Toy Story 3

June 19, 2010

Toy Story 3

Directed by Lee Unkrich

Written By Michael Arndt, Johm Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich

Staring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack Ned Beatty Don Rickles, Michael Keaton and a lot more.

It is a rare thing these days to go and see a movie, spend $12.50 a ticket for a matinee and walk out an hour and a half later and feel like you should go plop down another $12.50.

I saw it Friday afternoon and I still don’t know what to write about it. As you can tell, from past reviews, I don’t really do “traditional” movie reviews here. But I don’t quite know what angle to take for Toy Story 3.

Alright, let me bore you with a little plot. Andy is going away to college and the toys are trying to deal with that. Will they be locked up in the attic or thrown away? There is a mix up and they end up at a daycare center. The toys at the day care center are alll under the thumb of an evil stuffed bear Lotso (Ned Beatty) and the toys are imprisoned and forced into the hands of kids who are not age appropriate for they toys. All the while the toys are trying to lead an escape so they can get back to Andy.

Ok, enough plot. Because Toy Story 3 really isn’t about plot. It’s about feelings, emotions, fear of the unknown, abandonment, growing up and moving on. From the beginning of the movie until the end, Toy Story 3 tugs on your heart strings, but it does it in such a classy way and doesn’t try to go over the top. For example, the kids in the movie are at a daycare center which needs toys. How easy would it have been to make it an orphanage, full of sad and abandoned orphans? But it isn’t. It is just a daycare center. The kids are normal kids, who aren’t evil, just aren’t the right age to be playing with the toys. That’s all.

The greatest thing that Toy Story 3 does is not treat the audience like children. Pixar seems to make a clear distinction between a “movie for kids” and a “family film.” Sure, Toy Story 3 is appropriate for kids, they can watch it and get some enjoyment out of it and there is nothing in the movie that is vulgar or violent, but it wasn’t made for kids. It was made for people who used to be kids.

The second greatest thing the movie does is strip away all the irony and sarcasm that we, as a society, seem to be comfortable with. There is no ironic detachment in Toy Story 3. It almost serves as a reminder that things can be funny without being mean and ultimately rewards emotional honesty. I know none of what I am writing is revelatory, but I just feel it needs to be said, if only for me. I was reminded that things can be funny without being mean or sarcastic.

I don’t know what else to say. Just go see it. It is a film that needs to be seen in a theater, if for no other reason, than you spend 90 minutes thinking about it, living with it and experiencing it without all the distractions that are part-and-parcel of watching a movie at home. Turn your phones off and just let something move you for 90 minutes and enter a world full of happiness, sadness and fond remembrance.

Favorite line that I have been saying constantly since seeing it: “El Vaquero.”

Chris’ One Sentence Review: Toy Story 3 is perfect.