Blu-ray Review
Toy Story 3
Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Michael Keaton, Don Rickles, Joan Cusack
Running Time: 1 hr 38 mins
Rating: G
Due Out: November 2, 2010
BUY ON AMAZON: Toy Story 3 (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo + Digital Copy)
PLOT: With their 17-year-old owner Andy moving off to college, the toys are brought to a daycare in hopes of finding new adventures and friends.
WHO'S IT FOR? Any human being who has a shard of their childhood still remaining in their souls. It’s fair to say that if you never loved anything when you were a boy or girl that Toy Story 3 may not be your immediate source of happiness. But for everyone else on the planet, there’s no point in robbing your heart of this universally pleasing experience by missing it. And it's still as good during a second viewing.
MOVIE:
If anyone has figured out the anti-formula to enchanting its mainstream audience, it’s Pixar. Their stories avoid clichés with such aggressive left turns that it could be argued they don’t even know what a “cliché” even is. From the door-chase in Monster’s Inc. to the multi-rat kitchen scurrying in Ratatouille, Pixar have shown a near-genius talent in the field of small-world engineering. Part of the jaw-dropping experience recurring throughout their films is watching how the creators defy gravity with their boundless imagination, and how any item or location can be assigned multiple locations. The grade-A animation we see in their films, now in 3-D, is just the beginning.
With Toy Story 3, not only do Pixar succeed in bringing toys to life in the ways that only witches could dream of, but their flowing creativity is channeled towards making them brilliant, heartfelt creations that appear more human than most of the billboard-friendly faces we see weekly at the movies. Like real human beings, these toys never collect emotional dust, nor can they resign to a one-color simplicity.
It is only then fitting, as this trilogy draws to a close with a sweet but “transitional” note, that we feel the authentic ache in our heart, the chill down our spine, or the tear down our eye. We have loved these toys, or these clear mirrors of our youthfulness, as if they were our own.
MOVIE SCORE: 9/10
EXTRAS
Day & Night - theatrical short Buzz Lightyear Mission Logs: The Science of Adventure Toys! Paths to Pixar: Editorial Sneak Peeks (including Cars 2 teaser) The Gang's All Here A Toy's Eye View: Creating a Whole New Land Studio Stories Toy Story Trivia Dash Cine-Explore Beyond the Toybox: An Alternative Commentary Track Beginnings: Setting A Story in Motion Bonnie's Playtime: A Story Roundtable Roundin' Up A Western Opening Life Of A Shot Goodbye Andy Accidental Toymakers Promotional Material Making of Day & Night
Here's a Dancing with the Stars bonus