Toy Story 3 is set about 10 years after the event of part 2. Andy is now 17 years old and getting ready to leave for college. The toys haven't been played with for years, and he decides to put them in the attic. Through a mix-up (you know how these things go when you're moving) the toys end up at a daycare instead. And although it at first seems to be a heaven compared to all those years in Andy's toy box, it soon becomes evident that the daycare is run with an iron fist by a dictatorial pink teddybear called Lots-a-Huggin', who seems to have taken crib notes from both Don Vito Corleone and Blofeld. The toys soon find themselves imprisoned, and decide to escape
Okay, so that's the story. I shall use the rest of this review to list everything that is amazing about the film.
No. 1: the sweet merchandise
No. 2: it is amazing with how much attention to detail Pixar has worked out their premise. They squeeze almost every logical consequence out the simple fact that their main characters are toys. This ranges from philosophizing on what it exactly means to be a toy (and trust me, this goes deep) to a constant awareness that these characters are not more then 10 centimeters tall, yet they still have to use stuff that was made for people who are about 20 times as tall as them. Imagine you having to do this.
No. 3: It's amazing how much depth Pixar has put in their films without sacrificing the fun. I will now list the themes in this very entertaining film:
- The thin line between true commitment to a cause and becoming delusional in your importance in the matter,
- The corrupting effect of power,
- The pursuit of ones purpose in life,
- The ruthless passing of time,
- The struggle of combining a youthful approach to the world while still growing up,
- And, most importantly, mortality and the acceptance of this.
I shit you not. Pixar movies always have had an enormous thematic richness, but this movie surpasses every single one of them. Maybe it's because the main characters have already been established in the previous two films (although Buzz still has some surprises up his sleeve) and the cast can now be put up against external forces, so to say, but whatever the case, it's rather staggering.
Speaking of characters: No. 5: it's amazing how well each everyone gets characterized, even if they have only 2 minutes of screentime. There is this one hedgehog doll, who is called mr. Pricklepants (heh) and who is voiced by Timothy Dalton (heh heh). He fancies himself somewhat of a Shakespearean actor, complete with an utmost devotion to staying in character. He has virtually no importance to the story and has maybe like 10 lines, but you still get the feeling you know exactly whom your dealing with. He even manages to get a few jokes in. This is quite something for such a bitpart, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone outside maybe Robert Altman using all his characters so vividly.
But all of that is basically just filmnerd babble. I think the most convincing argument I can give in favor of the movie is this: at one point, I stopped the movie to think about what was happening and what it meant. At one point, I stopped the movie because I was laughing so hard I was afraid I would miss something. And near the end, I didn't stop the movie because I was almost crying. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking this is a kiddy movie: this is, by any standard, a great movie, simple as that. Pixar have outdone themselves once more, and that is really saying something.
Alias
No. 4: the beautiful character models and the buttery smooth animation
Speaking of characters: No. 5: it's amazing how well each everyone gets characterized, even if they have only 2 minutes of screentime. There is this one hedgehog doll, who is called mr. Pricklepants (heh) and who is voiced by Timothy Dalton (heh heh). He fancies himself somewhat of a Shakespearean actor, complete with an utmost devotion to staying in character. He has virtually no importance to the story and has maybe like 10 lines, but you still get the feeling you know exactly whom your dealing with. He even manages to get a few jokes in. This is quite something for such a bitpart, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone outside maybe Robert Altman using all his characters so vividly.
But all of that is basically just filmnerd babble. I think the most convincing argument I can give in favor of the movie is this: at one point, I stopped the movie to think about what was happening and what it meant. At one point, I stopped the movie because I was laughing so hard I was afraid I would miss something. And near the end, I didn't stop the movie because I was almost crying. Don't let anyone fool you into thinking this is a kiddy movie: this is, by any standard, a great movie, simple as that. Pixar have outdone themselves once more, and that is really saying something.
Alias
At first I just liked this song for here, but it turns out the music video is totally awesome as well!
Maybe I should start by re-watching the first two. I've not seen those in years.
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