A Thomas Bess review of:
Directed By: Lee Unkrich
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, Wallace Shawn, John Ratzenberger, Blake Clark, Estelle Harris, Jodie Benson, John Morris
Run Time: 103 minutes of nonstop fantastical goodness.
Good news moviegoers! Have you ever thought, “Boy, I’d like to find out whether or not I have a soul, but I’d also like to watch a movie at the same time. If only some enterprising Hollywood studio could find a way to combine those two activities.” Well fear not, Pixar has come to the rescue with Toy Story 3. Simply put, if you get through the end of this flick without misting up or bawling your eyes out, well, I don’t want to just come out and say you’re an evil, cold blooded monster that feeds on the tears of children during the small hours of the morning, but it is a VERY real possibility. But aside from being a handy dandy Soul Smear test, this latest installment provides a fantastic story and perfect ending to the series that made Pixar a household name.
The Plot
The story goes a little something like this: Woody (Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Allen) and the rest of the toys from the previous films have reached a rather depressing milestone — their boy Andy (Morris) is leaving home for college in several days and they’re faced with an uncertain future. Do they choose a quiet life in the attic or dare they head off in a box of donations for a nearby daycare center? A miscommunication on the part of Andy’s mom takes the decision out of their hands and soon the whole crew finds themselves new residents of Sunnyside, an eclectic community of toys presided over by teddy bear Lotso Hugs (Beatty) and Ken (Keaton) of Barbie & Ken fame. Everyone but Woody is thrilled with the arrangement, so the cowboy leaves his friends behind and strikes out for Andy’s house. A pit stop at a little girl’s house reveals a terrible truth.
The Good
So what’s good? Has it been a year since my District 9 review? Can I just say “everything” and be done with it? Hmmmh, it hasn’t. Damn. Ok, well I think it goes without saying that the film looks perfect — backgrounds, character designs, atmospheric effects, you name it, you’ll never be pulled out of the story by anything resembling a technical glitch. And speaking of the story, it’s equally engrossing — part slapstick comedy, part escape caper and part coming of age tale, it’ll have you cackling one second and mulling the next. And like I mentioned in the intro, if you’ve got a functioning soul, you’ll tear up more than once, especially during the last act. The voiceover work is top notch as always. Hanks and Allen carry things nicely but it’s the support of Cusack, Ratzenberger, Rickles, Clark and others that really make the toys come across as a group of friends who’ve been through everything together. And because it’s my review and I can do that sort of thing, a special nod to Wallace Shawn who provides the voice of neurotic Tyrannosaur, Rex. I’ve been a fan since the original and he continues to provide many chuckle worthy bon mot’s here. Rex, FTW! (Let’s see the Disney merchandising department put THAT on a t-shirt) Finally, while it’s not part of the movie itself, make sure you get to the theater on time because there’s a short cartoon before the flick that’ll blow your mind.
The Not So Good
What’s not good? It stands to reason that if everything is good, then nothing can be bad and frankly, that’s true. But the Brain Canisters are cruel masters who demand I provide some sort of offering and typing Batman over and over again just doesn’t cut it. From a strictly financial standpoint, if you’re looking to save a few dollars, skip the 3D and go with standard presentation. Not that the 3D doesn’t look great, because it does, but there’s nothing in the course of the story that seems like it was put there with the gimmick in mind (in fact I’m having trouble remembering a single moment where I thought, “damn, that looks so much cooler because it’s in 3D”). Also, this isn’t a problem I had, but parents, if you’re taking kids (particularly little kids) to check this one out, be aware that there’s some pretty heavy ideas being tossed around in the second and third acts. I mean we’re basically talking the concepts of “toy purgatory” and “toy hell”. Now it’s still released under the Disney banner so you can feel safe in knowing everything’s going to turn out okay in the end, but trust me when I say that the road the story follows goes to some very dark places between the beginning and the end. Oh and without spoiling anything, the villain gets off WAY too easy after all the terrible things he did. Scar got tossed off Pride Rock to be devoured by hyenas and he wasn’t half the jerk this guy was. He should’ve been punished accordingly.
Should You See It?
But these are just quibbles my friends. Strike that, they aren’t even quibbles, they’re simply shadows of quibbles. Toy Story 3 is easily the best movie I’ve seen in theaters all year and I’m having a hard time thinking of something that’ll have a chance of topping it. If you have a functioning imagination, get thee to a multiplex as soon as possible. And if you don’t have a functioning imagination, go anyway as this sucker’s strong enough to get it kick-started and that’s only going to make you a better, more interesting person in the long run.
The Verdict
Some folks have said to me, “Tom, your review ratings are too abstract” so to make things perfectly clear, go see Toy Story 3. You will like it. And if you don’t, consider renegotiating the terms of whatever terrible Faustian bargain claimed your soul.
Til next time, always remember that the calls are coming from inside the house.
Tom Bess recently shaved his legendary sideburns at a cost of two hours and five pounds. The end result is a slightly puffier, but much more aerodynamic movie-reviewing machine who is still patiently waiting for Allison Mack to return his calls. While he’s waiting, he’ll read copious amounts of Lovecraft and eat too many Peach Gummy Bears.
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