Toy Story 3 – Review

It’s just not going to happen. Each of the last few Pixar films, there has been this collective train of thought from people, thinking that this next Pixar film is going to be the one that misses the mark. They can’t all be good, right? When is Pixar going to fail? I really don’t know why this mentality exists and why, like vultures, are we waiting for Pixar to stumble? It’s just not going to happen, so expect another “this is why Pixar is so great” review. Sorry to be so boring, but in each frame of animation, Toy Story 3 deserves it, or rather earns it. This is why Pixar is the head on top of the animated world’s shoulders. Toy Story 3 tells a story that deserved and perhaps needed to be told, as it’s a funny, lively and emotional film that will resonate long into Pixar’s future.

Where do our toys go when we grow older? Andy is readying himself for college and with iPods and laptops keeping his attention away from Woody and Buzz, the gang is on a one last ditch effort to be played with. Alas, they find themselves packed away, heading towards retirement in the attic, but by chance and misfortune, they wind up at a daycare. Did Andy betray them? Toy Story 3 concludes the arc of a child’s favorite toy’s life cycle and its reflection on that, is the emotional chord that will tug at the heart strings. And tugs it does. In fact, Toy Story 3 might be the best example of Pixar finding that good old Disney charm that Walt wanted in each and every film. It’s a film so good, that it echoes why we love those Golden Age of Disney films like Bambi and Pinocchio. That’s no easy task, as they’ve tried and came close mostly, exceeding only a fraction of the time.

Where as most other studios take the sequel formula into paint-by-numbers areas, Pixar proves that regardless of the numeral after the title, it’s the story that matters most, over 3D or the potential box office due to name recognition. The climax will leave you with a handful of waded tissues, as Andy reflects on what made these toys so great to him growing up. To spoil this adventure, like most other critics have prior to me, is blasphemy. It’s a journey that every once-a-child must take. Sadly, the Sid’s of the world won’t care about its emotional chord that should strike you deep into your heart. Their loss. Toy Story 3 made me want to find my two old buddies I grew up with, that are quietly laying in an old cedar chest at my mom’s house. I wonder if they still think about me? I wonder if they know how much they meant to me growing up?

Rating:

Day & Night is the new Pixar short that preceded Toy Story 3 and it’s a classic in the making. The film is a brilliant use of cell animation and CG, a playful give and take by the differences in the two non-speaking characters, only to have a timely and timeless message of each others differences and how accepting them with an open-minded could lead to new possibilities. Simply wonderful.