Review: Toy Story 3 (2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)

3.5

ANIMATED/ADVENTURE

U.S. Release Date: 06/18/10

Running Length: 94 Minutes

MPAA Classification: G

Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1

Cast: (voices) Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Jodi Benson, Estelle Harris, John Morris Director: Lee Unkrich

Screenplay: Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich

Music: Randy Newman

U.S. Distributor: Walt Disney Pictures

Review by: Carter Moulton

07/28/10

Woody and the gang are back for Toy Story 3, a tale of plastic prison break with new characters and a post-pubescent Andy. I’ll talk about Andy’s post-pubescentism in a bit. I had some reservations about Toy Story 3. I wrote an article for my school newspaper explaining that a “Toy Story” movie 15 years after the original—and 11 after the sequel—just wouldn’t be the same. Was I right? Yes… but the movie is still really good—on par, in fact, with first two films.

Toy Story 3 differs from its predecessors in the fact that it features a toy—not a human—antagonist. There’s no brace-wearing, booger-eating delinquent named Sid, and there’s no Cheeto-fingered pedophile—or, at least I assume—named Al. Instead, we get a strawberry-scented bear named Lotso, the head hauncho of sorts at Sunnyside daycare. When Woody, Buzz, and the rest of the group are transported to Sunnyside—against Woody's will—they'll need to band together to escape the clutches of Lotso and his crew—and the reckless freak children at Sunnyside.

Why are the toys taken to Sunnyside? Andy, now 17, is going to college. It’s packing time. He’s got a suave hairdo that is sure to drive the college girls wild. I saw the film in 2D, having no desire to be tempted by Andy’s flowing hair follicles in 3D. This kid is in for a rude awakening when he enters college and will definitely undergo another image transformation during his first semester of college.

Anyway, before we see this all-growed-up Andy, we get a montage of memories. Through the lens of a home camcorder, we see what transpired post-Toy Story 2: Andy playing with Mr. Potatohead and Rex, watching TV with Hamm and Slink, and celebrating birthdays with Woody, Jesse and Buzz. It’s a similar sequence to the Carl and Ellie montage in Up, but it’s much shorter and reaches for a different heartstring—there’s a big difference between growing up and growing old.

Woody experiences an inner conflict regarding loyalty and how it coincides with the process of aging, and this is the emotional core of the movie. The new characters, including but not limited to Mr. Pricklepants, Stretch—I knew that was Whoopi Goldberg’s voice!—and Trixie, are interesting but not as memorable as Jesse or Stinky Pete were in Toy Story 2.

Director Lee Unkrich, who also directed Toy Story 2, has made a film that focuses on action and adventure over humor. The uniqueness about the “Toy Story” franchise is that common household items—brooms, buckets, cups, clothespins, a roll of toilet paper, etc.—have always served as innovative action devices for the toy characters. Unkrich orchestrates some amazing sequences as Buzz and Woody soar through the sky and come dangerously close to death. The animation is beautiful, and there are a few gut-busters along the way. Ken, voiced by Michael Keaton, and Barbie heat up the screen in a few scenes, and Buzz—who's at his comedic best when he's completely clueless—is switched into Spanish mode. But the moment I laughed the hardest in Toy Story 3 may have also been the saddest moment of the entire film.

It occurred as Ken and Barbie are saying, “I love you” back and forth to each other. The scene's comedic timing was just right, producing a hearty hoot from my friend and I. But as our laugh faded, we realized that we were the only ones in the entire theater laughing. I realized that I was different from all of those kids sitting in the theater next to me. I had changed, and so had my sense of humor. It’s a more cynical—“Ken is so stupid”—style of humor, one that children luckily lack. And that’s kind of how I feel about Toy Story 3. I laughed, I felt the adrenaline, and I appreciated the craftsmanship—but it was all from a different point of view. I’m not saying that adults won’t enjoy this film, but when you’re my age, 20, childhood is still so fresh in your mind. I wish I could go back.