Toy Story 3 Critical Reviews

[IncredigirlVirginia]

Yeah, he just wants to ruin it for those of us who have taste.

[Livyrosebud]

Eh, if it ends up with 99%, no biggie. We all know it deserved that 100, anyways. But I’m still signing that petition.

[karly05]

@RoboDad

@Pixarinho*

Who cares about Rotten Tomatoes? It, in my opinion, means absolutely nothing, the only person’s opinions that should matter is your own. I know having the Toy Story trilogy as all 100% is nice, but, hey, anything over 90-95% is brilliant, anyway.

You’re right, of course, but many, many people don’t think that way. They need to have validation from other sources before they go see a movie, and RT is one of the most popular sources out there right now.

Agreed that critical reviews can make or break a movie for certain parts of the audience - but I also agree that anything over 90% on RT is going to sound good to the general public. And if anyone actually reads Armond’s “review”, they’ll just be scratching their heads over it, anyway.

[Sheriff_Woody_Pride]

Toy Story 3 is now at 98% at RT.

I liked 99% better…

[queen_of_painting]

98% is still pretty fantastic!

[Ding]

On a lighter note, Kevin Carr from 7M Films wrote an absolutely glowing review of Toy Story 3! He’s not really anyone famous or important that you should know about, and I doubt what he says actually weight or influence, but I still love this guy because his writing made me smile and he basically summarizes the reason why Pixar is so amazing.

[url]http://www.7mpictures.com/inside/reviews/toystory3_review.htm[/url]

[DarkHandOfSigourneyW]

Concerning Ebert’s review, it is true that the main emotional, human period of TS3 is the last part, but there is a lot of that in the first sequence, and much of what we see at the little girl’s bedroom and Lotso’s groups story is emotive. In fact, a large part of the earliest member’s own reviews in the other stickied thread is just dripping with tears.

I guess in the first two movies, there was an ‘evil’ incorrigible kid and an
‘evil’ incorrigible toy collector. Ok, so there wasn’t an evilty incarnate homo sapiens this time around. Actually, come to think of it, in TS2, in addition to the selfish toy collector, there was Stinky Pete, who turned out to be black-hearted in a twist near the end of the story, and Zurg, who really didn’t factor into things much. Still, the cards seemed stacked against our friends in that installment and it made for a fine finish. I didn’t get all excited and emotional in the [spoil]incinerator scene, sorry. Maybe that’s where Roger got derailed from the Orphan caboose.[/spoil]

Oh, I read Mr. Ebert’s review of How to Train Your Dragon, an excellent movie, and he seemed confused as to whether to call it such, and didn’t even mention the magnificent characterization of the Dragon. It got a super rating, and I don’t feel he really liked it. He sort of shrugs his shoulders in his recent reviews of animated movies like he’s saying “Oh it’s ok I guess, go see it if it’s your bag”. Poor Roger.

[Danachii]

@RoboDad

You’re right, of course, but many, many people don’t think that way. They need to have validation from other sources before they go see a movie, and RT is one of the most popular sources out there right now.

If I always need constant approval from other people just to watch a movie, then I’d never learn to value my own judgment. And, yes, this even includes famous critics. :\ Honestly, I don’t even care if some famous movie critic that I’ve never even heard of gives my favorite movie a bad review or something. That’ll never stop me from enjoying it and being part of the fandom for it.

And, personally, I only care about my own opinion. shrugs But that’s just me.

[Pixar_Builder]

Chester A. Bum reviews Toy Story 3! I was really hoping that Doug Walker would have done it in his Nostalgia Critic guise, though. But at least he seemed to love the film.

The only thing he said about it was Slinky’s voice sounded different. Hmmmm, I bet he had some help from Wikipedia.

thatguywiththeglasses.com/videol … oy-story-3

[pixarfan9099]

twitchfilm.net/reviews/2010/06/t … e-year.php

[Rac_Rules]

@Pixar Builder

Chester A. Bum reviews Toy Story 3! I was really hoping that Doug Walker would have done it in his Nostalgia Critic guise, though . But at least he seemed to love the film.

The only thing he said about it was Slinky’s voice sounded different. Hmmmm, I bet he had some help from Wikipedia.

thatguywiththeglasses.com/videol … oy-story-3

I saw it today, I’ve been waiting so long for it! ^^

I thought it was hilarious. “You’ve got a friend in me…[spoil]BURN ALIVE! BURN IN HELL![/spoil]” “I was played with once!” “But Jessie the cowgirl doesn’t mind, because Spanish people are hot!” (You guys knew that one would come up with me. XD)

Also, the NC includes a clip of Jessie’s back story in his new “Top 11 Coolest Cliches” list.

[Sheriff_Woody_Pride]

@Pixar Builder

But at least he seemed to love the film.

The only thing he said about it was Slinky’s voice sounded different.

Actually, he didn’t seem to love the film, he thought it was just “good” and too dramatic.

