Your Toy Story 3 Reviews

Pixar's Feature Films Toy Story / Lightyear
#41

REPOST:

How in the world Pixar did it again (and again, and again every single year)? They did it with Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up just to name a few. The studio progressive achievements sure deserved an Oscar. And today, another masterpiece was made, the series which currently has the best reputation in animation industry or perhaps the film industry itself: Toy Story 3.

The title said it all. For those who grow with it, the movie & the character would be so nostalgic and unexplainable experience they ever had. Some boys just don’t get enough with hi-tech toy like Buzz Lightyear (back then, we would fight each other just for Buzz).

Believe it or not, after 15 years sinceToy Story, and 11 years after the sequel, the most anticipated movie among ‘children’ is back. It’s bigger, better and badder. Director Lee Unkrich (who also the co-director for the first sequel) really put quite a serious thought about the third installment. He really want to give a high quality movie not only for children but also adults. What can I say? He TOTALLY NAILED IT.


(Is this legit here? Me and my little bro. The guy who took the picture is also my bro.)

The story begins with [spoil]Andy’s realistic playtime moment while he was a kid while Andy’s mom capturing all the moments via handycam. As the movie progresses, we revealed - (not being so dramatic, but y’all have watch the trailer right?) – that Andy has grown up. 18, and going to college and the toys do not know what they’re gonna do after Andy goes to college. Andy puts all the gang in a plastic bag (Woody is going to college with Andy), and starts to put them in the attic, somehow Andy helps Molly (Andy’s little sister) and left the toys – just like that. Andy’s mom thought it’s garbage, and off the way they go to the bin (I say, to the bin, not IN the bin). The toy got out and get into a box to Sunnyside.
[/spoil]

I won’t spoiled it too much as it will make readers even more eager for spoilers (and more spoilers) and finally lost the fun.

The story was well written and the ALL the humor was understandable and amazingly funny. And the movie will not complete without feud between Mr. Potato Head and Dr. Pork Chop a.k.a Hamm (played by the legendary Don Rickles and I-just-love-this-guy-and-he-should-always-stay-at-Pixar-till-the-day-he-died, John Ratzenberger). Tom Hanks and Tim Allen still have their groove with their respective character and they did it again. Also to other voice actors like Joan Cusack (Jessie), Wallace Shawn (Rex) and other voice talents that live up the movie so well. Kudos to you guys. Special mention and one of my favorite actors of all time, Ned Beatty (Lotso). He did a GREAT job that I ‘feel’ his character is actually alive. It is sad that I found that Lotso is just a cuddly, friendly-looking, strawberry-smelled bear but has such [spoil]evil intentions[/spoil] at heart. :frowning:

The movie wraps up with a sad(?)-happy ending that almost made me burst into tears. I teared. Although it’s not as tearjerking Up, it probably the most exhilarating adventure I ever had ever since I grew up with the movie. Such a lovely movie, it’s magical – not to be exaggerating, it’s OUTSTANDING. The movie sums all genre: animation (duh!), sad, love, adventures, thriller, action etc.
Thank you Lee Unkrich, thank you all the team behind this unbelievably enjoyable and awesome movie, and most of all, thank you Pixar.

5/5 :: Perfect 100%

#42

Oh.

Oh.

Oh.

This was beautifully written, tear jerking, and the funniest Toy Story if not the funniest Pixar movie in general. I was admittedly skeptic at times, but Pixar just threw the gauntlet in my face and said, “SHUT UP NOOB, OF COURSE WE CAN MAKE A TRILOGY!”

I nearly busted a gut, nearly cried, and nearly damaged my kidney (I have this habit of squeezing my right hand during tension filled scenes in movies, and it happened to be near my kidney.)

If we look at TS3 by itself… then, yeah, some gripes can be had. But it’s not alone; it’s the final chapter in a trilogy, and as that it’s perfect. Favorite Toy Story movie for sure.

[spoil](Then again, I may be slightly bias, because I’m a Buzz/Jessie nerd and was endlessly happy that it got spotlight. Canon OTP is canon!)[/spoil]

Man, Pixar, 11 for 11.

P.S. Yes, WALL-E is still my favorite movie, though. Get used to it. :stuck_out_tongue:

#43

It’s an oxymoron. The veterans of Sunnyside haven’t seen a Buzz Lightyear before, but the only way it could’ve ended up there would be if the daycare had a Buzz.

