Toy Story 3 Continues Pixar Legacy

Over the past decade, we’ve gotten a new Pixar film almost every year. This year, Pixar broke its toys out of its abundant box of ideas for Toy Story 3, their second sequel to date. Sequels pop up every year like babies in a day care; some are more difficult than others, but every once in a while there’s one that’s really special. Pixar has really avoided doing that and seems to have pushed out one genius idea after another.

It’s been eleven years since the last Toy Story movie. Is Toy Story 3 another brilliant, story-driven idea or a sign that the studio with the lamp as bright as their ideas is finally going dim?

Andy has grown up and is packing up for college. Woody, Buzz, and, well, some of the gang are still hanging around just in case Andy ever needs them. After a mishap, the toys end up at a day care center. But this day care turns out to be a prison camp ruled by a cuddly bear with a plush-embraced iron grip. Realizing this is not the way a toy should live out its plastic days, the gang plots to escape back to Andy’s, preferring to rest in an attic than endure the daily torture of unruly toddlers.

Toy Story 3 finally puts to rest any lingering questions about the fate of yesterday’s playthings. While it feels more like a tacked-on sequel than its predecessors, it also feels less so than most other sequels, animated or otherwise. It avoids feeling unnecessary, continuing the story about these toys to its natural conclusion while exploring the fate of others. The idea that a day care center (where new kids, eager to play, pop in endlessly every year) is toy nirvana is extremely clever – and it could’ve been the resolution to Toy Story 2. To turn that concept on its head is a genius way to continue the story (much more so than the scrapped overseas adventure originally conceived).

Not only that, but while Toy Story 2 toyed with the notion of these characters being in danger of demise, Toy Story 3 outright drops them in a very real threat to their existence. The stakes are raised and the intensity is amped-up.

The voice acting is some of the best you’ll ever find with a mix of voice and name actors disappearing into their roles. Special mention in this installment should go to Ned Beatty (Deliverance) as Lotso-Hugs Bear, Michael Keaton (Beetlejuice) as Ken, and Jodi Benson (Ariel of The Little Mermaid) as Barbie. The dollhouse couple, together for the first time, balances vacuity and aggression well. And Beatty’s not-so-cuddly Lotso continues the tradition of the dual-natured embittered elder.

It’s worth noting briefly that the 3D in Toy Story 3 is subtle to the point of non-existent. The picture is so clear that I forgot I was supposedly watching a 3D movie while also adding nothing to the experience. I’m not sure how the 2D presentation looks, but the 3D plays like a 2D movie. This is baffling and shocking after last year’s Up, wherein 3D was used to great effect to immerse the audience in the cliffside environment. As a supporter of 3D in CG animated movies, I’m disappointed.

It isn’t perfect. There is familiar ground at times. But any noticeable flaws in Toy Story 3 are nitpicky. As for how it stacks up to the others in the series, it seems to depend on the person you’re asking.

What is less questionable is the way in which Pixar can tell a story. They can combine comedy, drama, escape thriller, and yes, even horror into a great story about mortality and loyalty. This skillfulness, among many other traits common in Pixar films, is what sets the studio apart from everybody else. Chief among those traits is Pixar’s consistent quality. Sure, not every film achieves greatness (Cars), but there is no question that even their lesser work is better than most animated spectacles other studios trot out.

Pixar transcends the conventional wisdom that animated features are simply cartoons for kids. John Lasseter, Pixar’s Chief Creative Officer, has made no secret that he admires the works of Hayao Miyazaki (My Neighbor Totoro, Spirited Away) and the Japanese attitude toward animation: that it is not a genre exclusive to kids and families but a format for rich stories and characters. Pixar’s films have made use of Disney’s cute humor aesthetic over the years to get their progressively mature stories to broad audiences, slowly reducing the reliance on those conventions with Wall-E, Up, and now Toy Story 3.

While not as cheerful or heavy on laughs as the other Toy Story movies, Toy Story 3 is heavy on creativity and excellence. It is a perfect farewell for these beloved characters and continues Pixar’s legacy of brilliance, even with sequels, to infinity and beyond.


9/10

Should you see it? Buy tickets (in 2D)


Toy Story 3 is in theaters now.