to infinity

[falulatonks]

Toy Story 3 was wonderful. I'll try to break this reaction down, because it would be a mess otherwise (it's still a mess, because I'm a mess, and I ramble a lot):

Quick thoughts:

1. Loved the short! Day & Night is pretty simple but I loved it for that simplicity and the execution.


2. The opening sequence was brilliant. How much do I love that they did something like that - letting us see this from a boy's imagination? Perfect.


3. KEN IS NOT A GIRL'S TOY! I loved it. Also, way to go, Barbie. You may have redeemed all the Barbies I hated so much in the past (I chewed all their hands).


4. Lotso was so not cool. Five-year-old me would totally chew your head off, you jerk.


5. Spanish!Buzz was a surprise and a delight.


6. Was Sid (the bad kid in Toy Story) the garbage man?! I think he had the same t-shirt on. NICE.)


7. Trixie and Rex! Trixie and Rex! I LOVE THEM VERY MUCH. I love that Bonnie's toys are so sweet, right down to Mr Prickle Pants, but TRIXIE! I want more Trixie and Rex scenes! Dinosaurssssssss.

A little less quick:

1. The noir!telephone was perfect, and everything about it - how it was used, how it was animated - is everything I love about this trilogy (maybe even the studio) - it's so creative. It's so intelligent and so unique and so imaginative. It's just like the toys' Great Escape from the daycare - everything is established, the characters and their uses and the layout of the place, and used perfectly, in this smart, incredibly imaginative way, which I adore.


2. This movie got a little dark at times, didn't it? The first TS3 review online mentioned that the first movie was about friendship, the second about growing up, and the third about mortality and maturity, and there were moments in this that really proved that. Maybe it's why it struck a chord in me - this idea of moving on from things.


3. This movie was very deliberately a send-off, especially that last scene with Andy and Bonnie, and I liked that. I don't really like when I can see the intention of something clearly (hi, Glee) but this scene felt sort of like it meant something to the creators, too, which was lovely.


4. What a great blend of everything you could ever want in a movie - humour, characters you want to root for, genuine heartbreak, even excellently choreographed action. I think they did this better here than they did even in Up. What I'm saying, basically, is: hello, perfect movie. AND YOU'RE A SEQUEL! (I haven't thought about where I would put this with all the other Pixar movies yet.)

Feeeeeelings:

1. I am a sap. I'm not very showy with these sappy feelings, but I'm a sap. When I was a kid I had a blanket, and it got old, but I didn't want to throw it away, so when my mum threw it in a bag with other old things, I cut off a tiny piece of it and put it in a box. When I was a little bit older, I had this wonderful book of fairytales and nursery rhymes with gorgeous illustrations and colourings, and I lent it to a friend and she never gave it back and I've never really forgiven her for that (YOU'D BETTER HAVE TAKEN CARE OF IT, BITCH).
   
   Toy Story was the first movie I remember watching at the cinema, and Toy Story 2 may be my most-watched movie ever. This trilogy is a big deal to me because I am a sap, and I'm ecstatic and incredibly relieved that it lived up. I kind of knew it would, because it's Pixar, but I also really didn't know it would, because I'm always a little terrified the day a Pixar movie gets released (how long will they be this good?). So that was good.


2. Oh, Pixar! The best thing about this company as movie-makers (i.e. not just animators) is how closely they seem to pay attention to keeping things genuine. I can genuinely believe these relationships and these feelings and the decisions they make, despite how large-scale and unbelievable the situations they make, and that may be their greatest strength. I can't think of many movies (i.e. not just animated movies) that get that right. I enjoy feeling for these fictional characters - understanding why decisions that everyone makes may be difficult, why Woody was torn between his friends and his Andy. (It's why I tear up in The Incredibles every time Bob/Mr Incredible says he's not strong enough - that emotion would be cheesy or not entirely believable in other movies, but relationships and characters and feelings and even the stakes were built up here to a point where I totally fell for every bit of it.)


3. It's also why: Woody and Buzz! Everyone else! Best friends! Family! TEARS. I always get gooey when they stick up for one another unconditionally (fuck, you guys, I'm talking about toys), but that scene in the incinerator...I only teared up slightly there, but ohh. Everyone reaching for each other. HANDS. AGHH. I love these friendships so much.
   