#44

After seeing Toy Story 3 I have to say that even though it had a lot to live up to, they delivered spectacularly. I actually rank this high above Toy Story 2 and even the original as being the most emotional and also in some ways the darkest film in the trilogy. Films like this, WALL-E, and Up are sheer proof now that Pixar are masters of storytelling. They just cannot make a bad movie.

This is actually the second Pixar film I’ve seen on opening day after The Incredibles - but it’s the first one I’ve seen in 3D, so I guess I should talk a little bit about that. The thing I really like about how Pixar uses the 3D is how they only use it to enhance the depth and dimension of the characters in their environment and is not once used for “in-your-face” effects like most films in 3D. I like it cause even though it’s not a necessity it doesn’t take you away from what’s going on.

I don’t know if anyone has said anything on this yet, but Pixar has updated their logo to have a 3-dimensional turnaround of the letters as well as the Luxo lamp. I don’t know if this is just for their 3D releases or if this is officially their new logo.

Before I get to Toy Story 3, I should review Day & Night:

I really liked this one. Just hearing the concept itself was intriguing, but seeing it in the theater was quite a sight. Personally the thing I love about it the most is how much it looks and feels like one of the classic old school cartoons (I find it somewhat reminiscent of the kind of segments Walt Disney made). Traditional hand-drawn animation has always been my most favorite medium. Ironically the first Toy Story was kind of the reason why it’s died out because it gave so many other studios the idea that they needed to abandon it, and they started to jump into CGI for all the wrong reasons, but Pixar had never intended for that to happen since many people there have a strong passion for it (especially John Lasseter being a Disney animator), so all the people who complain about Pixar killing off 2D can at least see their true feelings now with this short. I also like Day & Night because they’re the kind of fluid characters that cartoons need more of nowadays. There was also a very clever bit with a radio tower where you could hear someone talking about “people being afraid to try new things and sticking to the same thing” which I think says a lot about animation.

And now for Toy Story 3 (my memories going out on me as I type this, so I’ll just type what I can remember offhand):

I was skeptical at first as to how the toy’s [spoil]big fantasy opening and Andy’s home movies would fit together,[/spoil] but they did it just right. The callbacks to the first two films was great, [spoil]with the toy’s references being an exact parallel to how Andy played with them.[/spoil]

I loved Sid’s cameo even though we only hear him singing to his music. As soon as he came up I told my friend next to me it was him and he was, like, “Wow, really?”. Nice to have a fellow Toy Story fan to see this with. [spoil]At the end of the film, Sid also unknowingly helps Woody and the others get to Andy’s house from the dump by hitching a ride on his garbage truck. In the Official Movie Magazine he was the one who straps Lotso to the front of the truck, but in the film it’s a different person.[/spoil]

For some funny reason, the audience started laughing real hard the minute Chuckles the Clown came in, but not when he started telling his backstory.

Back when we were first introduced to Lotso through a cameo in Up and some Pixar employees said he was going to be the villain we probably didn’t know what to think, but they seriously weren’t kidding. Although you feel kinda bad for Lotso - [spoil]he’s just downright evil, saying that the toys were nothing more than trash.[/spoil] The most shocking moment (which I was already expecting cause of the Official Movie Magazine) was probably when [spoil]Woody and Buzz save him from being shredded at the dump and just when you think it would be a moment of redemption for him to shut off the incinerator, Lotso basically just throws it back into their faces saying, “Where’s your kid now?” and leaves them to die. It shows just how heartless he had really become.[/spoil] I’m starting to feel that Lotso may in fact be Pixar’s most evil antagonist ever. And to think that this is a cute cuddly pink bear we’re talking about here.

I was close to crying at the end while I was watching [spoil]Andy give his toys to Bonnie. The way he chuckled at seeing her play with her toys the way he used to, and how he introduced his toys to her made it clear that Andy was still a kid at heart. [/spoil]Another interesting thing is [spoil]the way he says “Thanks, guys” before he leaves, almost like he knew they were alive (or like they were always alive to him by the way he played with them).[/spoil]

I loved the ending montage in the credits as well, [spoil]especially for seeing that Emperor Zurg got sent to Sunnyside. Rex and Trixie got a nice moment together, which I was hoping to see at some point, and the Army Men are apparently okay as well.[/spoil] They may not be outtakes, but I wouldn’t care that much cause I think this is more suitable for the film (and it ends at a point in the credits where there wouldn’t be room for outtakes anyway).

Overall, Toy Story 3 is another masterpiece from Pixar and I would say the perfect sendoff for the series. I am so glad I got to see it. Lee Unkrich should be very proud that his directorial debut turned out so well.

