(Long Island, N.Y.) Toy Story 3 is a hard movie to review. Not because it’s bad, mind you- the beautifully animated CG tale of a young boy named Andy and his loyal toys (who, of course, come to life when he’s not around) easily sits near the top of the Pixar echelon, along with such works of sheer brilliance such as WALL-E, The Incredibles, and, of course, the original Toy Story. But Toy Story 3 has something that the aforementioned films do not- a sense of finality.
This is the LAST Toy Story movie, barring a sleazy cash-run. But this is Pixar we’re talking about here, so I think it’s safe to say that’s not going to happen. The funny thing about Toy Story 3, however, is that it’s a movie I originally didn’t think needed to be made; when it was announced, I thought perhaps that Pixar actually WAS going for the cash-run this time. But silly me…watching movies my whole life, yet still naive. This movie NEEDED to be made, because after all the ground covered by the first two movies, there was one glaring omission: the fact that, eventually, all boys grow up and leave their toys behind. Well, unless they’re like me and they have a shelf or two filled with them, but that’s another matter entirely.
By the way, we dodged a bullet, folks. Remember a few years ago, when Pixar was in a tiff with Disney (their distributor and, ickily enough, owner of all the characters Pixar created), and their relationship was almost at an end? Thank whatever deity you hold dear that they patched things up, because we were spared the horror of a Disney-created Toy Story 3 (which was the plan at one point). Disney used to have the touch, ages ago, but they haven’t made a decent animated movie in years. But thanks to Pixar (and others, like Japanese director/animator Hayao Miyazaki, creator of the recent Ponyo), a cartoon can still wow me here and there with its originality and soul.
For once, I’m going to skip my usual overally-detailed plot summary (that’s something I’ve been slowly trying to wean myself off of, anyway- after all, why watch the movie when you can read my OCD-ridden review, right?), mainly because the trailers and TV commercials for Toy Story 3 managed to do a brilliant thing: they basically don’t tell you a damn thing about the movie. Sure, they inform us the gang’s back: Woody the Cowboy (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie the Cowgirl (Joan Cusack), Hamm the Piggy Bank (Pixar mainstay/mascot John Ratzenberger), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), et al. The trailer also tells us that Buzz somehow starts speaking Spanish, and that the toys end up in some kind of day care center. That’s it, really, and keeping the plot of a major release such as Toy Story 3 in this age of the internet is nothing short of amazing. Going in, you have no idea of the emotional depth this film possesses, and it really knocks you for a loop when it’s revealed.
No, this isn’t yet another yarn about Andy losing his toys and their struggle to reunite with their master. This is a story about growing up, moving on, and, most depressing of all, dealing with outliving your usefulness…being left behind. As our tale opens, Andy is now 17 and getting ready to head off to college. His annoying mother insists he decide which of his beloved childhood toys go to the attic and which go to the curb, a misunderstanding takes place, and the toys find themselves at a day care center. What follows is an emotional journey that demands tough choices…should the toys embrace the new life offered to them, or find their way back to Andy yet again, only to be stuffed into a garbage bag and resigned to the attic, or worse, a yard sale? Or…is there another choice, yet unknown to them, that might bring them true happiness yet again?
Toy Story 3 continues the Pixar tradition of films that appeal to young and old alike…as usual, the kids will be happy with the physical comedy and cutsey gags (yes, despite the somber tone of my write-up thus far, this movie IS very funny), while the smart jokes intended for grown-ups sail right over their heads. Pixar knows what makes a true classic tick: endearing characters, complexly-woven plots, intelligent humor infused with Tex Avery-inspired slapstick, and a complete lack of the dreaded “edginess” that seems to have permeated (read as: ruined) almost every other children’s movie made in the last 15 years. For example, the new teaser trailer for the upcoming Smurfs movie features “edgy” phrases such as “prepare to get SMURF’D” and “SMURF HAPPENS” (They sound like curses! GET IT?! That’s EDGY, so it MUST be cool!), along with the ancient Tone-Loc song “Wild Thing” with the trademark Smurf “La-la-lalalala” tune mixed in. I mean, what out-of-touch marketing clod made THAT call? First of all, it’s a song about HAVING SEX, and second of all, that song is, like, HOW old? 20 years? They couldn’t think of anything more current in their quest to be “hip” and “edgy” to 8 year-old kids?
Toy Story doesn’t give a rat’s rear end about being hip. It’s more concerned about just having brains, heart, and giggles. And therein lies its strength. It’s not out to make as many tired pop culture references as its voice actors can spew out…leave that to the Shrek movies.
Pixar’s movies wouldn’t be nearly the collective success they’ve been without the perfect voice talent they always manage to cast (actually, is that true? WALL-E managed to be enthralling with hardly any dialogue). The setting of a day care center has opened up the possibilities for a vast assortment of different toys in this film, and both licensed favorites and original creations pop up, all wonderfully acted. Aside from the returning voice actors of the regulars, all of whom continue to deliver the goods, new additions such as Ned Beatty as Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear, Michael Keaton as Ken (yes, as in Barbie’s main squeeze), Whoopi Goldberg as Stretch (an octopus!!!) really help round out the inspired line-up. Oh, there’s cute little unicorn character, too- I just thought I’d mention that because my girlfriend likes unicorns. That’s the power you wield when you edit your own column… heh heh.
Oh yeah, the movie’s really pretty, too. Pixar has this computer animation thing totally dialed in…Toy Story 3 is so much better looking than it’s two predecessors that it’s not even funny. Some of the plastic-based toys have only improved just so much from the original flick (I mean, they were already perfect), but the rendering and animation of Lots-O’-Huggin’s fur is almost…hypnotic. Way beyond Sully in Monsters, Inc, that’s for sure. The world of Toy Story 3 is rich, detailed, and mind-blowing, but the brilliance of it is the restraint shown by the designers. They adhered to the cartoony design aesthetic shown by the first two entries in the series instead of totally flexing their CG-rendering muscles just to be complete show-offs. But regardless, your eyeballs will melt from the shear visual majesty on display. Call a lawyer!
I loved Toy Story 3. While WALL-E remains my all-time favorite Pixar offering (that movie totally gets to me, even after seeing it a million times…I really should have given it 4 stars instead of 3 1/2), and it’s not quite as good as the original Toy Story (how could it be?), it’s still better than 99.9% of the animation…actually, scratch that, ANY movie you’re likely to see this year. See it, and then think a quiet little thought about your favorite childhood toy, the joy it brought you, and where it might be now. If you can, find it…and say thank you. They’ll appreciate it.