   It's actually scary, though! I love that it truly feels like things were going to go terribly wrong, and that they wouldn't be able to get out it, just for that scene. I can't imagine it ever getting this dark in other Pixar movies.


4. I feel very strongly about keeping things of your childhood and feeling torn about what to do with that past and maybe that's why I cried through the last fifteen minutes. I started when Andy started taking out all his toys, and when he pulled Woody back I may have let out a little whimper and started all-out bawling. HE LOVES HIM.
   
   I glanced to the little girl sitting next to me and she looked a little bit worried for me, but at the end she wiped her face, so I guess she cried, too. (which is awesome.) It's so hard, growing up. This movie gets the point across even further by never talking about it explicitly - subtle and beautiful and something everyone understands.


5. Woody was going to maybe be alone at college, which killed me. Woody is my favourite, maybe because I always love the captains. I never really cared for Bo Peep, but when everyone in that incinerator reached for someone and Woody just stared ahead for a second (JUST TOYS.) before he looked at Buzz, it killed me.
   
   (I bugged my sister while waiting in line to buy popcorn to get the TS3 combo, which came with a cup with a toy of a character attached to the lid and she said no. (She's younger than me.) I really only wanted the Woody or the Rex one, anyway.)


6. Thank goodness they had a five-minute "extras" sort of reel during the credits, because if I'd walked out right after it ended people would've seen the mess that was my face.


7. I love Andy and I love that he values all these things that he owns, which the young 'uns these days (e.g. Molly, his sister) seem to lack - what do you buy that you truly care for? People live off of cellphones and iPods and virtual space and it feels like less people care about keeping tangible things to love. There are things I have that I couldn't bear to give away. I hope people feel the same about the things they have, too. That's what I carried away with me once this movie ended.

Technical details:

1. What I love about animated movies in general is that every single frame has to be created. There's consideration behind everything that is shown: the framing of a shot, the random car zooming past in the background even though no one's really paying attention to it. I'm not entirely sure Dreamworks gets that the way Pixar does - I loved How to Train Your Dragon, but I don't see the precision that Pixar has in making it look like a movie's been filmed.
   
   I'm geeking out here and being an over-the-top fan, but really: I love the camera angles in this movie, the things that draws your attention - they even have the focus technique (bringing things to focus and blurring things further in the background, then switching it) that live action movies have, but it's done very neatly. I only even noticed how much Pixar movies look like they've been filmed because of something I heard on the Creative Screenwriting podcast for Wall-E last year (Andrew Stanton! I found it fascinating, so go look it up!), but it's so interesting to pay attention to.


2. It's kind of obvious how much the quality of animation has improved since TS2, and I loved it very much. The colouring, the textures, even the filming-style. It's gorgeous. (Love you, Pixar.)


3. This script was great and very tightly-structured - everything was purposefully introduced and I liked how clearly everything fit together. Plus it was hilarious, which is good (and what I mean by that is thank goodness I had reason to laugh, too).


4. I didn't watch this in 3D (and I will never watch anything in 3D, which my dad is annoyed about), but it's sometimes obvious what things are done to make a non-3D movie a 3D movie. I am very impressed, therefore, that at no point in this movie did I think "oh, that was done just so it could look good in 3D" - nothing in your face (literally), not even the action sequences. Great restraint, Pixar!


5. The voice cast was fabulous. I just want to talk about Woody again - he's sarcastic and goofy and kind of a jerk sometimes, but he's their captain, and I love him and how he brings everyone together. And I don't think he would have that effect on me if he hadn't been Tom Hanks, because he's just perfect. I love the voice cast in all - the telephone, Buzz, Jessie, Rex, the pig, even Lotso - but Woody is just perfect.

If you read all of that, A+. I didn't even get in half the things I was thinking. Maybe I'll leave it for my many rewatches when this comes out on DVD.

I love you, Pixar. (And I want to work with you, please.)

-- rachu

Comments

[falulatonks]

I LOVE SO MUCH ABOUT THE THINGS THAT THIS COMMENT CHOOSES TO BE!

1. It really was, wasn't it?! I watched it and loved it, then got worried that many people wouldn't enjoy it as much. So brilliant, though.

