First off, for those of you who have been kind enough to follow my first reviews so far, sorry I never followed up each week for nearly six months. I got busy with work and had to direct my commitments in that direction. Now that work has gotten lighter, I'm ready and happy to be back. As you can see, though, I'm not following up my Batman'89 review with Batman Returns, as originally promise, but instead I jave chosen the newly released Toy Story 3 as a way of easing back into my reviews, and while follow up with Batman Returns right after. Also, for any new release I review, I'm going to give the film 6 months, meaning that if I happen to review the film within 6 months of its release, like with Toy Story 3, there will be no spoilers, but after 6 months there will be, so beware...
And now...Toy Story 3.
The toys are back, but they aren't being played with. In fact, they haven't been played with for years. Andy has grown up & grown out of playing with his childhood toys. He's planning a move to college, and has to choose between throwing the toys out, sticking them in the attic, donating them to SunnySide Daycare, or perhaps taking the toys with him to college. In the end, the toys find themselves at SunnySide Daycare, which seems like a wonderful place...at first.
I'm just going to get straight to the point on this one: Toy Story 3 is a lot of things to me. It's not only the best of the Toy Story films, it's not only one of the best Pixar films, it's not only the best comedy so far this year, but it's one of the best films so far this year, and that's saying something. If you put any stock into the Oscars, then you can count on this film being a lock to win Best Animated Film and at least a nomination for Best Picture.
Toy Story 3 builds upon the story that the first 2 films started. Pixar could've just made another stand-alone adventure for the toys, rake in a couple houndred-million bucks and be on their marry way, but this film chooses to take the idea of the toys having to deal with Andy moving on with his life, which was an anticipated concern of Woody and Jessie in Toy Story 2, and gives it a very emotional core. Not only does it affect Andy, it affects the toys as well, and leads to some moments that'll bring you close to tears, working in conjunction with all that you've been through with these characters, as well as asking you to recall your own childhood memories in which your toys were a special, important aspect of you life.
Toy Story 3 is also a very cute and funny movie. That said, the humour is unlike the style of the previous films, and gets a little dark and twisted. I wont go into detail by listing moments, since I think you should see it for yourself if you haven't already, but I will say that some of it has to do wih the aesthetic of the characters, our preconceived ideas we have about certain characters, as well as our knowledge about different (kinds of) movies and even some parallels with real-world events of the past decade or so. Will kids like this humour? Hard to say. I've read some reactions that cite the movie as too dark for children, some even from parents. Can't say if that's completely accurate or not, but what I do know is if I was a 5 year old and I saw this film, I wouldn't mind one bit.
Lastly, the animation is great, the script is solid, and the voice work is absolutely fantastic. Toy Story regulars Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack return, as well as many others, and they do just an awesome job bringing these characters to life once again, to make us both laugh and cry. There are several new voices as well, the one that stands out the most is Michael Keaton as the Ken doll in a very funny performance.
In short, Toy Story 3 is simply a wonderful experience, for people who've grown up with these films and those just discovering it. It's absolutely hilarious, and will tug at your heart. In an age where film makers tend to misfire on the 3rd film in a trilogy, Toy Story 3 fires on all cylinders.
Final Grade
Toy Story 3 (2010): 10/10
Coming soon, my review of Batman Returns. Will it be the best Batman film of the Burton/Schumacher era, or at least give Batman'89 a run for its money? Stay tuned...
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