Tuesday, April 23, 2013

T is for Toy Story 3


TOY STORY 3

USA, 2010
Running Length: 103 minutes
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles. John Ratzenberger
Director:  Lee Unkrich
Screenplay: John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton

This is quite possibly the best film of the year.  And yes, I know how that sounds.  Toy Story 3 takes place many years after we left our toy heroes at the end of Toy Story 2.  Andy, their owner, is grown up now, about to leave for college. The toys have been in the toy box for years without being played with.  Now that Andy is leaving, the best they can hope for is being stored in the attic until Andy has kids of his own.  The worst: being thrown out.

A third possibility doesn’t cross their mind, but is the one that comes to pass.  The toys are donated to a daycare center.  To begin with, this seems an idyllic place, the perfect new home for toys that have been neglected for years.  The daycare toys are led by a benevolent bear called Lotso, and in this haven, Barbie meets Ken for the first time and sparks fly.

But all is not as it seems in the daycare center.  Lotso turns out to be a ruthless tyrant who banishes new toys to the indignities of the toddler room.  Once again, our fearless heroes must find a way to escape and get back to Andy’s house. The adventures they have on the way are often hair-raising and with Lotso in pursuit, threats face them at every turn.

Touching, exciting and utterly truthful, this is the perfect culmination to a trilogy.  I had tears in my eyes on several occasions, and it is testament to both the animation and the voice talent that we are so emotionally engaged by these characters.  It is not just a film for kids.  Adults will enjoy it as much, if not more, than the children it is targeted at.

Don’t miss it. 

4 comments:

  1. Toy Story!! Yippie!! I love those adorable animation movies like "Ice Age" and "Finding Nemo." It's amazing to me they can make movies that appeal to both children and adults. Reminds me of the old days of Bugs Bunny and the Roadrunner. :-D

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  2. I know this movie gets a lot of love, but to me it's repetitive, especially after the second one, which was basically exactly the same story. The only difference is that it's Andy moving on, and although thematically that makes a difference, he was never that important to the story anyway.

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  3. I loved this one. Really, all the Toy Story movies are great. My kids love them. :)

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  4. Pretty sure I've only seen Toy Story 1! Guess they didn't really take me away. No doubt if I had kids I would have seen them a lot more ;)

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