Toy Story 3

by **Darkwing** 2010-07-21, 00:50

Toy Story 3
Starring
Tom Hanks
Tim Allen
Joan Cusack

Introduction
What an incredible way to end a franchise period. This movie is definitely not a kids film, but is a film intended for my generation and perhaps my parents generation. The basic concept is that Andy has grown up and is going to college and has the dilemma of what to do with his old toys. Now obviously this movie is geared towards us because we grew up with the first Toy Story, so by now, most of us are going off to college or moving on in life. This film is one massive metaphor for life and has a very deep and touching plot line along with our favourite playtime heroes.

Acting
Who can complain with a cast like this. The Toy Story gang has been fantastic from the get-go, Tom Hanks and Tim Allen along with all the others being perfect fits for their characters. Not only that, but they’re recognizable. If you heard Mr Potato Head’s voice somewhere, you would know instantly it was him. Even with Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, having seen them in a lot of stuff, you would most likely be able to distinguish the voice of Woody apart from the voice of Tom Hanks, despite there not being that much difference in their voices. Most of this comes from the inflections used in the characters. You could not ask for anything better.
Toy Story 3 introduces some new voices, those of Lotso, Ken, Barbie and a whole slew of new toys. Each voice naturally is perfect for the characters, most notably would be the voices of Lotso and Ken.
Lotso is played by Ned Beatty and does a fantastic job of the good vs evil dynamic in his voice. He can sound all fun and loving and then suddenly change and sound cruel, heart-broken and evil. Lotso made for a great villain due to his background and his voice of course.
Michael Keaton portrays the voice of Ken, the ever so popular Barbie toy accessory. Taunted by the other toys for being a “girl’s toy”, Ken has a fair bit of screen time and has a great character with some interesting choices to make in the movie. Ken is an older toy and talk in a bit of a seventies slang, using terms like “cool and groovy”. Michael Keaton does a fantastic job of portraying this disco toy that is just trying to do what he thinks is right.

Cinematography
So, this is a Pixar film and that just about says it all. Pixar is always trying to push the envelope in animation and they almost always succeed. It is really cool to compare Toy Story 3 with Toy Story and see the advancement in both the technology and skill of the animation. It still has that classic Toy Story look, yet it is almost realistic in some ways. The amount of detail in everything is extraordinary. It is very impressive with the trash yard scene as all of that garbage moves right. I have no idea if they modeled every piece of garbage or what. Either way, the attention to detail makes this movie leap years ahead of the first and second ones.
The score as always is very good. It helps to convey a whole series of emotions from joy, to sadness, to desperation, to heroism, it covers it all. Technologically this movie is tight. Also, this movie is fairly well done for being 3D as the shots were more 3D intended, with long shots and more distance style shots involved. However, this movie could very easily be viewed in 2D and nothing be missed.

Story
As I said before, this is no kids movie. This movie is about as deep and dark as it gets. It starts off with a nice friendly atmosphere, but as it progresses into the film, it gets darker and darker to the point where you’re not even sure if the Toys will live. This movie is definitely a metaphor for life and moving on and making sure that we leave behind a good legacy, that we treat things with respect and dignity, that we listen to others. The world would probably be a better place if there were more movies like this. Unlike most films that try to present this message, it’s not blatantly smacking you in the face. It’s more in retrospect that you see these messages. Emotionally, this story takes you for a massive ride. Very few stories can basically take you through every emotion out there, from love, to hate, to fear, it’s got it all really. Above all, it is almost impossible not to tear up, especially if you are about my age or my parents age. This movie is directed to us undoubtedly and sure, the kids will enjoy the movie for its pretty colours and its laughs, but the story in this is so incredibly deep and rich that you will become very attached to it and above all, relate to it.

Conclusion
With Pixar movies, it basically comes down to choosing what is your favourite. They’re all pretty much as good as the other, but this one is definitely near the top. My personal favourite is probably still Wall-E, but this movie comes very very close to taking the number one Pixar film for me. Definitely Oscar material, this is overall a fantastic movie that will leave you with a lasting impression for a very long time.

9/10