Jasonic Reviews Toy Story 3

So this blog started with the first Toy Story film, which inevitably lead me here to do the third one all this time later. Fret not, for this will not be my last review ever rather it will just be the last of this franchise until the fourth film comes out -- yes, that's a thing. Anyways, before I begin I want to say thanks to everyone who supports me throughout this blog; from a few specifics to many others whose names I don't know, I am happy to have kicked it off with this franchise, which has been my favorite since childhood, and to have received encouragement from my readers either in person or in the comments. This may not have anything to do with the film, but I personally figured better late than never to thank my viewers more personally for what they do for me! So, without further adieu, my personal review of the latest film in the Toy Story series, Toy Story 3.

***SPOILERS AHEAD***

The third film in the series finds our toys facing their toughest challenges yet. In it, our toy pals Woody (voiced once more by Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (voiced once more by Tim Allen), and the rest of the cast (most of which maintain their old voice actors) prepare for the day in which their owner throughout the series, Andy (voiced once more by John Morris), goes to college. While they talk about the possibilities of going into the attic and such, they accidentally wind up at Sunnyside Daycare when Andy's mom mistakes them for trash in a bag. There they are welcome with open arms by the toy's leader Lotso Huggin' Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty) who introduces them to the concept of always being loved without every being outgrown. However, soon as the kids prove to be brutal, messy toy players, the toys realize their mistake and demand they be let go before the Sunnyside gang reveals themselves to be set up dictative prison. With help from Woody and the gang, the toys must then escape the clutches of Lotso and his daycare patrols and make it back home before Andy goes away to college and leaves them behind forever.

For starters, the graphics have clearly shown improvement over the previous two installments. With the amount of time passing between the second and third films -- eleven years -- this is definitely a given. Environments and characters are just as colorful as ever with a lot more detail visible to the naked eye such as Lotso's fur and Jessie's yarn. Much of the beginning sequence and daycare especially gives the viewer the feelings of bright, nostalgic memories, which is what the film sets up to be a lot of before delivering the kicker twist. As such, one thing different it has going for it is the use of darker colors to inflict the darker tone on its viewers; this film has a lot more grays, yellows, and browns saturating the scenes, especially those amongst the daycare group with Lotso, Ken (voiced by Michael Keaton), and evil Buzz among others. It is most clear that technology has come a long ways since the first film and really, without the first film, CGI would not be where it is today in any given situation.

The biggest part I mentioned once before is how much darker this film is in comparison to the other two. Not only are the colors more so in certain scenes, but the overall tone definitely has it going as well. Even in the beginning wild west sequence of Andy imagining his toys playing around there were more instances where it looked like one or more of the toys were going to die -- they didn't, but it sure looked like it. On top of that, the main villain, Lotso, is given a fully fleshed out backstory that helps you understand his motivation for why he does what he does and, though it makes you feel sorry for him, his actions as a villain are some of the most anger-inducing for any Pixar villain that's ever been. His conquering of the daycare is only the tip of the iceberg of the bad things he does throughout; between pretending to be a nice guy at first, reverting Buzz back to his old self, calling toys "trash that's meant to be thrown away", and abusing his alley, Big Baby, he is undoubtedly the most ruthless Pixar villain, topping Hopper from A Bug's Life and Syndrome from The Incredibles. He alone is almost the whole reason this film is much darker than the last two especially at the end when he leaves the toys to nearly die in an incinerator at the landfill. Many complain that this film was too dark for the series, but, frankly I don't mind it as it made for a more powerful conclusion.

Just the way in which the film wraps up and addresses everything the previous few films did from a toy's perspective made it one of the most satisfying conclusions to any film series ever. Toy Story 2 foreshadowed a lot of the plot points of this film through the use of Stinky Pete's lines about Andy growing up, children destroying toys, and eventually winding up in the landfill. And the way in which each was portrayed was done well to the best extent it could have been; with how they showed Andy growing up over time in the beginning symbolized by the reprise of the original "You've Got a Friend in Me" ending at the line about friendship never dying, it makes you feel for the toys and their dilemma right off the bat. Also, I'll admit, after seeing the toddlers play around with the toys in brutal, messy ways in the trailers, I assumed that the situation was more silly than it was serious because we did not yet know about Lotso's intentions of keeping the new toys hostage in that room while the other room played with the toys calmly and carefully. To say the least, that whole storyline was an expectation subversion. Plus, while they didn't spend the majority of the film at the landfill, the way in which they portrayed the climactic scene of them there was a thrill ride at best. Whereas it could have easily ended at the dumpster confrontation, the way Lotso dragged Woody into the dumpster with him setup for an even stronger climax where it looked like the toys were about to die in the most heartbreaking way possible. All the more, this made the ending with Andy and Bonnie playing with the toys all the more heartwarming before Andy finally left for college and the film ended the way the first one began.

And lest we not forget the audio department of this movie; the voices of many of the characters such as Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cussack, and Don Rickles (RIP) as Woody, Buzz, Jessie, and Mr. Potato Head among others really gave it their all in the performances we're used to by now. And many of the newcomers such as Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, and Timothy Dalton as Lotso, Ken, and Mr. Pricklepants among others brought plenty new to the table while giving performances just as great as the other actors. Plus the use of Buzz's Spanish actor to play Spanish Buzz was a nice touch and really added to the humor and cultural variety of the film in my opinion. And who could ever forget the way in which they brought Randy Newman back to do the ending song "We Belong Together"? This was by far the best way to end the series with the return of the man who started it all followed by the Spanish version of "You've Got a Friend in Me" ("Hay Un Amigo en Mi"). And so, despite the fact that there will be a Toy Story 4 next year, I am very much satisfied with how this one ended and, should it not be as great, I may not consider it canon or necessary.

So there you have it; I've come full circle with the Toy Story trilogy and boy has it been an adventure into nostalgia for me. Between the great graphics, the darker tone and well-written villain, the use of foreshadowing throughout the series, and and the voice actors and music, there was definitely a lot of thought put into this film and making it the best for last. Though I can't say it was my favorite of the series, it's still up there with its predecessors as one of my favorite films of all time and I am proud to have included all of it in my movie review blog. So, overall, I give this movie an A+ and cite it as recommendable to any fan of this fantastic series!

Thanks y'all for reading and, as always, I will see you in the next review!