Toy Story 3 (2010)

[InformationGeek]

The first time I ever went to see any big movie during opening weekend and like I thought, the line was long and the theater was packed.  Mostly kids, but you would have to expect this sort of thing when going to see a Disney film.

So, what do I think?  Pixar has a great track record and even their worst films are still good compare the usual junk out there.  Now I wasn't expecting this to live up to the hype or be as good as the first 2 films.  You don't normally see a great 3rd film in a franchise, so I thought that this would be a fun, but not as good as the others kind of film.  However, I have to say, that thought was instantly destroyed.  Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you one of the best films this year and best animated sequels ever.

The film was just simply fun.  The opening had one of Pixar's usual short films like with every other film they have.  It was good and it put me in a good mood to start.  I won't spoil it, but it is pretty darn creative.  The film is basically where  Andy has grown up and doesn't need his toys anymore.  A lot of the toys from the past are gone now since they been sold or donated away and the remaining ones, including Woody and Buzz, are unsure of their future.  They end up being donated (How this happen I won't spoil) to a daycare where they are welcomed by the toys there, including ones voiced by Ned Beatty and Michael Keaton!  All of the toys seem to like this change since kids will play with them now, but Woody isn't sure about this.  I'll stop there and let you see the rest for yourself, but it gets even better.

There are a lot of prision escape movie references and the actual plot of this is so similiar to one of those films as well, which is pretty darn good.  Voice acting is just as good as before, the humor and references are top notch, and there are a lot of moments that you might tear up.  I'm not going to say more about this as well, but trust me, you'll enjoy it.

This is the perfect sequel and ending to the Toy Story series and I am so happy that I got to see it.  I didn't see it in 3D so I cannot comment on that if it was good or not.  The film, I will admit, didn't wow me like Wall-E and Up did, but that did not take away from how much I loved this film.  I kept saying this, but I can't help it.  You got to see this movie!  It's just pure greatness!

So, if you seen it, what did you think?

[Andrew]

POSSIBLE SPOILERS WARNING









We took the kids (and one of Jenna's friends, and one of Katie's friends came with us) to see it in 3D on Saturday.  To jump on your question about the 3D version, it was nicely done.  I don't remember anything really jumping out of the screen at us, but rather scenes had depth, and you could tell the distance between characters.  The scenes at the dump were probably the most striking, because they were dark, and the whole place made me think of a descent into unending darkness.

I liked the film quite a lot, and felt that the ending was perfect, and it held something of a surprise.  Andy's decision of what to do, with his toys - things he loved and remembered, but had moved on from, was quite touching.  It also held some of the thought into what a parent feels about their child growing into adulthood and moving on.

The part of the story with Barbie and Ken was incredibly funny to me, and I thought that this film did a better job really finding a funny angle for those toys.  It was a better approach than Barbie from "Toy Story 2."

Most striking about the movie was the real feeling of loss that came through.  Woody briefly thinking of Bo, and also the just stunning moment at the dump when the friends all finally realize that the end is near, and they reach out for each other to be together.  The film held that moment just long enough for me, and adult, to really feel for them and wonder where the story was going to go. 

A fine end to a series of entertaining films. 

[Flick James]

The wife and I are planning to take our 2 1/2 year old to this coming weekend for his first theatrical movie experience. He's a very active child, so we'll see how it works out. I'm going to have to get the Toy Story 2 DVD because I haven't seen it since when it came out in 1999, so I can get caught up.

I just hope it doesn't rip my heart out.

[Mr. DS]

Was supposed to take my 4 year old to see it on Saturday but his misbehavior at home prevented that. (curses!)  I will say though I plan on going this week hopefully.  I have a feeling it may get a bit dusty in the theater and I'll have to wipe my eyes at the end.  I am majorly invested into all the characters and find them to be some of the greatest ever in movie history.  I'll post soon. 

[Mr. DS]

Just got out from seeing it a few hours ago with my four year old.  It was an immensely well done and solid ending (please don't make any more Pixar, PLEASE) to the story.  It avoided the Shrek syndrome of losing your cinematic soul and kept to the original theme and tones.  Friendship and humor.  

SPOILERS

Like Andrew said, the ending is beyond touching and I myself got a bit misty eyed which I predicted in the post above.  Andy's ability to give up his toys and move on was touching in itself.  However, the more touching aspect is the fact he cared enough about them to make sure they had a great home.

END SPOILERS

The new characters were a more than welcome addition to the film series.  Ken/Barbie owned the film along with Mr. Potato Head.

[Rev. Powell]

This was the first film I've seen in this franchise and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I bet it would have been even better if I'd been attached to the characters beforehand.  The ending was quite tearjerking.

I would say that I recommend it to anyone but the most cynical, black-hearted cad.  But, since DarkSider has already said he liked, I guess I'd recommend it to anyone. 

