10/4/10
Professor Purdy
More Than Just a “Toy Story”: Toy Story 3Movie Critique
This summer the famous Toy Story trilogy was completed with the release of Toy Story 3 in both regular format and even 3D format. I was fortunate enough to get the chance to see the third movie about a week ago. I had previously seen both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 numerous times and was very excited to get the opportunity to see the third. My previous experiences with the first two Toy Story movies had been so delightful that I had only the highest hopes for the third film. Sometimes movies that create sequels, trilogies, or even more than that actually end up ruining the first movie. However, I felt that since the first two Toy Story movies left me wanting more, how could the third movie fail. I expected the third movie to be even better then the first two and my expectations were more than proven true by the end of the film.
I’d like to explain where the third movie picks up and in order for me to do that I need to tell you about the first two. In the first movie all of the characters are introduced as Andy’s toys. Andy is the owner of these toys and when Andy isn’t playing with them and is out of the room all of his toys come to life. The first movie gives a great fun story that has Andy get a brand new toy named Buzz Lightyear for his birthday. This is problematic because Andy’s favorite toy has always been his cowboy doll Woody. When Buzz comes along, a space ranger from another galaxy, Andy begins to neglect Woody and the other toys. This sets up for an enjoyable movie where in the end all of the toys even Buzz and Woody become best of friends.
The second movie shifts the story to be all about Woody. The main point of the movie revolves around Woody being taken by a mean toy collector in order to be sold to a museum for a lot of money. The reason why Woody is going to be sold to a museum is because Woody is a rare toy and he will be able to complete a rare collection of what Woody was once part of, known as Woody’s Roundup Gang. Woody finds himself feeling at home with his new friends who feel like family, but then he realizes he already has an owner, Andy, and a family, Andy’s toys. Woody then figures out away to bust out before being shipped off to the museum, but in order to save himself he needs the help of all of Andy’s toys including, my favorites Buzz and Slinky. Andy’s toys all band together to save Woody and actually end up saving Jesse, Woody’s partner-in-crime, and Bullseye, Woody’s valiant steed. They all become great friends and go back to live in Andy’s room, just like they should.
Well enough about the first two movies, let’s talk about the third film. In order to give a proper critique I have to give a little background on the movie. Walt Disney Pictures released Toy Story 3 in June 2010 and the movie features lead actors Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear. The movie was directed by Lee Unkrich and written by, Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Lee Unkrich. The movie brought in an outstanding 411.1 million dollars just at the box office and has yet to be released out onto DVD. From start to finish the movie grabbed my attention and never let it slip. I found myself not even taking the time to worry about having anything to drink or munch on, due to the nonstop action, comedy, and fun. All my favorite characters from the previous movies were in it again like Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Bullseye, and Slinky. Those are just some of the few characters I really enjoy, but it is the way in which all of the characters interact with each other that I truly appreciate. The main storyline that the third movie follows is that Andy has grown up now and is going off to college. He is unsure as to what he should do with his toys that he has kept so near and dear to his heart for his whole life. He knows that he cannot take them to college with him as much as he would like to, but he also doesn’t want to sell them for any money. Mainly Andy wants to find someone who will care for and play with his toys as much as he did. Andy ends up accidentally giving away all of his favorite toys to a pre-school, because his mom takes the wrong box to donate. All of Andy’s toys are donated except for one, Woody. However, Woody wants to be together with everyone else and ends up getting himself to the pre-school only to find out that the toys that were already at the pre-school are pretty mean. The other pre-school toys end up running the pre-school and tell all of Andy’s toys that they can’t play with the kids who treat toys nicely. They have to play with the kids who are too young and damage any toy they play with. The storyline then goes on with Woody and Buzz teaming up with the gang to break out of pre-school and back to Andy’s room. In the end the movie adds a twist that not even a huge fan like myself saw coming. In order to not spoil the movie I will spare you the details, except for the fact that I definitely had quite a few tears in my eyes by the end of this wonderful film. Overall, I give this movie 4 out of 5 stars and it may even be on my top ten movie list. Who wouldn’t want to imagine that when they aren’t looking all of their toys come to life and have the greatest time interacting with each other? Toy Story is a landmark trilogy and a must see for the whole family.
