Sid's Opinion: Toy Story 3

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Sep 11, 2009
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Toy Story 3 is worth the ten year wait. It was a ten year wait for me because Toy Story 2 was released in the UK in 2000, not 1999. Lucky Yanks.

Anyway, I want to give a bit of information as to why this film was long awaited by me. If you get bored, just skip onto the review, but this could be interesting, so bear with me!

1996 (once again, the Yanks got lucky by getting it in 1995): some geniuses at a company named Pixar released a film which only used computer animation. This film was Toy Story, and it is one of my most cherished films because I was only two years of age when my parents took me to the cinema to see it, and it was the first film in a cinema that I managed to sit through without getting bored and screaming to leave. Because it was that. Freaking. Amazing. Toys coming to life? It was done in The Indian in the Cupboard, but it was realized with more heart and soul in Toy Story. Woody, Buzz and the gang were all likeable, and the story was perfect for this type of film. The film was enjoyable for children as well as for adults, and children pondered whether their toys came to life when they weren?t looking for years after. There were laughs, scares (Sid?s toys are pretty sinister to this day) and lessons taught to us by this group of playthings. This film was awe-inspiring for me. So awe-inspiring, in fact, that I couldn?t contain my excitement when the second film was released on British soil, when I was 6.

2000: four years after the original, me and my family went to see Toy Story 2 for my dad?s birthday (it was released on his birthday, conveniently), and I believe it surpassed the first. The animation had made leaps forward since the first instalment, the story was much more threatening for the toys (Woody is taken by a sleazy toy collector that sees toys as collectibles and not playthings, and it turns out that he is getting sent to Tokyo as part of a collection, of which he is a major part of), and the finale, whilst being unbelievable, was pretty great. Toys running riot in an airport and getting into a plane, eh? Bit far fetched, but so is the idea of toys coming to life; Pixar has made that seem believable. They also made me feel sympathy towards Stinky Pete. Kelsey Grammer was perfect for that role, managing to trip us into thinking he is a caring character who wants the best for Jessie and Bullseye (Jessie is voiced by Joan Cusack, another example of great casting), but all he really wants is to be admired. When he was on sale, he was the last of the Roundup Gang to be picked for purchase by anyone due to his name and the fact that he was, as a child puts it in the film itself, ?an ugly man doll?. The film was close to perfect, so how was Toy Story 3 going to beat it?

I have waited ten years for this film. Usually, when someone must wait an exceedingly long time for something, it?s not all it?s cracked up to be once it is in their possession. This is not the case with Toy Story 3.

I am seventeen years old, the same age as Andy in the latest instalment. I will be in the same situation as him in a year?s time as I will hopefully be moving out to go to university (I am a British reviewer; we have universities whereas the US have colleges), and so I will be leaving childish things behind and becoming more self-reliant and, hopefully, more mature. Woody and Buzz haven?t been played with for a while now, and they have realised that Andy will not play with them again, and they are destined for the attic, the day care centre, or the bin bag on the side of the road. The toys reflect on friends they have lost over the years, either due to yard sales or because they have been thrown out, making their abandonment all the more likely, if it wasn?t for Andy wanting to keep them in the attic, so he could bring them out when he needs them next. Unfortunately, due to a misunderstanding, the toys end up at Sunnyside Day Care, where they meet Lotso, a pink bear who smells of strawberries. He is also voiced by Ned Beatty, who makes Lotso sound like a caring, compassionate character, but Woody doesn?t believe that his kindness and understanding is really a façade, so he leaves the toys to relish in the supposed paradise that is Sunnyside. After a disastrous first day in the day care centre, the toys come to realise that Woody had the right idea, and attempt an escape so they can return to their owner, who is looking for them.

I am sorry if that ruined any of the film for you, but that?s the only way I could have given a decent plot summary for this remarkable film. If you have seen it, then great! I ruined nothing. If you didn?t, then bully for you.

The animation in this film is second to none. Each character moved fluidly, the voice acting is pitch perfect, due to the fact that everyone from the previous films has returned and lent their vocal chords to give life to the computer animated life forms. Jim Varney, who voiced Slinky Dog in Toy Story 1 and 2, sadly passed away before Toy Story 3 went into production, so it?s amazing how they managed to get someone in to voice Slinky who sounds EXACTLY like Jim Varney. It?s miraculous, to say the least. The new voice actors all make the characters their own, such as Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants, a sophisticated sounding hedgehog in lederhosen. I haven?t been able to look at Timothy Dalton the same since he played the sinister Simon Skinner in Hot Fuzz (one of my favourite films ever), but it?s a shame that, to me, his vocals weren?t used an awful lot in this. Doesn?t help that he wasn?t really in the film that much, and his character was quite a silent one, so I might be mistaken as to how sparingly his talent was used. As previously mentioned, Ned Beatty was a great choice for a reassuring character, but, as many reviewers have said about this film so far, a lot of the performances are overshadowed by Michael Keaton as Ken. Yes, Ken. The stylish doll from Mattel that pines for Barbie like a fat kid craves cake. I didn?t think he stole the show as such, but he had some great moments, such as the torture Barbie puts him through by ripping up various items of clothing that the Barbie and Ken range of toys has accumulated over the years. The pristine condition of the clothing turned into ripped shreds in seconds makes Ken a tortured wreck, which would surely make people who have grown up with these toys chuckle.

The film is all about growing up, however, and it never lets us forget this. The recorded videos of Andy playing with his toys over the years are shown, and the toys reminding each other of friends they have lost along the way shows us that their time with Andy is like a journey, except it will eventually stop. Some will stop sooner than others, but the ones that are loved and cherished will last longer. This is evident during the final scene, which even made me shed a tear. I haven?t cried at a film since Forrest Gump!

This film is just breathtaking. It?s a shock that Toy Story 3 is the end of a fifteen year journey for us and the toys, and it?s sad to see them go. The final scene will make the young and the old cry, but not with sorrow, but with joy. It is a joy to have been part of the toys? journey, to see their adventures, their losses, and their redeeming of themselves as they save each other and show that they all count. Even if Woody and Buzz are Andy?s favourite toys, they all share a place in his toy box, and our hearts. This is truly the best threequel ever released.

Thank you Pixar. You have made one reviewer cry for the first time in quite some time, and have given him some memories to cherish in the future. Thank you.

Also, one last note. Spanish Buzz Lightyear for the win!