Also, Slinky’s voice sounded almost identical to Jim Varney’s, he probably said it sounded different just to draw attention to the change of the voice actor.

Is it strange that I like him a little bit less now that he didn’t fully appreciate the movie?

[Rac_Rules]

@Sheriff Woody Pride

@Pixar Builder

But at least he seemed to love the film.

The only thing he said about it was Slinky’s voice sounded different.

Actually, he didn’t seem to love the film, he thought it was just “good” and too dramatic.

Also, Slinky’s voice sounded almost identical to Jim Varney’s, he probably said it sounded different just to draw attention to the change of the voice actor.

Is it strange that I like him a little bit less now that he didn’t fully appreciate the movie?

He didn’t say it was TOO dramatic, just that it was very dramatic and a huge jump from the tone of the last two films.

[Sheriff_Woody_Pride]

@Rac_Rules

@Sheriff Woody Pride

@Pixar Builder

But at least he seemed to love the film.

The only thing he said about it was Slinky’s voice sounded different.

Actually, he didn’t seem to love the film, he thought it was just “good” and too dramatic.

Also, Slinky’s voice sounded almost identical to Jim Varney’s, he probably said it sounded different just to draw attention to the change of the voice actor.

Is it strange that I like him a little bit less now that he didn’t fully appreciate the movie?

He didn’t say it was TOO dramatic, just that it was very dramatic and a huge jump from the tone of the last two films.

In his words: “JEEZ, LIGHTEN UP!” He did say this while in character, but still, you can see what he means.

[thedriveintheatre]

At the risk of using cliched hyperbole, Australian critics are raving about Toy Story 3!

Leigh Paatsch of The Daily Telegraph gave it 4 1/2 stars out of 5, and had much praise for it:

As is the case with all Pixar productions, the visual design of Toy Story 3 is artfully dazzling and effortlessly inventive, particularly when seen in 3D.

Make no mistake. This funny, moving and totally engrossing affair is as great as it can possibly get for all-ages entertainment in 2010.

He also complimented the preceding short film:

A preceeding short titled Day & Night does some indescribably wonderful things with the fundamental differences between light and shade.

The animators responsible for this trippy six-minute affair are at a loss to explain what they have come up with here. I’ll help them out guys, you have made something just as fantastic as the film that follows yours.

Paul Brynes of Sydney Morning Herald’s review can be read online, but here are some choice quotes:

The series has always transcended its own technological originality. These are great movies, not just great animated movies. John Lasseter, the creative force behind Pixar, has made a series that rivals Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings for its quality and ambition across three films. Few directors have done that, but Lasseter has enlarged his ambition with each film, raising up a new team of animators in his own image.

The Toy Story films are about many things - the incredible energy and ingenuity of childhood, the importance of friendship, and the need to look after the slower ones, to have compassion and faith. There’s a strong sense of liberal rectitude in these films, albeit concealed, so that it’s hard to spot how reforming they are. This is certainly one of the films of the year and a crowning achievement for Pixar.

He also made an interesting comparison between Pixar and ‘the rest of the Western animated studios’.

That sense of characterisation has been the difference between Pixar’s creations and those of everyone else. The Shrek characters, made at DreamWorks Animation, are a funny and clever reworking of classic fairytales, but they have as much inner life as a velvet painting. Woody has the depth of a Pinocchio. That is why a generation has grown up watching these films almost daily.

Good on ya, Pixar!

[animagusurreal]

@My review for a local paper (I'm Brent)

Pixar Animation Studios presents another look into the secret lives of the toys in Andy’s room, including vintage toy sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) and his best friend, space ranger action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen). Years have passed since the end of the last film and now Andy is leaving for college. He decides to take Woody with him, while the other toys (through a series of mishaps) get donated to a daycare center where all is not what it seems.

Brent: I’m relieved that this beloved franchise managed to avoid the threequel issues that plagued Spider-man, the X-men, and the Godfather. Toy Story was a revolution in both technology and storytelling (breaking from the then-everywhere Disney fairy tale formula); and Toy Story 2 was the rare sequel that actually topped the original. I don’t think this threequel is quite as much of a landmark as those were, but it is a worthy conclusion for these characters, continuing concepts set up in the previous films. Unlike the cheapie direct-to-video sequels to many of Disney’s animated classics, I actually believe that this is what happened to them next.

Roberta: Toy Story 3 is wonderful. We recommend seeing it in 3-D. The story is touching. They should keep it to these three movies and not try to make another one because it’s such a perfect trilogy. The whole thing comes together.