[ulthar]

We have not seen it yet...almost went today, but ran out of time before we had to be somewhere.

Will probably go this weekend.  Glad to hear it's worth it - not surprising for Pixar, but I will always wonder about a 2nd sequel.

[Jim H]

The first time I ever went to see any big movie during opening weekend and like I thought, the line was long and the theater was packed

Wow, really?  It's funny, thinking about how old you are Geek, I realized I saw a movie opening weekend before you were born.  I can tell you when I was younger, multiplexes were a little less dominant and so theatres seemed a lot more packed than now.  But yeah, I can remember seeing Oliver's Company (released in 1988) opening weekend when I was 5 - I THINK that was the first film I saw in the theatre.  I remember my feet didn't touch the ground when I sat in the seat.  Same deal with Ghostbusters 2 (1989), which sold out and we had to buy tickets for the next showing, than waste an hour wandering around the mall.  Even as a 6 year old, I recall finding Ghostbusters 2 a little unsatisfying (though I still liked it) and not as good as the first.

This was the first film I've seen in this franchise and I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I bet it would have been even better if I'd been attached to the characters beforehand.  The ending was quite tearjerking.

I would say that I recommend it to anyone but the most cynical, black-hearted cad.  But, since DarkSider has already said he liked, I guess I'd recommend it to anyone.  

Yes, definitely see the other two.  I think the first film is amongst Pixar's finest, which is saying a lot.  I didn't like the second one as much as the first, personally - a little too jokey at times, whereas the original has the perfect balance.  It's still very good though.

[ulthar]

Just got back. "WOW!"  Once again, Pixar hits it out of the park both visually (which Dreamworks can do also) but also with story (where I think Dreamworks fails miserably).

I got pretty choked up at the end and had to FIGHT the tears.  Man, they can really tweak the emotions out of you with animated characters.

I loved the subtle effect of music from other Pixar movies backgrounding certain scenes.  The garbage scenes had pretty nearly the same music as the garbage scene from MONSTERS, INC.  I also think I heard some music from THE LITTLE MERMAID, and considering Jodi Benson voiced acted in both, thought that was an interesting touch.

The visuals were absolutely stunning, and I was especially pleased by the subtle use of 3D; it was not 'in your face' overdone crap just because it was there.  Like Andrew said, it added depth and fullness.

I loved the mix of adult and child oriented humor.  They MIXED perfectly, in my opinion.  That is, it was not "grown-up joke" followed by "children's joke" in an alternating sequence to keep both groups happy.  This was more of "show something visually to humor the children while adding witty dialog the adults will get."  A lot of the humor was nostalgia based - forcing us to remember our attachment to our own childhood for that slam at the end.

Finally, I was really pleased Lee Unkrich get the Director's credit.  He has been part of so many Pixar's projects and has been co-director.  Very cool to see him get the nod on this one and do such an amazing job.

Rock On, Pixar. 

[El Misfit]

Man, this was good, but it's missing some characters, as in the RC car, Baby face (aka Spider Baby), Lenny the Binoculars, and , of course, Bo-Peep.

[indianasmith]

I just took my 16 year old daughter to see this (she's been bugging me all summer!), and it was about as perfect as a sequel could be.  Mr. Lotso is a great villain, and the chemistry between the characters was darn near perfect.  Ken and  Barbie were perfect together, and very funny! The Spanish Buzz was hilarious, too, as was Jessie's reaction to him.   AND this 46 year old was bawling all through the last 5 minutes, but please don't tell my daughter!!  I told her it was allergies.


(OH! And be sure to hang around for the closing credits!  They are perfect!)

[ulthar]

Man, this was good, but it's missing some characters, as in the RC car, Baby face (aka Spider Baby), Lenny the Binoculars, and , of course, Bo-Peep.

They explained that.



****  Possible SPOILERS Below ****













SPOILERS

Where is Bo, Lenny and the others?

They mentioned various yard sales over the years.

This added to the 'realism' of the story, for me at least.  That some of the toys would be sold, thrown away or just plain lost/missing over the period of time from 2 to 3 makes perfect sense.

Also, the look on Woody's face when Bo was mentioned was intrinsic to his character and how hard he was willing to fight to save the those that remain and how hard he was fighting to convince them Andy was NOT trying to throw them away.  He had no control over the loss of Bo, apparently, but he could TRY to influence the outcome of the loss of THESE toys - those that remain.

Therefore, in my view, it was brilliance to remove a few key characters "off screen" in the timeline.

END SPOILERS

[Jim H]

Might be worth mentioning that Lenny left in part because his voice actor died.

[HappyGilmore]

Great movie.  Great, great movie.

I'm not a huge Pixar fan, as I was unimpressed with some of their works, but the few I liked were really well done, and this was one of them.

[dean]

Hhaha, reminds me of this:

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/entertainment/1078078/toy-story-3-reduces-grown-men-to-tears