Toy Story 3 Thoughts
Toy Story 3
It's times like these where I really get irritated by watermarks on images. This is a fab image of Jessie and it's marred now. D: (I'd like a poster of it please)
That random comment aside, I was surprised how full the theatre was for Toy Story 3 on a friday morning in its 7th weekend of release. If you're wondering why it took me so long to see this movie, well I was a little hesitant in seeing it. I knew this was the goodbye to these character and I wasn't ready to say goodbye. The thing with Disney/Pixar movies is you can't make it through one without getting emotional and Toy Story 3 was no different. In fact, it got me bad, the worst I can remember of any film and let's say the dim theatre saved everyone from seeing me bawl like a little baby. The last 10-15 mins of the movie were excruciating for trying to keep it in.
I saw it in 3D, and I wonder if because it was in a smaller theatre that I was less impressed by the 3D. I wish theatres would combine the real 3D glasses with the IMAX screens because I find the IMAX 3D glasses uncomfortable to wear. Either way, it only felt like the movie was embossed, but I still felt more satisfied seeing it in 3D than not. I guess the marketing worked because I paid nearly 50% more for 3D. More reason I wish box office rankings went by tickets sold and not money brought in. Terribly inflated - looking at you Avatar.
It's hard to believe it's been 15 years since the original came out, honestly, I don't even remember that it came out right in the middle of Disney animated films golden run. The sequel came out 4 years later and reminds me just how long CG animated films used to take to get made. Also that movies like A Bug's Life get forgotten about (remember the little extra on Toy Story 2 of them being on the bushes that Buzz wades through? or how about a fact that will make you feel old - Hayden Panettiere was the voice of Dot, the princess' little sister).
The new baddie toy, Lotso, reminded me a whole lot of the Prospector (Stinky Pete) from Toy Story 2. I'm not sure if the Prospector had a limp but he did have that pick axe that was sort of used like one, and their end in each story was very similar - Prospector getting shoved in the back of a girl's backpack and the barbie next to him tells him that the girl is an artist, Lotso getting picked up by that trash guy who shoves him into the front grill of the truck and the other dolls tell him to keep his mouth closed. The voice/even/calm tone even sounded similar. I don't know if anyone else picked that out but it definitely felt like they were picking a baddie from the same cloth, which I don't mind that much because that wasn't really what the story was about.
The only disappointing bit of the movie for me was the lack of Bo Peep. It made me sad that Woody's other half was lost over the years (either to yard sale/trash/donation like it was alluded to) and it affected me enough that I actually looked into it. Came out that Bo Peep was part of a Nursery lamp set and because Andy shared his room with Molly in the first movie, that was why she was used by him as well as a toy. The fact that she was porcelain and a lamp made it hard for them to put her in the sequel and is why she was only seen in the beginning and end because you wouldn't see her traipsing around the streets with the rest of the sturdier toys. And the creators final point was that they couldn't see Andy handing off Bo Peep to Bonnie because in reality, she was a lamp. It's sad, but I'd like to think Woody and Bo Peep were reunited down the road.
Bonnie is a fantastic character for the toys to go to and when she played with Woody and her other toys, IT WAS SO FRIGGIN ADORABLE. I had a feeling that was where Woody wanted his friends to go but I wasn't expecting him to decide that once they were in Andy's room again. How tough was that watching Andy play with his toys one last time and then saying goodbye to Woody, ugh. This is a fantastic film but honestly, I don't know how easy or eager I will be to rewatch it entirely. Ken was a cool addition to the movie and his scenes were hilarious, especially the fashion show inside his dreamhouse or then afterward when Barbie disguised as Space Suit Ken and the bookworm saw the heels. XD
I hope there isn't any thoughts of a fourth movie because this was the perfect ending, if i can take words from earlier in this post - the perfect goodbye to these characters. Very few franchises can be wrapped up so perfectly that there will be more adventures for these toys in the future but it's best left to the imagination. Pixar/Disney knocked it out of the park again and I'm looking forward to seeing Tangled when it comes out around Thanksgiving. To Infinity and Beyond.