Toy Story 3

Well, I guess I don't have to tell you guys this, but I will anyway...Pixar has done it again, for the 11th time.  Everyone working for Pixar Animation Studios should be extremely proud of "Toy Story 3," because it means they still have a perfect track record as far as everyone is concerned. "Toy Story 3" was directed by Lee Unkrich.  It was written  by Michael Ardnt, who also wrote "Little Miss Sunshine," so that's another reason you know you are in for a good time watching "Toy Story 3". It stars the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Laurie Metcalf, Jodi Benson, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Richard Kind, Bonnie Hunt, Jeff Garlin and Whoopi Goldberg.

In 1995 Pixar introduced the world to talking toys in "Toy Story." In has been 15 years since then and 11 years since "Toy Story 2" was released.  The toys are back again for a whole new set of adventures and several new characters.  Now Andy is about to head off to college. Some of his toys have been sold since the first sequel.  Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and many of the original characters are wondering what will become of them, now that Andy has grown up.  They accidentally end up being donated to Sunnyside Daycare...which they will later find out is actually a quite ironic name for the place.  At first they think this is a great idea, because they will never be outgrown there, since new kids are always coming in.  However, they are completely wrong.  As it turns out one of the new characters, and one of the veterans at the daycare, Lots'-O-Huggin' Bear, was abandoned and forgotten by his kid.  This of course made him corrupt, since that apparently is possible with talking toys.  He leads the group of other toys at the daycare in making sure that Andy's toy's are abused by the younger children apparently incapable of handling toys in a civil fashion.  Lotso also won't let Woody, Buzz, et al, leave.  So once again they need to think of an elaborate escape plan.  At this point they are completely used to perilous situations.

Take this time to reread the first section where I listed the cast.  That is proof that for "Toy Story 3," Pixar assembled the greatest voice cast in the history of the human race.  The cast is full of veterans of movies, television or both.  Each voice is so distinct and fits their respective characters so well.  All of these talented actors succeeded exceptionally well in bring these toys to life, by merely using their voices.  It must have been an incredible group of recording sessions during the production of this movie.  Of course Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are always wonderful and Don Rickles and Estelle Harris as the Potato Heads are one of the best casting choices ever in an animated movie...fact, and not merely my opinion.  This time around we get a great new batch of memorable characters including Lotso, played very well by Ned Beatty as the main villain in this film.  Other characters of mention include Michael Keaton as Barbie's counterpart, Ken and Timothy Dalton as a toy porcupine named Mr. Pricklepants.  I at least was highly amused by those two being cast.  I would love to comment more on this incredible cast, but I will spare you my rambling, even though that ship has probably sailed.

Since this is not only a sequel, but a second sequel, "Toy Story 3" is not a great example of originality, this is in no way a negative comment, merely a fact of life.  In each of the installments some of the same topics are dealt with including Andy eventually growing up and what that means for his toys and the toys being involved in some dire circumstance leading to an escape plan being an order.  Each sequel to "Toy Story" was able to add new characters/cast members, think of more adventures for these characters to experience, and ultimately tell one big 15 year story.  "Toy Story 3" is the final chapter for these characters that we have known for over a decade and a darn good one at that.  It feels familiar, it being a sequel, but never feels stale.  Pixar manages to keep the plots fresh and many of the jokes successful, of course with a cast that includes people like Don Rickles, could we really expect anything less? "Toy Story 3" also has some great deja vu from the previous movies...years later those aliens are still obsessed with "the claw" and this time that fares pretty well for them.

"Toy Story 3" may be the most beautiful thing I have seen on the big screen or anywhere...ever...in my entire 19 years on this earth...or it may come second to "Wall-E."  "Toy Story," in 1995, and even now is considered a landmark film as far as animated movies are concerned and has the fantastic visuals to prove it.  Now it's 2010 and Pixar shows what 15 years of technical advancements can do.  We get a film that has characters and setting that are so brilliantly colored, perfectly textured, and just generally perfectly refined and natural looking.  I didn't know a dump could look so beautiful until the Pixar team animated the toys accidentally getting taken there and trying to escape an incinerator.  That's just one of numerous examples in this film that shows the visual brilliance that is Pixar.  If it's not Pixar, I almost always avoid it like the plague.  Absolutely no one but them can combine brilliant animation with brilliant storytelling, generally speaking.

The magic that is Pixar is that they appeal to absolutely every age group, ever.  If you are a breathing human being you will find something to love about these films and "Toy Story 3" just follows suit.  So many emotions are explored in this film including laughter, sadness (although not quite as moving as the beginning and end of "Up" which was just incredible, by any movie standards).  If you don't like these movies at least a little, you may have no soul...from what I know about people...which is actually surprisingly little, but that is completely beside the point.  

Well I've talked about the story, the animation, the actors, and what I like to call "the magic that is Pixar," so I guess it's time to talk about Randy Newman.  I love him.  His voice is unique and he has scored all three "Toy Story" movies.  Whether there's a scene full of adventure, humor, or just sentimentality, his score always comes through for these movies.  And plus, "You've Got a Friend in Me" is just a wonderful song in general, and has got to be worth something.

One final thing, Andy seems to be a little too attached to his toys...possibly a lot...or maybe he's just wicked sentimental.  And Mrs. Potato Head, who was missing an eye for the majority of the movie apparently could see what Andy was doing at his house while she and the toys were at the daycare.  That seemed to go beyond the realm of belief, I mean as far as talking toys go that is...That was a little weird.

Each "Toy Story" film, as far as I am concerned is pretty close as far as quality goes...very consistent.  I like each sequel a little more than the last one and the new characters usually make it for me.  However, "Toy Story" will always be the one that started it all, the original, and a modern classic, but I think I liked "Toy Story 3" the most out of the three.  Between the new story and characters and the usual brilliant animation and storytelling it is just incredibly hard for me to resist.  I highly recommend it to everyone.  This is a weak summer for movies, and "Toy Story 3" is well worth you're money and time.  It is just so incredibly well made and great fun to watch.  I would also suggest seeing it in 2-D.  Although Pixar movies do look very good in 3-D it is still more expensive and slightly dulls the brilliant colors, because of the black tinted glasses.  And sorry I lied before, I definitely had more than one final thing to say. 4 stars!...Just see it...as long as you've got your wallet out.

-Joseph Sbrilli