Toy Story 3: Refreshingly Psychological
Posted: Friday, August 27, 2010
by Brombergs 2 Cents
Yet another Pixar film that is more for adults than for children. There is always a deep-seated psychological component to these movies that make them more humanistic than most live-action films out there. What makes this movie special is the focus on the emotions that the toys go through when they realize that their owner (Andy) whom they have known since he was a little child is moving on in life (to college) and likewise, Andy, despite being too old to play with toys, still has an emotional connection to these toys. This premise makes for a surprisingly moving cinematic experience.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen once again bring their vocal talents back as the two main characters, Woody and Buzz. Wallace Shawn is fantastic as the excited dinosaur, Rex. Michael Keaton plays Ken… that's right, Barbie and Ken are in this picture and their relationship is like the Sex and the City of the toy world… clothes is their cocaine.
As usual, clever writing and brilliant visuals make this a movie to see whether you are age 5 or 50. I know many people that have such a hard time accepting the reality of a cartoon world… but if I make a case for any cartoon to see, it is Pixar. Pixar has made me cry, and it might make you cry too because their style, their story, and their execution is about as real and true to life as an animated film can get.
Very few studios can produce successful sequels, let alone multiple sequels that both general audience members and critics can appreciate. Even popular films like Shrek have seemed to decline, as far as the critics were concerned, in terms of quality filmmaking. Pixar continues to make critic-happy films, sequel or not, that are not based on formulaic fairy tales or timely pop culture gags, but well produced, well marketed, and well written plots that last for decades to come… not an easily duplicated feat.
I hope I never read reviews for the next Pixar movie that relate that it has "succumbed to the masses" or "cheapened its trademark style" or anything that takes away from their current high standards of movie magic.
One thing I particularly take away from this film is the villain. I love a story where the villain has a plausible, psychologically driven back-story that could actually happen to real people. These anger-driven back stories give another piece of depth to a film about talking toys and imaginative fantasy worlds.What could possibly cause a toy to be angry or feel betrayed? Perhaps being replaced by an identical toy because you were lost or defective? Hmm, now there is some good motive to be deranged. Just like in the real world when we are replaced by a new boy or girlfriend, a sense of rage can develop and this can be consuming.
Why is Pixar so humanistic? The answer is simply because they think of these things. Their stories are successful at putting hard-hitting human drama into an animated world. Look at Wall-E, the 2008 film about a small robot which deals with conservation, nutrition, mass commerce, over-automation, and technology in a way that only dark minds like Stanley Kubrick could conjure up… but wait, it's an animated movie for kids?
Whoa.
It seems to me that the best movies out there (that aren't escape movies where things just blow up for the fun of it) are the movies that detail what it means to be human. Pixar, refreshingly, has perfected this notion in many of its films and hopefully, will continue to do this so our children can enjoy meaningful entertainment that actually touches the heart… rather than syrupy, cheap productions that use the absurdity of pop culture as the basis of its entertainment value. Please, Pixar, keep up the good work.
Go see it, but do not pay extra for 3D, it is nothing special. 4 out of 4 stars.
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)I saw a documentary that illustrated really well what you say about Pixar. I think cartoons are very effective when the emotional content is so good.
Mike I'm enjoying reading your reviews more and more. I have not seen this one yet, but your description of Up was spot on in my view. With your recommendation Toy Story 3 will be one we watch.Grace
You seem to delve into the psychological, spiritual aspects of films. Interesting!You're right E! I suppose I enjoy finding and writing about the psychological and/or spiritual side of films. Some films aren't really that deep...Sex and the City 2, for instance... but then again it can be fun to write about bad movies too! Thanks for reading! -Bromberg
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