2. I was surprised he didn't change, but then I was really pleased, because that really does suit the tone of this movie - I mean, it's still Disney and it's still about toys, but it was darker and it deserved the irredeemable!villain. I do wish something worse happened to him, though. (even though I laughed.)

3. YES BONNIE! Kind of like the older version of the kid from Monster's Inc., but even cuter. And she was so endearing and she played with toys a lot and she made vrooming noises! I wish more kids were like her. She was deserved to inherit Andy's toys.

4. I don't have a lot of stuff? But I have a lot of tiny things. :P And a lot of books. That collection will probably only really start expanding when I live on my own. And exactly - I just kept thinking about all the things I've thrown away and felt miserable.

6. THAT'S EXACTLY IT. (Stop saying things better than I do!) I feel like Pixar uses the animation basically to maximize how their imagination can be used, and to overcome implausibilities of every story (talking animals/toys, flying houses) - the stories they tell are still essentially truthful and heartfelt, which I really, really love. I think it's key to why their movies are so genuine. Dragons did get that right.

7. That tag-teaming made me really stupidly happy, and I'm even happier now that I realise it was in the credits, because yay for Pixar not bashing messages into our heads! Aah. And I love Andy moving on and also not being afraid to look back on things. (Andy's a good kid.)

8. They're so good about being genius about the little things, it's just wonderful. I genuinely feel like I could pause every couple of frames and find something else to be delighted by. Dreamworks gets overly clever about its jokes, but Pixar is just right.

9. Nope, no explanation. I like the idea that these toys started disappearing/"dying" before we got to them, like the toys that are left have had to mature and get used to things just like other people do, growing up. (It's entirely possible I'm reading too much into this.)

10. My friend's brother complained to me that the 3D was useless and I felt sad because things flying into your face isn't the point!! I've read it does give it some depth, though, which I'm happy about. I would like more 3D things to be approached this way.

11. I didn't get it, but I watched a preview a couple of weeks back, and THAT WAS MY REACTION! I read some pre-production notes about how they wanted to get the romance over with in the first third of the movie so they could focus on Rapunzel and her weird, twisted mother (or stepmother), which is such a cool concept, but I'm disappointed because they seemed to have ditched that completely. :/ And now it's slapstick too, which is, ugh, can we try to be a bit darker, please? Pixar did it, right?! Damn it, Disney.

[zombie_boogie.livejournal.com]

Tangled has gone through so many production/story/aesthetic changes it's ridiculous! I think they changed the title from Rapunzel to Tangled and bumped up the presence of the Flynn character to appeal more to boys. I don't remember where I read this, but a blogger pointed out that the way to get boys to watch Disney princess movies isn't through superficial changes - it's all wrapped up in a society that teaches boys that fairy tales are for girls and that they can't relate to girl characters. Again, that's why I love Pixar - because the characters aren't wrapped up in gender norms for the most part. Andy, for example, plays with lots of different types of toys, and then Bonnie plays with them too. It would be nice if the next Pixar protagonist could be a girl though, because I think they'd do an awesome job at producing a non-princess awesome girl character.

Stop saying things better than I do!

You know I'm always thinking the same thing! I don't even have to write a review for this movie because I can just link to this one!

[falulatonks]

because the characters aren't wrapped up in gender norms for the most part
Ooh, definitely. Just like Ellie in Up was the loud, cheerful, boisterous one, or Helen/Mrs Incredible isn't afraid to kick some butt. The next Pixar movie that isn't a sequel is coming out around 2013, I think, and that's got a female protagonist, which I'm so psyched for. Even the less-major characters we've seen so far are strong and smart and they've convinced me that a girl lead would be absolutely awesome.

Disney needs to have more faith in the female lead and appealing to boys. It does make sense in an infuriating way, though - I can't think of any female-centric movies (not even kids movies) that appeal to both genders well.

[zombie_boogie.livejournal.com]

Oh, what film is that (the non-sequel Pixar movie?)

The only films I can think of with female leads that appeal to guys are action films with a female protagonist - like Kill Bill. One of the reasons I like Tarantino is because he writes strong women.

[falulatonks]

It's called Brave - it'll be released between Monsters Inc. 2 and Cars 2.