My review: Toy Story 3

When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. -- Corinthians 13:11


The summer movie season seems to be the time for sequels. In the last few months alone, we've already been graced with another Iron Man and another Shrek. Now comes Toy Story 3, the "old man" of the franchises being revisited this summer. Heck, I can remember seeing the original Toy Story back in 1995 when I still had to be dropped off at the theater by my parents when I wanted to catch a matinee. Four years later in 1999, I was in college when I saw Toy Story 2, and that movie miraculously avoided the sophomore slump and actually provided some story and set pieces that, in my mind, surpassed the original. Now, over 10 years later, Disney/Pixar has released Toy Story 3, a movie which I believe Disney had originally intended to solo before its merger with Pixar. No matter which studio worked on the film, however, the question would still remain ... can another great film be squeezed out of this series? The answer is ... well ... mostly.

In the world of Toy Story 3, time has passed a bit slower than in our reality, but there are big, scary changes on the horizon. The toys we have grown to love including Woody, Buzz, Rex, Slinky Dog, Hamm, Jessie, Bullseye, and the Potato Heads have long ago been relegated to the toy box. Andy, their owner, is now 17 and heading off to college where, at least in my experience, most boys do not keep their childhood toy collection on display. Even Andy's little sister Molly, now decidedly at tween with her magazines and ear buds permanently affixed in her ear, has decided to put down childish things. Through a series of mix-ups and misunderstandings, the toys end up being donated to Sunnyside Day Care, an on-the-outside utopia for discarded toys yearning for just a little playtime. Sunnyside has its dark secrets, however, prompting the toys to attempt to return to Andy once more.

Some parts of Toy Story 3 feel decidedly familiar. This is not the first time we've tried to return home with Woody, nor the first time we've had "villainous" toys motivated by their jealously or abandonment. As fans of the series and these characters, however, I think we can ignore rehashed plot points just to spend time with our friends again. While we relish spending time with these characters we've gotten to know over the years, Toy Story 3 exudes such a serious and dark tone at some points that it feels the pure and simple joy of these characters has been sucked out of the theater. Discussions of years spent in storage in the vague hopes of future usefulness cannot have anything but a somber ring to them, no matter how they are dressed up.

I don't know whether it is the tone or the writing, but the humor in this movie felt more sparse. That's not to say that there are no funny moments, however. Included are the trademark Pixar for-everyone jokes as well as a few barbs that will be ignored by children but spur a few chuckles from adults. The introduction of Ken is good example of this. Children can connect some of the dots with the flamboyant outfits (ascot, anyone?), but adults receive a few more layers of metrosexual humor.

In the end, Toy Story 3 is a darker picture that is constantly trying to deal with the issues of purpose and change. There are some truly bleak discussions and moments in the film, and at points, it's almost hard to remember the fun and joy that made the first two movies so much fun to watch. With that being said, this entry in the series also tops either of the others in terms of emotional impact, and its hard to believe that anyone can sit through the ending without a taking a few punches on the empathy button. The last shot of the film seems to imply this will be our last foray with these characters (though with Disney and their pump-until-its-dry approach to their popular series, who knows), and it has been quite a journey. I wish this final chapter were perhaps a little shorter and perhaps had a few more humorous moments to break up the sobering story, but it is yet another success to be added onto Pixar's amazing track record and should not be missed, especially if you just want to see these characters on the big screen at least one more time.

Rating: 8/10

Note: The screening I attended was in a standard theater (non-IMAX) with Real-D 3D. To be honest, I'm not sure the 3D was anything more than a gimmick. Some of the scenes had a bit more "pop" perhaps, but I don't think you will miss anything seeing this in regular 2D, especially if you usually experience any discomfort wearing the 3D glasses.

Note: As with other Pixar features, this one is preceded by a short, this one titled Night and Day. I tend to enjoy Pixar's funny short films the most, so in other words, I was not a fan of this one. I get the (a bit preachy) premise. It just seemed like an animation exercise more than a story and was about twice as long as it needed to be.