Review

Review Date: 20-June-10
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Toy Story 3 (2010)

Heading into Toy Story 3 I was already weary of the marketing blitz and wary of Hollywood attempts to capitalize on former glories. Yet every passing minute of the movie dispelled my unease and reminded me why Pixar Studios is the undisputed champ of animated films, and of popular films in general. The word that best describes the Pixar knack is finesse — few other makers of animated or live-action movies can achieve that perfect balance between sight gags and sly wit, adventure and emotion, kid stuff and adult stuff. It has been a while since I watched the first two Toy Story movies, but I think this is the best one yet.

What especially distinguishes this picture, and others from the studio, is that it reaches beyond the safe limits of routine "family" films to touch upon some painful facts of life. Of course the world of Toy Story has always been tinged with danger and despair since it isn't easy being a plaything reliant on a child's love. As this chapter of the story opens, stalwart cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks), flashy spaceman Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), feisty cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack), and their fellow toys are facing the hardest moment in their lives as their now 17-year-old owner prepares to leave for college. While they all dream of accompanying him, they know their future is likely to involve the attic or the trash heap. A mishap almost lands them in the latter hell, but they manage to make their way as donations to a day care center where things initially appear promising.

The leader of the day care toys is a plush and purple Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty), who welcomes the newcomers with paternal consideration. Nothing in the Western world can match teddy bears as icons of innocence, so I count it among the picture's more daring and sickly satisfying moves that "Lotso" is not what he seems. (His crony the freaky-scary baby doll has been done before.) Woody and his pals are assigned to the room where the really young, really destructive tikes play and barely survive their first afternoon in one piece. Lotso shows his true colors when they protest, ordering the baby doll and a Ken doll (Michael Keaton) to enslave them, and diabolically enlisting Buzz to do so as well. Echoes of classic prison-break movies emerge as the heroes then plot to escape.

The movie's choicest comedy involves Ken, who has exactly the personality you would expect and hooks up with a Barbie who arrived in Woody's company. Ken's "fashion show" scene is pure gold and a crucial part of the thrilling escape. As if teamwork, a crazed security monkey, and near-death by incinerator weren't enough, the finale features a wonderful moment when the college-bound kid spends a last hour with his playmates, reveling in his vanished childhood and giving his devoted toys a fond farewell. Like the opening of Up, the ending of Toy Story 3 is an acknowledgement of life's changes fit to bring tears to one's eyes. Add that to the excitement and several varieties of humor that preceded it, and Pixar's latest is another gem.

Copyright © 2010 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.