Toy Story 3D

[gategrrl]

I took the kids to see Toy Story 3 yesterday. Mermaid was going wild with cabin fever, and so was Tall Boy. There's only so much you can do at home, or play on the Xbox, without getting utterly bored with life. We saw the movie in 3D. It worked well in 3D, even though I thought the glasses I had lent the images I watched a slightly smeary quality (though that could have been my glasses, but I DID clean them thoroughly before putting on the 3D glasses over them).

Most of the cast was present, except for, notably, Little Bo Beep, played by Annie Potts in the previous movies.I thought she'd died, which was why her character wasn't there--but on the other hand, Slinky the Dog was present, even though his original actor, Jim Varney, had died ten years ago. Annie Potts has *not* died, apparently, according to Wikipedia. As a plastic figure holding a hooked staff, I guess Little Bo Beep wasn't as important to the plot as Slinky.

Anyway, the toys get into their usual adventures, and also as usual, mistake Woody's intentions (SG1 fans will note the similiarty between Woody and Daniel Jackson in that!) and ignore him. There were jokes with Buzz Lightyear, of course, being reset to his original store setting, and then to a Spanish Lover setting (those sequences were especially silly, and the animation of a hip-swinging Buzz was spectactular) and then back again. It was cute, but thinking deeper on it, it was kind of creepy, as Buzz had no memories of what he did or what happened while he was in reset mode or Spanish Language mode.

The toys go into Great Escape Mode during most of the movie, when they realize that the idyllic daycare they've been mistakenly donated to is run by a hateful, folksy purple stuffed bear who runs the daycare for the toys like a Gulag. It's a currupt place, and the children in the toddler classroom don't seem to be monitored by their teacher while they play with age inappropriate toys (ie, Buzz Lightyear and all the others). I had the feeling I'd seen this all before, and I have--Chicken Run, Toy Story 1 & 2...I could go on. 

There seems to be a franticness, or frenzism, that many American animated movies subscribe to these days. I come out feeling anxious. Maybe in a humorus mood, too, but underlying the feel-good-ishness that animated movies demand that you feel at the end, an base level of stress. I don't get that with Miyazaki movies at all. Though TS3D was entertaining and had plenty of sweet moments, it felt like it lacked a sweetness in its bones. It had too many demands and expectations on it as the (hopefully) final film with these well-known and loved characters. It was clever. But was it loveable? I am not so sure. 

I admit it, though; my eyes got watery near the end, when Andy decides to give his toys to Bonnie, a little girl introduced near the beginning of the movie. She plays with toys just like Andy used to, and her toys adore her. There's tons of cuteness abounding in this movie, which is as much a hommage to its earlier stories, and it's a great wrap-up to the series. You know the toys are going to be together, and loved, and in an environment that they'll be cared for.