UrbanWireIt has been 11 years since the second installment of Pixar’s arguably most celebrated animated franchise, but Toy Story 3 will have you know that masterful storytelling is timeless.
Fans who were children a decade ago have since grown up and a quick glance at the turnout in the theatre – made up with mostly young adults and a small minority of kids – confirms this fact.
This transition is evident in the third installment of Toy Story, as the movie itself also does a fair bit of growing up with the exploration of darker themes. Here, the toys are not only faced with the possibility of not just being thrown away, but being destroyed.
The long wait has also brought about much expectation from both fans and critics. The first two movies were both critically and commercially acclaimed – if the twenty-four Academy Awards and six Golden Globes it has garnered and a box office earning of $5.5billion is anything to go by.
And so the question remains: did Toy Story 3 really live up to all those expectations?
The answer is a resounding – and a very relieved – yes.
The movie starts off with Andy packing up for college, intensifying the toys’ fear of being thrown away because their owner has outgrown them.
After a series of comical misunderstandings, the toys, with the exception of Woody, are thrown away. Thinking they are being abandoned, the toys decide to sneak into the donation box headed to Sunnyside, a daycare centre.
It’s then that the audience is introduced to the new characters residing in Sunnyside, which in first glance, seems like an utopia for the gang who no longer have to fear being tossed out.
Lotso, a Lots-o’-Huggin’ bear, whose fluffy exterior is more than meets the eye, rules over the toys there and the smooth-talking Ken, Barbie’s partner. They are just a few of the additions to this franchise.
The recurring theme on a toy’s fear of being abandoned is also featured heavily in this film, as the toys are finally confronted with the fact that that they are not needed anymore – a fact that they have always known but not come into terms with.
As usual, the larger-than-life characters stole the show here, especially from the hyped up 3D technology Pixar is employing for the first time. In fact, 3D was a hindrance as it is not needed in order to enjoy a movie with this much depth and dimension.
The subplot of the romance between Ken and Barbie provided a novel comic relief with their plastic (pun unintended) antics, while other new characters like Chuckles the clown who, well, doesn’t chuckle and Big Baby struck a chord with the issue of people outgrowing the things they grew up with.
Woody and gang continues to take center stage with their easy camaraderie and unwavering loyalty to Andy, as the toys comfort themselves with the fact that they will always be together and be there for Andy.
It’s also this sense of consistency throughout the movie, despite the time gap in between the two movies, that made the transition a seamless one as the audience is easily drawn into the plot.
As the movie draws to an end, the sniffles heard throughout the theatre reminds us once again, on the magic of the Pixar animation studios, the magic that allows us to feel genuine emotions towards their fictional characters, plastic or plush.
Title: Toy Story 3
Opens: June 17
Duration: 103 minutes
Language: English
Rating: ★★★★☆
Genre: Animation, Adventure
Director: Lee Unkrich
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack