Toy Story 3 voted 2nd in Top 10 'Most Powerful Film Moments'

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#1

Well, Toy Story 3 fans, I noticed this small article in today’s newspaper… you might be pleased to now that the trash incinerator scene was voted 2nd in the Top 10 ‘Most Powerful Moments in Film’ according to UK website FILMCLUB. This is “after surveying over 2,000 movie fans, including such entertainment insiders as The King’s Speech producer Gareth Unwin, actor Matt Lucas, and actress Ashley Jensen” (Shadowlocked.com). The honour of first prize goes to a certain movie which I’m sure all of you would love if you’re a Spielberg fan… :wink:

Other films that made the list are Rocky, Bambi and Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid.

But hey, getting a Number Two is pretty good! Ooh… that just sounded dirty. :stuck_out_tongue:

filmclub.org/blog/details/21 … ilm-guides

#2

This is such an honor for Toy Story 3, especailly considering Toy Story 3 is such a recent movie compared to the rest of the movies on the list.

#3

That’s quite s suprise I must say. But 2nd out of every movie in the history of movies? I think it’s a bit too high personally and can’t see why Rocky is on the list but hey. I think Up was more powerful than TS3 imo.

#4

I completely agree. Up was nice and subtle, but TS3 shoved a bunch of emotion in your face. I prefer simplicity, personally.

#5

THIS.

honestly, the second most powerful film (or moment, whatever) ever? what is this.

#6

I’m sorry bits&pieces, I’m confused. Are you upset at IV’s comment that Toy Story 3 had forced emotions, or are you agreeing with her and acting with surprise that TS3 had such a high rank? :question:

…

Anyway, I felt that the last playtime with Andy was more powerful than the incinerator scene (if only because I had a tiny bet of skepticism in the back of my mind that the Pixarians would kill off the toys that easy).

I could actually think of several scenes from other recent movies that brought me closer to tears than the incinerator scene - the ending of HTTYD, Nigel telling Nemo of his dad’s quest to save him, the beginning of the third act of Rango with the soaring music and Rango’s grim determination against all odds, h*ll, even Lightning’s act of redemption in Cars (yes, I cried when Lightning pushed the King across the finish line; it’s cheesy, but I was incredibly touched).

When I saw the incinerator scene, I knew this wouldn’t be the end, and I was sort of waiting expectantly for the (literal) deus-ex machina to swoop in. I didn’t cry at ‘The Last Playtime’, but was strangely peaceful and melancholic instead. I accepted the ending as an inevitable ‘fact-of-life’ much like Woody did, I wasn’t heartbroken or tear-jerked or anything. :neutral_face:

Whereas with films like HTTYD or Gladiator or Dragonheart or Saving Private Ryan which had bittersweet endings, there was an ‘unfair’ element to it, that the hero didn’t deserve the outcome, but he nobly and stoically accepts it. This measure of self-sacrifice is what gets my tears flowing.

TS3, like Up, is about the ‘stages of life’. Saying goodbye to friends and family members is inevitable. I guess I’m less possessive of things and I believe in the Zen/Buddhist theme of ‘impermanence’, so I’m more willing to accept these inevitabilities. It’s not that I wish these things to happen, of course, if we kept our friends and family as long as we wanted to, that’s a great outcome, but I don’t really find it heartbreaking or awful or anything if we have to let go. Things happen. What we remember best are the memories and experiences we had together. Woody had to learn that, and I wondered why he had to take so long to figure it out.

Just my thoughts. E.T.'s win was well-deserved.

#7

Eh, I understand how emotional the movie was, and I admit, I cried 5 times. But I believe Up deserved it more than TS3. Just my reasoning, though. I could be completely wrong.

#8

oops. i guess i should have made my reply a little more clear. my apologies.

anyway, yes, i was agreeing with her on both accounts (of up being more subtle and the emotion in toy story 3 feeling forced). now that i read over my reply it is a little confusing. :'DD

#9

Quoted for truth. I will admit to adoring the incinerator scene simply to see how far Pixar would take it, but I knew they couldn’t end it there. They wouldn’t. Pixar’s had huge downer moments but it was obvious they wouldn’t take that route, so I was basically just waiting for the deus ex machina (and it came!). The last playtime Andy has is not only far more identifiable and personal, but genuine.

#10

and now it’s ~your turn to be quoted for truth. o:

while i do think it was dragged out a liiiitttttle too long, i thought that last bit was the one part in the film that, for me, actually felt real and…human.

#11

I’m gonna quote both you two for truths! :mrgreen:

I, too, ‘adored’ it in the sense that it is very cathartic. If you don’t know what ‘cathartic’ means, it’s that moment when you’re at lowest point; you’re about to lose the basketball match, or you have 10 health points left in a video game, or when you think you can’t finish an assignment in time, and then somehow, someway, you emerge triumphant and victorious.

