Saturday, February 12, 2011

Movie review – “Toy Story 3” (2010) ****

Another Pixar masterpiece and money-maker. The formula is followed – an odyssey mixed with heart. The toys are about to be kicked upstairs to the attic with Andy going away to college – a set up which gives this a great deal of depth and heart, because you know no matter what happens the ending isn’t going to be really happy. The toys wind up at a day care centre, which seems like paradise, but isn’t. As normal with Pixar, the last act is one big chase/race-against-the-clock scene.
There are some incredibly moving moments, such as everyone holding hands as they think they’re going to their deaths, and the finale where Andy says goodbye (I don’t mind admitting this brought tears to my eyes – Woody’s smiling face staring at Andy especially, giving it away to a shy girl… it’s all about rites of pages, and changes and surise/sunet… no wonder grown men were bawling in cinemas).
Tom Hanks/Woody is very much the star here – he’s the one picked to go to college, he gets the close ups at the end, he has his own adventures whereas Buzz is stuck with the others. Even in animation, star factor counts. Lots of funny bits throughout; I particularly liked the idea of toys watching each other do theatre, and getting on ebay to see how much they’re worth.

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