Movie Review - Toy Story 3
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2010 / 103 Minutes / G
Reviewed by Dale J. Nauertz
It’s amazing to realize that it’s been fifteen years since Pixar released the original “Toy Story” and revolutionized animation. It seems like only yesterday that I was ponying up five bucks to see what all this “digital animation” hubbub was about. And while seeing it for the first time didn’t blow my brains out the back of my skull I was moderately impressed and definitely charmed. Last year I took another look at the film and, despite the dozens (seems like hundreds) of CGI cartoons that have arrived on the scene since, “Toy Story” still remains one of the field’s high water marks. Unlike so many of its imitators it not only boasts dazzling visuals but a great deal of hilarity and heart. The second “Toy Story” is somehow even better. When Jones and Ben kvetch in podcasts (as I’m sure they do) about the simpletons that prefer “Toy Story 2″ to Pixar masterpieces such as “Wall-E” and “UP”, I’m one of the simpletons about whom they are complaining. They can disagree all they want but, for me, “Toy Story 2″ ranks alongside such sequels as “The Empire Strikes Back” and, especially, “The Road Warrior” as the gold standard of what sequels can accomplish. It was the only sequel Pixar had made and it was a home run, a movie that was faster, funnier and even more powerfully poignant than the original. It and “UP” are the only two animated movies that have ever reduced me to tears.
So when I heard that the master artisans at Pixar were making yet another “Toy Story” film I was filled with equal parts joy and dread. Like everyone else, I was thrilled that Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang were coming back for another adventure. When I heard the plot (their owner, Andy, is going off to college leaving the toys to wonder what will happen to them now) my enthusiasm grew. But, still…this is a sequel and most sequels suck. Pixar seems to defy the rules time and time again by getting better when they should, by all rights, be getting worse (I’m willing to dismiss “Cars” as a strange anomaly). Their success should be going to their heads. Their hubris should be in full swing. And yet they haven’t gone the cheap and easy route. They haven’t cranked out a surefire blockbuster (their films have made oceans of cash but one could hardly classify films about irascible old codgers attaching their houses to balloons, rat chefs, and a robots in love as guaranteed hits) just because they could. In short, they haven’t sold out.
Until now.
Don’t get me wrong, “Toy Story 3″ is still a fine piece of filmmaking. Even when the gang at Pixar decides to play it safe they provide enough charming and clever moments to keep an audience solidly entertained. The returning characters are given plenty to do and the new characters (such as the fuzzy, pink, strawberry-scented tyrant Lotso-Hugginbear and everyone’s favorite dimwitted clotheshorse Ken) are given strong backstories and motivations (as well as plenty of hilarious moments a’la Ken’s fashion show). There are plenty of narrow escapes, witty gags (there’s a bit involving a tortilla that had me in stitches) and even moments that tug at the heart (I defy anyone not to tear up during this film’s finale).
The problem is that so much of this film feels unnecessary. Most of this ground has been covered (and better) in “Toy Story 2″. The film touches on themes of abandonment and obsoleteness, as well as the intriguing notion of what happens after one fulfills their purpose in life. But these ideas (relevant and fascinating though they may be) were already sufficiently explored in “Toy Story 2″. We see several toys get abandoned during “Toy Story 3″ but none of these moments moved me as deeply as Jessie being put in a box and placed along a dirt road in “Toy Story 2″ (I get teared up just thinking about that scene). The movie is still full of ideas, unfortunately they’re mostly the same ideas that the previous film toyed with (no pun intended).
Despite the overall feeling that Pixar has made one too many trips to this particular well, there is plenty to admire about “Toy Story 3″. I love that the day care to which Woody and company are donated turns out to be something of a prison camp ruled with an iron fist by a seemingly cuddly pink bear who oozes Southern charm (Ned Beatty is awesome here). And I really love Ken, whose character has a surprising amount of depth and conflict for a fashion-obsessed himbo (Michael Keaton, though unseen, does some of his finest work in years). In fact, every moment of the film revolving around the day care/prison camp is absolute gold. It’s clever, generally original and even rather suspenseful. Actually, that’s the main distinction of this film: it’s easily the most suspenseful of these three films. The film goes to so many dark places that, well, you start to expect the worst after while. Especially during the ending, which I am determined not to ruin.
But too many moments of the movie have a been-there, done-that feeling. Once again Buzz believes he is an actual space ranger (and for too much of the film, quite frankly, this material was done magnificently in the first movie but here it just feels like a time filler). Once again there’s an action sequence on a conveyor belt (though, admittedly, the stakes in this conveyor belt sequence are higher than in “Toy Story 2″). And, again, Woody has to choose where he belongs. I wish that Buzz’s character had been deepened somewhat, rather than simply putting him through the same old scenarios (having him speak Spanish is hardly a deepening of character). Besides, isn’t Woody a toy from the 50’s? Wouldn’t he have been through a couple of owners by this point? Shouldn’t this sort of thing almost be old hat to him by now? But, I guess, if Woody were simply providing calm reassurance to the other toys the movie would be less interesting.
Still, even though it covers much of the same ground and has little new to offer, it’s still a Pixar movie with all of the polish and heart that entails and it puts the perfect ending to the “Toy Story” saga, leaving things on just the right note. It may not be as strong a sequel as “Toy Story 2″ but it’s a far better end point for a trilogy than “Godfather 3″. In fact, it’s comparable to how Spielberg and company left things in “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade”. Like “Crusade”, “Toy Story 3″ hits many of the same notes as its predecessors but is still affable enough that it’s sure to emerge as an overrated, crowd-pleasing favorite.
Now let’s just hope they learn from that, unlike Lucas and Spielberg, they don’t ruin everything a decade or two down the line with an embarrassing fourth installment.