EDIT- I’ve added some extra spoilers at specific comments you’ve made concerning the end of Toy Story 3 as well as other sections. Please be aware that some people really don’t want to know anything about what happens in the film before they see it! Thanks.

-lizardgirl

#45

It’s kinda obvious why they changed that one.
Sid’s cameo was done perfectly. A diehard fan of the first would know it was him, but it would still go over the heads of the casual fans. Either way, the audience was roaring at his singing (I loved his drumming skills). The best part about it was that he wasn’t just there to be there, he actually had a purpose.
On the topic of Lotso: [spoil]He’s definitely different than Stinky Pete. They both had tragic backstories, and manipulated toys to get what he wants, but Pete’s intentions were good, whereas Lotso was out for revenge. I almost liked Lotso when he was given the chance to redeem himself, but it was surprisingly evil that he turned his back on them once again. Even the Prospector expectedly would have paid back the favor. Still, Combat Carl is the only case where a character in Toy Story was killed off, though Lotso paid the price in a much more creative way…[/spoil]

And do you have a scan of Sid from that magazine?

#46

I could make one, but I’m not sure where I should post it.

#47

So is this a mistake in the movie?

#48

I guess so. I mean, Buzz was a popular toy, but I wouldn’t expect the manual to just appear there.

How about the Sid in TS3 thread?

#49

Sure, I’ll get on it.

So, any other thoughts on my review?

#50

I thought you summed it up well. I don’t think there’s been a single dissapointed fan yet. I have my nitpicks, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable in the longrun.

#51

Toy Story 3 was WAY BETTER than Toy Story 2, and perhaps even better than Toy Story itself. Its hard for me to say this, but I think this movie was the best one in the trilogy. The only thing missing were more songs like in Toy Story. Other than that, it was AMAZING. The last time I felt this excited after seeing a movie I must have been like 14 y.o. I’m currently 27. I missed feeling like this after being to the theaters. Wow! If you ask me right now, I would even go as far as to say this has been the best movie I have seen in my life. YEAH! I hope they make another one.

#52

I paid 10 bucks for the premiere midnight showing.

I made my contribution to the opening gross.

Now somebody UPLOAD THIS THING TO THE INTERNET!

#53

I think you’ll just have to wait till Blu-ray.

#54

What a GREAT MOVIE!

The thing that has impressed me most was the stunning quality of the character acting. WIth even the most minor character, you got a sense of story and history, explicit or implied. Every character had it’s own desires, and own inner goal–no matter how small. The specificity of the acting was amazing. Great job! And I can’t wait to see it again.

#55

No, it’s already online. Illegally, obviously, but none the less…

#56

My first post ever on this TS subforum. And I’ve never read anything here either, including any of the other reviews. In preparation for TS3, I rewatched the other movies about a year ago, well before the re-digitized versions last fall. I’d forgotten most of both movies including several important characters and much of the plotline, as Pixar movies have not been the end-all of my existence. What particularly stood out was the yard sale - the collector and his big car trunk, turncoat Stinky Pete and the donation station near the tire swing.

These movies have to have a road trip, not as dramatic as Bolt’s, though. The fantasy scene at the beginning of the latest installment was thankfully not over-the-top, and it was inserted beautifully into the story-to-be. Andy is getting grown up now (and very thankfully didn’t have the smart-alec / jaundiced eyebrow that “just kidding” over at DW studios would have insisted he have). Well, toys that aren’t played with make for a boring story, so they had to go on a road trip. The 11 years since TS2 just had to be translated into enough years having been passed for Andy to only [spoil]admire his old collection, he doesn’t want to play with them anymore.[/spoil].

Before I go any further you, the reader, have to know that there is one thing about the series that has always irritated me personally. As normal and integral as it might be, the over machismos of Woody and Buzz, and especially the whining of Woody has always grated on me. When I was young we had puppets, potato heads, erector sets, chemistry sets, Playschool, train sets (no racetrack, sorry), G.I. Joe (no Ken, sorry), toy guns, cap guns and real guns, etc… I liked Space Ghost and his Saturday morning crew, but don’t particulary like B.L., and we rarely played with any marshalls. --Maybe these characters stem in part from the influence of J.K. at Disney in the mid 90’s, not sure.

