Toy Story 3, in unfinished 2-D form (temp score, animation not quite there – said to be 85% done) premiered at ShoWest yesterday in L.A; the very first outside of Disney/Pixar screening held anywhere in the world.
A handful of embargo-friendly musings (i.e. general reactions but nothing in-depth that could bring about a lawsuit) have begun popping up all over the place and the general consensus is that the movie is excellent and Disney have a massive hit on their hands.
As with all of these occasions though, we should be reminded to wait until the giddy excitement has settled down before truly weighing up the facts. But positive word of mouth is good and after the incredible run of Wall*E and Up, two movies that damn well left me in tears, it sure sounds like Pixar are working their magic once again. From the sounds of things, there’s not a dry eye in the house.
Jim Hill Media (The ultimate Disney authoritarian) called the film “terrific” and said;
So what can I tell you about “Toy Story 3” without revealing any significant surprises? … Er … Um … Well, for starters, you should bring Kleenex. Lots & lots of Kleenex. Because I can guarantee you that you’re going to spend a good portion of the last 30 minutes of this film in tears…
I mean, I sat in that hall today surrounded by hardened industry professionals. Exhibitors who care more about how much popcorn & soda they’re selling than the movies they’re currently showing at their multiplexes. And these jaded theater owners – as “Toy Story 3” entered the home stretch – were openly weeping. Tears streaming down hundreds of faces as the ultimate fate of Woody, Buzz, Jessie and the whole Andy’s Room gang was decided.
Steve Weintraub of Collider and Peter Sciretta of Slash Film both tweeted about those final 30 minutes;
- @colliderfrosty “Toy Story 3 continues pixars [sic] streak of brilliance. Last 20 or 30 minutes wrecked me.”
- @slashfilm “Toy Story 3 was great, last 30 minutes were pure brillance [sic].”
Reading all the non-reviews, it seems pretty clear that
A) The opening scene featuring some kind of western/train get-up for Woody (think the video game Buzz Lightyear opening of Toy Story 2) is different to the usual scenes in the Toy Story universe and is incredible
B) The movie ends on a definite finale note for the characters
and C) The movie is good, very good but just not quite up to the level of the other two. Of course, that’s me reading between the lines but you can pretty much weave that truth out of these reports…
it’s a great, great addition to the Toy Story films….just as funny, sweet, adventurous, sad and goofy as the previous Toy Story movies. Lee Unkrich put his co-directing gigs behind him and gave us a fantastic end to the series. All of the toys were present (except for a few, which is explained in the film) and the movie looked great.
the story about how we outgrow the things we grew up with seemed to hit a lot of people in the theater. The last act had some around me crying, probably thinking back to when they had favorite toys of their own growing up.
Alex Billington at First Showing;
it is a very wild ride. It’s actually a great story that has a few twists and turns and deviates from the norm quite a bit, but it’s still as great as any other movie from Pixar. I did really enjoy it and have a fun time watching it, but that’s really all there was, nothing more to make it extraordinary. It’s a bit hard to say, because I love Pixar so much, but it felt like this lacked the same magic of Pixar movies of past (at least up until the ending). But if you love the Toy Story movies, you’re going to love this one, too.
this was a good film, a great animation, and I liked it quite a bit… but it did not quite have the “wow” quality that I have come to expect from Disney/Pixar. Don’t get me wrong, this is a solid film, filled with all the heart-break, life lessons and joy of any of the other Toy Story films and as always they had a number of surprises you’ll never see coming, but it was by no means my favorite of the series. In some ways it just seemed to deliver the basic goods that we want from the movie without really going above and beyond.
The short that they played before the film, Day and Night, actually impressed me more than the film.
Toy Story 3 opens in three months hence.
Want to write about this topic and have your work read by thousands every day? Click here to become a contributor to WhatCulture.
8 Comments
Billington is such a suck ass. Listen to that one tiny paragraph quoted; the guy contradicts himself in order to kiss up (yet again). How can the film be “as great as every other Pixar film” and “lacked the same magic as Pixar films of the past”?
Thanks Ben Lyons! We appreciate your solid reviewing skills! You deserve every penny you earn for this bullshit!
I always think it’s unfair that The Incredibles and Ratatouille get left out of Pixar’s ‘cream of the crop’. As films they’re at least as good as Wall*E and Up, in my opinion, but ah well.
Contrary to what people say they’re doing in these reviews, I think people are probably judging Toy Story 3 against the more recent recent Pixar fare. If examined against the other Toy Story films, it probably stands up well.
Yeah you make a good point Roland, The Incredibles and Ratatouille were particularly strong filmic highlights of both years they were respectively released.
Pixar, if you disregard Cars, have had a tremendous last decade. I really wish they had decided to revisit The Incredibles universe over next year’s Cars 2 though.
as said by ray how can it be a good movie but lack pixar magic it does not make sence is it good or not make up your mind
Agreed in that I am STILL waiting for Incredibles 2. Even an “Edna Mode” short would seem to be in order. The Incredibles is probably in my top 3 favorite PIXAR movies.
I agree that just about every Pixar movie has pleased me to the fullest extent, but “Cars 2″ sounds a little bit… how do I put this… “ehh.” I liked Cars, I thought it was cool, I suppose, but I think it could’ve been better. And, maybe, Cars 2 will be better. But the thought of “Monsters Inc. 2″ or “Brave” or even “Incredibles 2″ just excites me more.
Making sequels is all fine and good, but too much of a good thing can become a problem. Just look at “Shrek”: there’s four of them!! And when DreamWorks said that “How to Train Your Dragon” was going to be their next franchise, I was rather disappointed. How many of those are there going to be? Six? I’m already tired of ogres, and “Dragon” is a good enough film that I’d prefer not to tire of it.
I just hope that Cars won’t become one of those “Freddy”, “Jason”, or “Shrek” scenarios. You gotta keep it fresh, or even fans will get tired of seeing the same film every two or three years.
This movie is fantastic, the last few minutes had neaarly everyone in tears, we went to an old timey drive in, so there was no 3D or high def, so I got to see just the movie. Explaning the loss of beloved characters such a Bo-Peep and Wheezy added to the level of emotional depth that Pixar brought to the movie. As someone who grew up with these character (I owned an origonal woody figure, voice box and all) this film was a great way to end the series, and the 11 year wait made it all the more special. All in all i would give it a 9.5/10.
Thimovie touch subtely a lot of contemporary and vital items, through the toy’s destiny metaphor. The toys that “are not required anymore” are the jobless people in the neocapitalist world. Men “are trash” in this culture too (as Lostso the bear says, talking about toys).
The passage from one age to another (so difficult to make to young people in these days: leave the parent’s house and become an independent man)is beautifully showed when Woody let Andy go (refusing to go to college with him) so this young boy may manage his new maturity. Finally, the movie shows the value of team group, and the failure of individuality.
As ever, Pixar made an important gift to our occidental culture