Pixar’s latest in its ever-expanding opus of animated features has the best 3D animation you’ll find in any release currently on Blu-ray. You just can’t question the startling depth and clarity created in Toy Story 3’s computer generated environments and the incredible detail to be found in every scene. You can see minor imperfections on each toy and make out little trinkets in the background, both are testaments to Pixar’s level of dedication to its craft; they’ve spent years improving the quality of animation they deliver and pair that advancement with a fine eye to make every situation as real as possible. Yes, Toy Story 3 is visually stunning, and yes, even for Pixar it’s above par for the course. However, it’s there that the praise ends for their storytelling charms, at least in this instance.
Nothing risks killing a positive memory or a sense of nostalgia quite like going back to the source and reliving it verbatim; you might find that it’s just as good as you remembered it, but more likely the childlike wonder that enhanced every smell, sight, taste, touch, and sound at the time got lost somewhere in growing up. It’s a fact that endangers the success of every sequel or next chapter, and in the case of Toy Story 3, the comparison is more apt than normal. More than a decade down the road from Woody and the gang’s realization that Andy’s growing into an adult will inevitably see them gathering dust, a lesson learned from an adventure where Woody had to decide between a limited future of activity followed by obsolescence and a life of eternal adoration without ever being played with again, and Pixar must think we’ve forgotten. Right, like we haven’t been watching their masterful Toy Story 2 over and over.
Toy Story 3 rehashes everything from the first two films, including its touching revelations about the importance of an imagination and the role of toys in a person’s life. The rehashing wouldn’t be such an issue had Pixar skillfully added another layer to build upon the previous films’ messages, but they didn’t bother. It’s a beautiful film in a visual sense, with a superb acting cast that continues to serve the franchise brilliantly, but it doesn’t have the competent and complete story the first two did.
Andy (John Morris) has begun cleaning out his room, and his toys sit anxiously in the chest waiting for him to decide their fates. Will Andy take them to college with him? Will he store them in the attic? Or throw them away? In a misunderstanding, the toys get carted off to a local daycare center where the deceptively lovable plush bear Lotso (Ned Beatty) reveals the sinister truth about how toys live there: while there might be a steady stream of children to guarantee toys a full life of play, the gang we’ve come to know and love serve like prisoners among the younger children who play a bit more harshly and without the imaginative narrative they’ve become accustomed to under Andy’s caring hand. This is where Toy Story 3 takes an unfortunate turn. Lotso is never fleshed out enough to seem any different than Prospector Pete (Kelsey Grammer) from the second film, and the quandary of the protagonists is nearly identical to that faced in both of the original films (escaping from Sid’s house and escaping from Al’s apartment/the airport). These scenes get carbon copies here, though with a slightly more dire outcome were they not rescued by the hand of fate.
The animation and sound are top-notch as the studio responsible for both knows what they’re doing. You won’t find better animation anywhere else today, and with actors like Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton, John Ratzenberger, Bonnie Hunt, and Whoopi Goldberg giving personality to the characters in each frame – why wouldn’t you pay the extra few dollars to see such a film of sublime technical craftsmanship. It’s the highest praise the film deserves, but unfortunately it makes the film a bit dry and not nearly as rewarding with multiple viewings as the first two are.
You’ll still enjoy it and the kiddies will swarm to it, but for adults looking for something new and a little bit more than pretty pictures, it feels like a recycled product.
Blu-ray Bonus Features
Disney and Pixar give us a fully loaded Blu-ray, DVD and digital copy combo pack that continues the tradition of featurettes started with their Toy Story and Toy Story 2 combo pack releases from earlier this year. The Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs continue from the first two, and as expected the Pixar short “Day & Night “ that preceded the film in its theatrical release is also on the first disc. When you get to the second disc, that’s where the fun extras really begin. I’d recommend starting with the look at how they created the opening wild west sequence from the film, move on to the Pixar studio stories (featuring the creators and crew talking about their experiences working on the project and at Pixar in general). Finally, you have the production pieces like a commentary, a roundtable with Director Lee Unkrich, and a piece detailing the writing of the story and where they wanted to take it. They really cover the film’s inception quite thoroughly, and to their credit each featurette warrants a watch (at least by the grown-ups), but for the kids just stick to the Toy Story Trivia Dash and call it a day. There’s an exclusive extra on the DVD copy of the film about reuniting the voice cast – it’s entertaining just to see the stars interact.
"Toy Story 3" is on sale November 2, 2010 and is rated G. Adventure, Animation, Children & Family, Comedy, Drama. Directed by Lee Unkrich. Written by John Lasseter (story) and Andrew Stanton (story) & Lee Unkrich (story). Starring Don Rickles, Joan Cusack, John Ratzenberger, Michael Keaton, Ned Beatty, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks.