So that’s how I entered into the midnite premiere of TS3 in Redwood City, CA, the 2-D version, as the 3-D tends to obscure the story for me with alot of pizazz. There were two sold out shows last nite. I was, as usual, the oldest person there, by far. One other guy was around 40 and perhaps a few were 30ish. These were Pixarians and TS afficionados , the typical age was 19. Amazingly, there were a few children in front of me, and they were restless. There was alot of laughter and clapping and high expectations. When the Disney Studio logo came up there was a breath of awe to be heard.

Now back to the movie. The rest here will be spoilers.

[spoil]Andy’s mom is quite severe about the state of his room. Where is he going to stay when he comes back from college during vacation periods? But the storyline demands that a choice be made. (Actually, many moms take it upon themselves to just toss out any toys or comic books a kid might have accumulated, much to their chagrin when they return. And this certainly was not lost upon the storytellers: Stanton, Lasseter, and Unkrich). So, this choice and the way it played out was much like the yard sale scenario.

I liked the daycare center layout. It was realistically done and presented a crisis for the crew. Most kids, I suppose, were gullible over Lotso the bear’s welcome speech. The turning point in the preliminary rosy evaluation came from Buzz’s observations of the older toys in the Kindergarten room just before recess ended. The little girl who gets Woody was a very wise choice. Her silence was fresh. BTW, was the Pizza Planet driver now working for the Sanitation Dept.?

The toy repair area was curious. This was only briefly touched on. It was a major problem in this movie that toys only lasted a week or so in the younger room before being busted. How did the final sequence in the daycare center resolve this? We see our friends escape, and those that stayed behind seem to be in the safe zone. The army guys are virtually unbreakable. Oh, the audience went ga-ga over Buzz’s leap to the transom via a flipping broom. Edit - And I thought the Spanish lover sequence with Buzz was a bit overdone, but fun and understandable. It was a clever way to get Buzz to being normal again, through a convoluted route.

The ending sequence was flawlessly done. It was a natural sorting out of events in the movie and nice way to ‘end’ the toys’ association with Andy. A golden moment. Is it really the end? Will Andy ever come back to visit? Notice that Andy didn’t play with any of the toys in this installment until the end, with the little girl. This was purposefully designed. Well done![/spoil] We never really see much of the human side of the humans in this series. It is after all about the toys. How nice not to hear loud-mouthed Woody at the end. Unfortunately, there are more scenes in the credits that take away from the names of those involved at Pixar. I guess those names will stand out on the return trips. The entire 300 people in my theater stayed until the end of the credit scenes. They seemed overwhelmingly happy with their expectations fulfilled.

Overall, the film was very satisfying and near excellent in quality, but just not as good as TS2. This might change on repeated viewings. There wasn’t anything radically new here, and somehow not any newly broken ground. Now time to read your other reviews and do some editing… Edit. Wow, the first long reviewer here was very disappointed, but nearly every one since is glowing … “tears”,“masterpiece”, “best one ever”, etc… I’m just not a TS freak, they aren’t my favorite Pixar movies.

#57

[spoil]In the end credits you see Chunk get tossed under a bookcase and tag out Twitch, who takes his place ('rasslin style with Ref Ken and Cheerleader Barbie there, too). The toys get breaks between abuse to rest and repair.[/spoil]

#58

Oh, I remember that, but was busy looking at the credits, too, it will take at least two more viewings to see everything there. After reading everyone else’s reviews here, sure was sorry for Bryko and all the distractions he had to put up with… none of that at my theater.

Oh, and Disney is bound to make alot of $$ with merchandising. Toys “R” Us and Wal-mart have been popping for 3-4 months with a tidal wave of toys. I’m glad how they handled issues with Barbie and Mattel.

#59

That’s why I said that. If you wanted to own the movie the honest way, you have to wait until it comes out.

#60

That’s really unfortunate! I hope you spoke to the manager and got a ‘re-admit’ ticket to see it (or another movie) again…

Back onto the topic of Toy Story 3 reviews though, because of the length, I can’t repost everything here, so I’ll just leave you with the consensus from our site, as well as a link if that’s ok.

Consensus: Toy Story 3 is another great film from Disney/Pixar. Managing to be both laugh-out-loud hilarious, deeply heartfelt and touching, Toy Story 3 is perhaps the best third-installment ever made, rounding out a perfect trilogy. Make sure you stay right through the end credits, and arrive early as to not miss Pixar’s latest brilliant short film, Day & Night. **** (Out of 4)

[url]http://onemoviefiveviews.wordpress.com/2010/06/18/movie-review-toy-story-3/[/url]