records of any studio, when your worst film (Cars) is still an overall critical success and box office hit, that's really saying a lot. I will admit, I was curious if Pixar could make lightening strike three times with this series, and for a while, it looked it was going to fall into the usual traps of the threequel, but it overcame in every way possible, creating a movie that is one of the most satisfying conclusions to a classic series.As per usual, the voice acting is top notch. Tom Hanks returns as the perfect voice of Woody, the cowboy doll and de facto leader of Andy's toys. Tim Allen returns once again to bring his comic timing to Buzz Lightyear, the space ranger action figure. Other Toy Story alumni includes Joan Cusack as Jessie the Cowgirl, Wallace Shawn as Rex the Tyrannosaurus, John Ratzenberger as Hamm the Piggy Bank, Blake Clark (replacing the late Jim Varney) as Slinky the Dog, Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, and Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head, plus a few more. Newcomers include Ned Beatty as Lotso Huggin Bear, ex-James Bond Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants, Flight of the Concords star Kristen Shaal as Trixie the Triceratops, plus many more. However, the standout newcomer is most definitely Michael Keaton as Ken. Acting alongside the Jodi Benson-voiced Barbie Doll, Keaton brings his spot on comedic timing to a blatantly metrosexual depiction of the popular doll in a lot of the movie's funniest moments.
Pixar's talent for storytelling has always been top notch, with concepts that overshadow practically every other studio attempting to capture the same level of excellence. With Toy Story 3, however, they have really outdone themselves. In addition to the de
ep characters, hilarious comedy, the threequel boasts some incredibly compelling drama that most family flicks would be afraid to go near. The dramatic themes set forth in the first two come full circle in the threequel, throwing metaphors relating to mortality, death, and the afterlife. The first centered around a concept of self-realization, namely in that Buzz having to come to grips with being a toy. The second tapped on the issue of a toy's existence being finite, demonstrated mainly through Woody realizing that Andy will eventually grow up. Now, with Andy grown up, the movie shifts to a metaphorical presentation of death and the afterlife, showing depictions of toy limbo, reincarnation, Purgatory, Heaven, and even a toy Hell. Its a very profound movie, one I could spend hours interpreting and analyzing. Like any Disney movie, the ending is uplifting, yet very touching. Once the ending comes around, don't be surprised if you see grown men weeping like a little girl... yeah, its one of those movies.
ep characters, hilarious comedy, the threequel boasts some incredibly compelling drama that most family flicks would be afraid to go near. The dramatic themes set forth in the first two come full circle in the threequel, throwing metaphors relating to mortality, death, and the afterlife. The first centered around a concept of self-realization, namely in that Buzz having to come to grips with being a toy. The second tapped on the issue of a toy's existence being finite, demonstrated mainly through Woody realizing that Andy will eventually grow up. Now, with Andy grown up, the movie shifts to a metaphorical presentation of death and the afterlife, showing depictions of toy limbo, reincarnation, Purgatory, Heaven, and even a toy Hell. Its a very profound movie, one I could spend hours interpreting and analyzing. Like any Disney movie, the ending is uplifting, yet very touching. Once the ending comes around, don't be surprised if you see grown men weeping like a little girl... yeah, its one of those movies. The drama is a central part of the story, but it doesn't overshadow the fun elements from the film. As I mentioned, the movie has far too many hilarious moments to list, with humor bound to entertain everyone from little kids to grown adults. I have not even gotten around to mentioning the action scenes yet. By the third act, the movie turns into something of a prison break movie, taking inspiration from classics like "The Great Escape." By around the halfway point, a villain of sorts presents itself, making for arguably the most intimidating and interesting bad guy of the series. Between thrilling chases, great escapes, and creepy baddies, the story never lets up and never gets boring.
I guess this is the point where I am supposed to find something about the movie I didn't like. To be honest... I can't think of anything I didn't like about the movie... seriously. Everything just works so well, balancing the humor, thrilling, and dramatic moments perfectly. I guess some might say Toy Stor
y might be a little too dark for the very young viewers and might be prone to scare some of them. I will say this, Toy Story 3 is easily the darkest of the series, and some of the villains (particularly the monkey... just watch and see) might be a little much for some. That being said, I personally never felt that it was too much. When I look back at a lot of the kids movies I watched back in the day, a lot of them had much much much more disturbing moments. Look at it like this... this movie is no scarier than practically anything else Disney animation has released (actually, some Disney movies are much scarier that this) ... if your kids are able to stomach those, I can't think of a reason Toy Story 3 would be any worse.
y might be a little too dark for the very young viewers and might be prone to scare some of them. I will say this, Toy Story 3 is easily the darkest of the series, and some of the villains (particularly the monkey... just watch and see) might be a little much for some. That being said, I personally never felt that it was too much. When I look back at a lot of the kids movies I watched back in the day, a lot of them had much much much more disturbing moments. Look at it like this... this movie is no scarier than practically anything else Disney animation has released (actually, some Disney movies are much scarier that this) ... if your kids are able to stomach those, I can't think of a reason Toy Story 3 would be any worse.Overall, Toy Story 3 is by far the best movie of the summer and, so far, of 2010. Pixar's standard of excellence continues, bringing another one masterpiece in a classic series. If you haven't seen it yet, go see it right now! You won't regret it.
My Score: 5 out of 5!
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