Recently took our 5 year old to see “Toy Story 3” in IMAX 3-D and was knocked out. Having seen all the Pixar movies more times that I care to remember I am always astounded by the consistent quality of their films. The reason for this consistency is their abiding love of character and story and a striking fidelity to both, in Pixar films there is never gratuitous technology, everything serves the forward movement of the story. This is amazing for a company that was (initially) built on its technological achievements and it sets them apart from most major Hollywood filmmaking which, at times, seems to be all about gratuitous use of technology.
Toy Story 3 has the earmarks of all great Pixar movies including its incredible ability to embrace directly very serious subject matter, yet still do so in the context of a children’s movie. Toy Story 3 addresses, with great nuance and emotional resonance: death, love, fear, sex, abandonment and evil. It is full of feeling, humor and excitement, including a very daring escape sequence. It is awash with film references, both to their own movies as well as other classic films, and much like Wall-E it picks up structural and visual elements from film history to move the story along. While all along maintaining its own unique individuality and transporting for all time Woody and Buzz into the pantheon of great movie characters.
Is Toy Story 3 up to the genius and grace of Wall-E (one of films great masterpieces) or the brilliance of Ratatouille? Not quite, but when you are up in this stratosphere of creation and sheer genius any one-upmanship is merely child’s play (so to speak!). Toy Story 3 is immensely entertaining, you will laugh and cry and your time in the theatre will fly by, or as my 5 year old said as the movie ended; “Daddy, that was the best movie ever!” and who was I to argue.
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