Brent: Pixar continues to excel at making us see things from our everyday lives in new and unexpected ways. Sunnyside Daycare first resembles a cozy toy retirement home, but then turns into the toy equivalent of Alcatraz. And now I’d like to warn you of something we usually try to avoid: SPOILERS. This is now the third time that Pixar has done a kindly old man who surprisingly turns out to be evil. They’re each distinctive enough, but as soon as I saw the trailer for Toy Story 3— with Lots-o-Huggin’ Bear giving Andy’s toys a warm welcome—I was like, “Yeah, he’s gonna be the bad guy.” It turns out that this strawberry-scented teddy bear operates like a corrupt warden. His main enforcer is an eerie life-size baby doll known only as “Big Baby.” Meanwhile, Barbie (Jodi Benson, the voice of The Little Mermaid) strikes up a romance with a metrosexual Ken doll (Michael Keaton), whose passion for fashion rivals the S and the City ladies(though unlike in those films, it’s played mostly for laughs).

Roberta: The scenes with Barbie and Ken are hysterically funny.

Brent: Pixar really gives this world of toys a remarkable feeling of authenticity. For example, the way Woody flails his stitched-and-stuffed limbs when he runs, or how the plastic elevator on the side of Ken’s Dream House sticks slightly on it’s way down. The daycare setting gives the animators the opportunity to bring to life dozens of toys, both real and imagined, from several different decades. Pixar tries to give all of the characters something memorable to do, but there are soooooooo many—all of Andy’s toys, plus the daycare crew, plus even more—that some don’t get a chance to develop as much as others.

Roberta: I love all the characters; even the bad guy. He was bad, but you loved to hate him. It’s adventurous when the toys are trying to escape and find their way back to Andy, and I was rooting for them the whole time. The bad guys reset Buzz and when his friends are trying to change him back, they accidentally set him to Spanish mode. Boy, does Buzz become charming, and Jessie (the cowgirl toy voiced by Joan Cusack) is impressed with him. It’s funny and romantic.

Brent: The movie has a lot of fun and bright colors, but it also has a darker side that could frighten some small children, especially during the climactic action sequence. And now I’m going to try to talk about the ending without revealing any of it. You know how last year, all the critics were raving about the first 20 minutes of Up, and the year before that it was the first 20 minutes of Wall-E? Well this year, I believe it will be the last 10 minutes of Toy Story 3 that get lauded. Anyone who has ever played with a toy will be misty eyed at this sequence.

Roberta: It gets very emotional; it’s so poignant.

Brent: And one of the greatest treats of each new Pixar release is that it’s accompanied by a new Pixar short.

Roberta: The animated short film Day & Night that plays before the movie is wonderful. The personalities of Day & Night are cleverly shown through the characters see-through bodies, which reveal beautiful scenes of what each one likes. It’s very, very creative. We loved it!

Brent: It was an incredibly original idea and a brilliant use of 3-D that was unlike anything I’ve seen before. I don’t think it would have quite the same impact without 3-D.

(Cut by my editor, not appearing in the actual review: It wasn’t necessary to spell out its beautiful message, which it does briefly near the end, but that’s forgivable considering the rest is pure genius.)

Getting back to the feature presentation, Pixar is the only studio I know of that regularly produces films that inspire multiplex audiences to applaud at the end. At the showing we attended, there was a second round of applause after the scenes that played alongside the end credits. I can definitely relate to Andy’s sentimental feelings for things from his youth. I was 14 when I saw the first Toy Story film in theaters, and I just turned 29 earlier this month … yet I’m still going to animated movies with my mommy.

Brent M. Parker is a writer, artist, and aspiring animated filmmaker. Roberta Slutske is his proud mother who taught him everything he knows. Contact them at mail@santamariasun.com.

CLICK HERE TO READ ON THE PAPER’S WEBSITE:
santamariasun.com/film/

[Ding]

@Pixar Builder

Chester A. Bum reviews Toy Story 3! I was really hoping that Doug Walker would have done it in his Nostalgia Critic guise, though. But at least he seemed to love the film.

The only thing he said about it was Slinky’s voice sounded different. Hmmmm, I bet he had some help from Wikipedia.

thatguywiththeglasses.com/videol … oy-story-3

Haha, that was hilarious! Who is this guy? I laughed so hard, I need to watch more of him! And the evil monkey part was just… pure epicness.

[Within_A_Nutshell]

@Pixar Builder

Chester A. Bum reviews Toy Story 3! I was really hoping that Doug Walker would have done it in his Nostalgia Critic guise, though. But at least he seemed to love the film.

The only thing he said about it was Slinky’s voice sounded different. Hmmmm, I bet he had some help from Wikipedia.

thatguywiththeglasses.com/videol … oy-story-3

[spoil]" “I don’t ever want to grow up!” But then college is like, “We got girls!” “Oh, hell with these.” [/spoil] (spoliers just in case you want to watch the review with a fresh outtake.)

[Pixar_Builder]

Yeah, the Nostalgia Critic is awesome! I love his reviews for bad movies, but I do wish that he did one for Toy Story (he notes that it is one of his favorite films).

[Sheriff_Woody_Pride]

Toy Story 3 is back to 99% on Rotten Tomatoes!