Toy Story 3

This movie made me happy, plain and simple. Toy Story 3 obviously doesn't have the groundbreaking charm of the original, or as much of the surprising human emotion of Toy Story 2 (still my favorite of the three), but it's as strong a sequel as you could hope for. Not much has changed, and that's all for the good. The characters are still some of the warmest to grace the screen, the humor and wit are there, and the action sequences are still surprisingly sophisticated for G-rated fare. All in all, fans should be ecstatic.

When a popular film franchise hits its third movie, it's natural to expect an easy cash grab on the part of the filmmakers. Not so here. Toy Story 3 feels as every bit as fleshed out and natural as the first film, surprisingly enough. It's been said that director Lee Unkrich (Finding Nemo) viewed the film as part of a trilogy, so there's a narrative flow between this and the earlier entries. As we rejoin our plastic heroes, Woody the pull string cowboy doll (voice by Tom Hanks) and action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), they are facing perhaps their darkest hour. They've been locked away in a chest, forgotten, the past few years. Their human owner, Andy (John Morris), is now 17 and headed for college. Many of Andy's toys we've grown to love in the past two films have either broke, or moved on to different owners after various garage sales over the years. There are but a small few remaining in that chest with Woody and Buzz, including Rex the dinosaur (Wallace Shawn), Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), Jessie the cowgirl doll (Joan Cusack), and Slinky Dog (Blake Clark). They wait for the day that they will be played with again, but they know too well that it will never come, and they'll eventually be stuffed into the attic, or worse, tossed out with the trash.

There's a creeping sense of abandonment and isolation that permeates the film's theme. These toys only want to be played with. It's what they're built for, after all. But what happens when there's no one to play with? It's a theme that was explored in the last film, but is central to this one. When Andy's mom accidentally mistakes the bag holding the toys for trash and sets them out on the curb, Woody and the others decide to take fate into their own hands, escape from the bag, and sneak inside a box of donations that is headed for a local day-care center. They arrive at their destination, and find what they believe to be paradise. The day-care is a chance for misfit and unwanted toys to get a second lease on life, and be played with and loved again. The lead toy at the center, a strawberry-scented teddy bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty) promises the new arrivals everything they could want. But it all comes with a price. The kids at the day-care like to play rough with the toys, and Lotso rules over all the toys like an iron-fisted prison warden. Those who do not play by his rules are subject to severe punishment or brainwashing, as what happens to Buzz when he tries to stand up to the bear.

It's at this point that Toy Story 3 takes a wildly satirical turn, as it largely turns into a send up of prison escape films. The way the movie skewers film noir elements in a child-friendly package is all at once inventive and hilarious. As in the previous entries, the film is full of imagination (as depicted in the wildly creative opening scene), references to other films (sharp eyed fans of Japanese anime should recognize one of the toys who shows up at a little girl's house), and dialogue that's bound to fly over the heads of younger viewers, but make accompanying adults laugh. And then, of course, there are the returning characters, each of whom get their moment to shine. Hamm spouts off one-liners with ease, Buzz gets reprogrammed as a Latin lover with hilarious results, and Mr. Potato Head finds a creative use for tortilla that has to be seen to be believed. The new characters are memorable as well, as Toy Story 3 holds the largest cast of any of the films (and perhaps of any Pixar film). Lotso is a memorable villain, full of Southern charm, but holding a dark past. And don't get me started on the Ken doll, voiced hilariously by Michael Keaton. I'll leave you to discover his charms yourself.

As wonderful as the film itself is, it all comes with a steep price, and that price is the decision by the Disney corporation to milk as much money as they can from the film by showing it in 3D in most theaters and charging extra. I guess it's not enough for them that it's a great movie that stands well enough on its own, they needed to add a pointless gimmick. Let me be blunt and say that the 3D adds absolutely nothing whatsoever. You are not gaining anything by paying the extra charge to watch it in the "preferred" format. In fact, it lessens the experience on the whole. The 3D glasses make the visuals look muddy and washed out. And since a majority of the film takes place at night or in dark rooms, this causes a lot of problems, and takes away a lot of the detail that the Pixar artists put in. There is no reason this needed to be 3D outside of corporate greed, and I strongly advise everyone to seek out a 2D showing, and see the movie the way it's meant to be.

That bit of ugliness aside, Toy Story 3 is just about anything you could want. The movie may not be as technologically impressive as some recent cartoons, but it fits, since the characters who inhabit the film are antiques themselves. It's still attractive, and there's a lot of great little details. (I love the way the toys move and walk differently, depending on their build.) Fifteen years after the original, and the series has not lost its heart, wit, or brain.

See the movie times in your area or buy the DVD at Amazon.com!

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