Toy Story 3 - One of the many reasons Pixar has become so beloved is their mastery of mainstream moviemaking. Their films tend to have a clear and discernible structure everyone can latch on to. First, they introduce the world. Here's the world of toys, fish, monsters, or what have you, these are the primary characters, and this is what they do every day. This is the status quo. Suddenly, a dramatic inciting incident happens! Buzz Lightyear arrives in the original Toy Story and soon becomes Andy's favorite. A human child enters the world of Monsters Inc, throwing everything out of whack. Nemo swims out into open water and is captured. Thus, everything flows from here, as our characters are called into an adventure to restore the status quo, which naturally leads to an a whole new perspective on life by the protagonists before the credits roll. There's a clockwork precision to this, and it all flows smoothly.
Toy Story 3 stumbles on this. It opens up with no real status quo at all. Our favorite characters from the last two films are in a state of transition. Andy is grown up, most of the toys are gone, and we don't know what's gonna happen to our main cast. Woody, having gone through his existential crisis in Toy Story 2, preaches like a religious zealot about their unwavering duty to Andy. The other toys aren't so sure. There's a metaphorical conflict here, with the toys having to decide between Purgatory(the attic), Hell(The dump), or Heaven(Sunnyside).
Now, anxiety ridden conversations about the afterlife is definitely an interesting theme for a late kids movie sequel to tackle, but it's not the kind of thing that powers adventure narratives. Worse yet, when our heroes eventually arrive at Sunnyside, Pixar has to explain a whole NEW status quo, about its inner workings and character dynamics and what they do every day. For about a third of the runtime, the audience is left to wonder when the movie is going to start, which is not something one could say about any prior great Pixar film to date.
Ahh, but your patience is eventually rewarded. The dark side of Sunnyside is revealed, and a honest to God dramatic conflict shows up. The shape of the movie finally comes into vision. It's a prison break movie, which has all the pleasure of a heist flick except with a crew busting out of somewhere instead of breaking in. And it's one of the most inventive, witty, giddily entertaining caper films you'll ever see. Pixar finds lots of hilarious new ways to use our favorite characters, refusing to rest on nostalgia. All those character and environmental details set up finally start falling like dominos, making for a thrilling and unpredictable adventure.
When the story humming along, it's easier to appreciate Toy Story 3s other strengths. Namely, it's animation, which is several light years beyond the first two Toy Story films. The benefits of a late sequel coming at the tail end of Pixar's peak period, where there maturation as storytellers was matched by a sophistication in technology. It's an utterly gorgeous movie, with all those little details that push the believability over the top. My particular favorite is the stiff mannequin movements of Ken and Barbie, the sharp limited range of motions reflecting exactly on how those toys would operate if given life. Not for one moment do any of the toys' inner character and "humanity" come into question.
That pays off big time in the last third of the film, which is structured like a series of haymakers straight to the heart. And it's here where any sense of objectivity goes out the window, because I have to admit the ending of Toy Story 3 leaves me a giant embarrassing emotional wreck each and every time. It's digs right into the audience own deep grained affection for Toy Story and beautifully delivers a message about life. The bond you create between people, your friends family and loved ones, is the most important thing in the world. And yes, Loved ones come and go, and they can be scary and sad. But life goes on, and your life goes on. The memories you've created and the past experiences shape you, and while you can't go back, the future hasn't been written yet. It's all very sincere, very sweet, deeply humanist, and I absolutely love it.
So, of course, there's a toy story 4 coming soon that I have zero interest in. For better or worse, life goes on!
