Screenplay by Michael Arndt
Story by John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton & Lee Unkrich
Directed by Lee Unkrich
“When the kids get old, new ones come in. When they get old, new ones replace them. You’ll never be outgrown, or neglected. Never abandoned or forgotten. No owners means…no heartbreak!”
I could wax lyrically about the expected, top-notch production standards. I could point out that there was no reason to suspect that Toy Story 3 would be anything other than another successful outing from Pixar. I could praise the laugh out loud hijinks, the joyous voice talents (Michael Keaton as Ken is a revelation), the extra layers of darkness explored by the film (loneliness, fears of abandonment), and how the script is a perfect exercise in succinct storytelling. It’s the Disney/Pixar combination at the height of its storytelling & animation skill. Never has a film — technically or imaginatively — deserved the Magic Kingdom/Tinkerbell opening ident than the spellbinding tale that is Toy Story 3.
So the only thing I’ll point out is the reason why I’m giving this film a 10+ rating: the final ten minutes.
I sat in that theatre, watching Andy dontae his toys to a young girl…presenting them one-by-one, described with all with love and attention of a young man saying good bye to his family. Each toy, invested with years of imagination, adventure, excitement, and adoration.
It was a good bye to childhood. No, not a good bye…an au revoir. A new chapter in life, celebrated by the passing-on of a legacy, not the blunt abandonment of the past.
Watching these final 10 minutes filled me with an extremely heavy heart. I sat there, watching this quiet but momumental moment, my eyes shedding tears like an out of control faucet. All I could think about was the past: my own vast amount of childhood toys, all passed on or left behind, lost to time. I sat their, overwhelmed with melacholy and nostalgia, and the feeling that I’ve lost something extremely precious…and that I was suddenly given a chance to re-live it, if just for a moment.
Poignant doesn’t begin to describe how I felt. I watched much of my own experience, on screen…and it took my breath away.
Toy Story 3 is a stunning achievement. How many sequels are better than the original? How many THIRD films are better than the first two combined? Considering the exquisite quality of the first two films in this series, this is nothing short of a miracle. A glorious, hilarious, wonderful miracle…touched with absolute magnificence. More emotional than Up…deeper than Finding Nemo…and even more epic in scope and imagery than Wall-E…which is quite an achievement, considering that you’re trading outer space for a day care centre!
But I won’t watch it again…or else I’ll burst into tears once more.
10+
