And now, the final review of our Toy Story Marathon. Toy Story 3 was released a full decade after the second movie, but while a length of that magnitude could spell trouble for other films, Toy Story 3 found wide critical acclaim and was the highest grossing movie, not just animated movie, but movie in general of 2010, beating out films like Iron Man 2, Inception, How to Train your Dragon, and Tron: Legacy. What could have easily been a nostalgic cash-grab turned into one of the most beloved Pixar classics, and I'm not even going to pretend otherwise, this movie definitely deserves it.
While I can appreciate the first Toy Story as a landmark in animation history, and the second one for what improvements it made from the first, Toy Story 3 is a movie I can appreciate for more than historical significance. Toy Story 3 is the first of these movies I enjoyed from beginning to end. The second movie made me optimistic about this movie and I think the optimism paid off.
Andy's off to college now, and he starts to pack away his things, deciding to put his old toys in the attic, save for Woody. However, after a mix-up, Woody and the other toys find themselves in Sunny-Side, a Daycare for young children. Here, Woody and the gang get separated when Woody gets taken by a young kid named Bonnie and the rest of the toys stay behind in a room full of kids too young to be playing with them. This leads to both parties finding out that an old toy in the Daycare, a stuffed-scented bear named Lotso Huggins, is being a bit dictatorial towards the other toys. Now, Woody and the gang have to hatch a plan to escape, one that involves sneaking past the guards, and working around a reprogrammed Buzz Lightyear. The plot is surprisingly cohesive, I was kind of expecting this movie to be all over the place, but the plot is very smooth and flows quite nicely.
Plot wise it does hit on some of the similar beats to the other two movies, it starts with the army guys bringing in a communication device, has Buzz thinking he is an actual space ranger and also has Woody being taken from home and the rest of the group. I don't think that these repeated notes are a bad thing though, as a lot of them are kind of saying "Hey, things have changed now". The one's that are major are different from the previous movies to make this film stand out, it's not Buzz and the gang saving woody, now it's the other way around, for example. Plus, unlike the first film, this movie didn't have a plot I didn't like, bonus points!
Character wise, these are the same characters we've known and loved since the nineties, not a lot has changed with them. I do like seeing how Woody is still trying to be optimistic and keep the others in high spirits at the start, and I swear Zumbido Año Luz Buzz Lightyear was hilarious to watch. As for new characters, Lotso is a wonderful villain. A lot of people say he is a "twist villain", if he is then they play the twist really early. I like how his kind and friendly demeanor is a facade, how he presents the options as win-win scenarios even though they really weren't. I think this is Disney's best modern villain, and a great example of a manipulator villain. The rest of the cast is fine, as well, these movies never really struggled with character.
Animation wise however, this is the best looking of the three movies. The second one has a lot of warm colours that were pleasing to the eye, and the first one was a technical marvel. However, the textures and models in this one look much better, especially with a literal decade of experience since the second film. On top of that, the cinematography is great, scenes that are hectic and chaotic are fast paced, slower more suspenseful and dramatic scenes have longer holds. The lighting is also amazing, while the warmer colours are gone, the colour scheme and lighting match the scenes they are in, the warm fires of the incinerator, the bright light of the interrogation, it's all perfectly set. Special mention goes to the music as well, perfectly setting the mood and complimenting the scene beautifully. The incinerator scene in particular, the music starts and it's slow and somber, but by the end it sounds a lot more triumphant. This movie does not struggle with the technicals.
Also yeah, this movie gets dark. It's not a roller coaster for nothing. It has moments of intensity, fear, mystery, and even accepting fate. It's an emotional challenge at times and keeps you on edge. Will they escape the daycare? Will they take down the monkey? What is gonna happen to them at the dump? That isn't to say it doesn't have it's more upbeat moments, and a fair amount of humour, but Toy Story 3 is definitely the most emotional ride of these movies so far.
Toy Story 3 was amazing. Cohesive plot, wonderful characters, Spanish Buzz Lightyear was flat out hilarious to witness, beautiful animation, wonderful music. Toy Story 3 was a joy to watch, and is so far my favourite of the Toy Story movies. That also makes it the first of these movies to get a High Recommendation out of me, joyous celebration.
But, the marathon isn't over yet. Toy Story 4 is coming out soon, and I intend to share a First Impressions on it. See you then!
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