What I mean is, this is the ‘ultimate test’ for the heroes. It is the moment Ethan Hunt is forced to watch his girlfriend have a gun to her head in M:I:3. Or when James Bond is being tortured at the climax of Casino Royale. Or when Hiccup and Toothless fall into the flames after defeating the Green Death. These are usually the most ‘sadistic’ and cruelest moments for our protagonists, when they are pushed beyond their mental and physical limits.

In Toy Story 3, it was kind of a downer, because no matter how much they struggled, they couldn’t escape the incinerator. It is often at these hopeless, ‘near-death’ moments that some form of Deus-Ex Machina would swoop in to save the day ([spoil]It wasn’t Ethan Hunt’s girlfriend that was shot, Mr White bursts into the room and kills Le Chiffre, Hiccup is protected from the flames by Toothless, etc.[/spoil]), so I was not particularly worried as more calm, and at peace, just like the rest of the toys who have accepted their fate with dignity together.

I too liked Andy’s last playtime, and agree that it could’ve been done more succinctly and with less sentimentality. Pixar really wore their heart on their sleeve with this one.

#12

I’m gonna go against the grain here:

I think TS3 deserves it. It’s the only movie that has ever made me cry. And I’m not talking a few tears, I mean crying like a baby.

The incinerator scene is what made me cry; the melancholy of the toys joining hands to accept their fate. The nostalgia it created. It truly was a beautiful scene.

#13

It made me cry, too. I was drowning. But, I didn’t enjoy it. The playtime scene had a much more positive and memorable effect on me.

#14

Yup, you may be against the grain in this thread, but a lot of people share the same opinion as you. :slight_smile: And if that’s the only movie that made you cry, you should watch more! I highly recommend ‘Grave of the Fireflies’ and ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (the latter’s got Tom Hanks in it!).

I don’t cry easily, the last movies that made me weep like a baby were scenes from ‘Men of Honor’ and ‘The Champ’ (and I didn’t even watched the whole movie, only the end scenes) and those were mostly ‘tears of awesome’.

I don’t really shed melodramatic tears like “Oh no my dog is dying” or “Oh no I’m pregnant with an unwanted baby” unless I really care about the characters. I mostly cry whenever the hero triumphs against all odds, or if there’s some form of noble self-sacrifice like in Independence Day. I didn’t experience that level of awesomeness in Toy Story 3 mainly because the incinerator scene felt really fatalistic and “We can’t do anything about it, so let’s hold hands and accept our fate with dignity”.

Don’t get me wrong, it is a very powerful scene, and as I mentioned, it’s very cathartic. You’re on the edge of your seat. I just didn’t cry. I was very calm and peaceful during the toys’ moment-of-near-death.

I enjoyed it because it was a heartwarming moment. These toys have been friends for years; they’ve all arrived into Andy’s playroom I suppose at different points of time (every toy must have been a newcomer like Buzz at first, right?). But they are all united by their bond of love and friendship for each other, and this bond is unbreakable, even in death. So I was really on the edge of my seat. I know Pixar is not gonna kill 'em off that easy, but it was a “How are they gonna get out of this one?” moment rather than an “Oh no… they’re gonna die,” feeling of dread for me. So I didn’t cry. I accepted whatever was gonna happen next, much like the toys themselves. If anything, it’s a very sweet and beautiful moment (if a little dark, because the shadow of death is looming over them in their moment of glory).

I agree that Andy’s playtime is a more positive and hopeful scene, but again, I’ll stress that it was really playing for the violin strings towards the end.

#15

lol, i have no idea why but every time you mention hearing violin strings near the end i start giggling like a little girl. WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME.

also, you win at life for mentioning grave of the fireflies. i ~love that movie, it’s fantastic. even if i can only watch it like once every three years. the first time i saw it i stayed in bed for days afterwards.

#16

I think so too. I don’t know if I made that clearer before, I was just suprised that it got on the list. But it’s one of the few films that made me cry, it was very powerful.

#17

needs to see Grave of the Firelies

I can understand that it was a very powerful moment, and I suppose it likely did deserve the spot. I just much preferred other scenes in the movie and others.

#18

That movie is the definition of “drowning in tears”. It is excellent though, and I should see it again sometime soon. I just remember everyone going to bed in sobbing hysterics the night Dad rented it. (Me and my sister were both pretty young) :laughing: Man, what was he thinking!?

#19

I seriously do need to rent it. I’m so ashamed, since it’s mentioned here a lot. :blush: :stuck_out_tongue: