Michael Keaton is approaching hero status. Let's do the list: Beetlejuice. Mr. Mom. Batman. Jack Frost. His FBI agent from JACKIE BROWN and OUT OF SIGHT. That guy from Multiplicity. And now, Ken.
Of course, most of the joy of TOY STORY 3 is in spending time with our returning characters. I had a smile on my face from the first time I heard Tom Hanks' voice as Woody through to the final words from Tim Allen's Buzz. Everything you've loved from the previous TOY STORYs is here: you like the wildly imaginative world of Andy's playtimes? The one that opens the film puts the other two to shame. The toys also have another amazing MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE type breakout, and also has some of the finest character work in the history of computer animation.
The thing I was most worried about going into TOY STORY 3 was the potential for thematic stagnancy (yes, thematic stagnancy). Based on the logline of this film, it seems like a very similar story to TOY STORY 2 - the toys have to learn to move on from Andy and accept a new life. But the Pixar guys take a brilliant angle on this potentially-repetitive theme and make this one about mortality. There's a couple of very surprising moments in the film that touch on death in a very direct way, and it's clear that Pixar is making this film for an audience that's grown up with these films. It trades in on the bonds we've made with the characters in a way that reminded me of something more akin to BEFORE SUNSET than say, ALLADIN: PRINCE OF THIEVES. Seeing Buzz, Woody and the gang accept death is has a haunting quality based in your seven year-old recollections of these toys.
But the new toys are pitch-perfect too, from Ned Beatty's strawberry-sweet villain Lotso to the informant telephone toy to the improv theatre troupe that Woody runs into. But Ken steals the show, in a truly amazing collaboration between the Pixar artists and Mr. Keaton. Whenever the film feels like it might be getting a little too dark, Ken shows up to remind you of the pure entertainment value of these films.
TOY STORY 3 is a stunning achievement, probably the best of the films in what will have to be considered as the greatest children's series of all time.
I saw this movie again the other night, and I was wondering if Pixar would like to pay for my jaw replacement surgery - this one's stuck in an ear-to-ear grin. TOY STORY 3 is the early contender for movie of the year.
ReplyDeleteHi it's me, Hil Dean, I just found your blog! Okay, what about the part where they were descending into the fire and then held hands and resigned themselves to their fate?? I totally wasn't prepared for how powerful this movie was I've been calling it the G-rated Shawshank Redemption, i cried like a fucking baby.
ReplyDeleteHilbot!
ReplyDeleteThat moment is crazy! Geoff said that when he saw it, a kid in front started crying, and Geoff knew that the kid had realized he was going to die one day. Damn.