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This Friday, two of Pixar’s most popular films make a return to theaters in a new format. Sort of. Fans of Toy Story and Toy Story 2 will be able to experience both films again in a movie theater for the price of one. Oh yeah, it’s also in 3-D.

I had the chance to see them last week; and what I saw, I liked. It’s always nice to be able to see an old beloved classic in a movie theater again, and with this Toy Story Double Feature, you get two. I do have an inkling, however, that some people might feel disappointed by the 3-D—even though they shouldn't.

Toy Story and its first sequel are only fourteen and ten years old, respectively, but  they’ve already entered film culture as landmarks in animation, helped by Pixar’s current position as the castle in which animation emperors reside in. Do these two movies hold up, this many years later? Somewhat. The lessening of the impact today, however, has less to do with the diminishing quality in these films and more to do with how much more of a sophisticated storyteller Pixar has become.

Toy Story

“To infinity and beyond!” was first heard here, back in 1995. It was when the world was introduced to cowboy puppet Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) and his eventual pardner, space ranger action figure Buzz Lightyear (voice of Tim Allen).

Pixar was an up-and-comer with a lot to prove and quite a bit to lose (for an excellent summary of their history, I highly recommend the documentary The Pixar Story). Their first film will always find appreciation as the movie that ushered a new age of computer animation, deserving of its global success. It’s a groundbreaking effort, but it’s also their first try and they had not mastered the language.

There’s nothing inherently bad about Toy Story, just unrefined. The identity crisis at the center of its plot—Woody’s fear of being replaced by his owner Andy and Buzz’s rough acceptance of the fact that who he is doesn’t fit into his “packaging” (wink wink)—never takes control of its intriguing potential, only reflected on as plot devices. The movie also relies too much on songs, which is especially awful because it’s all Randy Newman. When Buzz has his emotional breakdown and realizes for the first time that he is just a doll, Newman belting out “I will go sailing no more” is really grating. Later Pixar works had never really resorted to such on-the-nose tactics.

Still, it’s a light adventure story that has some terrific ideas (“the claw” and Sid’s mutilated toys come to mind). It also paved the way for one of the greatest sequels of all time.

Intermission

Between the two movies is a 10-minute break where the characters (in shadow puppet form, as if they’re up in the projection booth) does a few skits for those of us who didn’t feel the urge to fill the outhouse or refill the popcorn bucket. In a neat touch, there’s a 2-D animation, in the cubist-newsreel style Pixar likes so much, of Woody demonstrating instructions.

The intermission reel also includes trivia and puzzles, as well as some deleted scenes and test footage (I believe these are just lifted from the DVD extras, since I know I've seen them all before). Fun for the whole family. All the while, a clock perks at the top left corner counting down to the start of the second feature.

Toy Story 2

Many sequels, particularly those created to satisfy a market, often fall short of their predecessors, either by lack of passion or by losing that certain magic that couldn’t be re-bottled. This one escapes that trap and becomes one of the rare sequels that actually tops the original. It not only captured the magic, it enhanced it to a more thoughtful level.

This 1999 film introduces the new character Jessie (voice of Joan Cusack) to Toy Story’s already diverse cast of toys, a cowgirl supposed to be part of Woody’s complete set. Having been boxed for many years, Jessie and two other members of Woody’s set are happy that they can finally go on display at a Japanese museum. They need Woody for the museum to accept the set, but that means leaving Andy behind.

Pixar makes their mark by not offering an easy choice, even devoting the film’s most memorable sequence to the opposition’s argument. A decade later—even knowing that it’s coming, knowing as an adult that it’s ultimately a preposterous idea—Jessie’s flashback montage of how her owner grew up and dumped her (set to a song written by Randy Newman, but sang by Sarah McLachlan) still brings a tear. Or two. Or lots. It confronts the harsh truth about any relationship: no matter how loving, one way or another, it will eventually end. That’s unavoidable, but is it a valid reason to run away?

Woody’s adventure in Toy Story 2 is mostly static, confined to a sleazy toy mogul’s display room, because the struggle is an internal one—a great change of pace from the more manic first film.

The 3-D

As good as these films are, no doubt the presence of a 3-D makeover is what will draw kids and parents alike to the double feature. Unlike the recent string of animated 3-D movies, mind you, these two weren’t created with 3-D in mind, so there aren’t any scenes designed specifically to reach out or startle.

Excluding title texts, there are maybe two—three if you look hard enough—things popping out of the screen in each film. But that’s not necessarily a bad thing. As with how it’s often used nowadays, the 3-D is about pushing in rather than out, to build a three-dimensional playing field. The use here is mostly limited to how the background is distanced in relation to the characters. It’s so subtle most of the time that it’s hard to even tell.

That’s arguably how 3-D should be used if it was to be a cinematic revolution. For immersion, it succeeds by making the audience forget that it’s a 3-D movie; but it also takes away the spectacle of marketing it as an out-of-the-screen experience in the first place. A tricky compromise.

Looking Forward…

What this Double Feature does best, and of course it was the intention, is whetting the appetite for a third film. It works because there’s a clear life progression when you watch the first two movies back-to-back.

Toy Story sets up the fear toys have of being replaced. Although at that point the threat came only from newer toys and not severed connections, it touched on the passage of time. New toys will come in, old toys will be forgotten. The same thing happens in puberty, except the “new toys” are friends, girls, cell phone or computer—which is the possibility Toy Story 2 ran with. If there is to be a continuation, then it’s only fitting for them to really face that problem.

Toy Story 3 already has a great emotional starting point. We’ll see Andy leave for college and not take the toys with him, and we’ll see how Woody and Buzz cope with that fact. What other purpose could there be for old antiquated toys when they have no child to make happy and call family?

Maybe we’ll find out on June 18, 2010.