Movie Review: Toy Story 3

Nostalgic. There's really no other way to describe the recent and final installment of the Toy Story franchise. It has been 15 years since the story of a couple of toys belonging to a kid named Andy captured the hearts of many.

Now, Andy is off to college and the fate of the toys is questionable.

What follows is a truly captivating, heart wrenching, entertaining journey. I was certainly emotional the entire time as the movie kept me on the edge of my seat.

The movie seemed very adult, at least more adult then other Pixar films. Disney/Pixar has seemingly (in my opinion) been moving towards themes that can certainly keep an adult interesting (such as the theme of love and loss in Up). Toy Story 3's main theme is certainly the strange stage between being a kid and growing up. Any adult can relate to this.

Although the movie will be something great for adults, some of the scenes may confuse children and even scare them. I still think the rest of the movie despite these few intense scenes.

Toy Story 3 is a must see movie. It holds the charm of the other two and is an amazing end of the franchise.

Pixar a THIEF!?

I was browsing /Film as I so often do and happened upon another Pixar related article. This article talks about a French short film, Above then Beyond, that could have inspired Disney/Pixar's film Up. After reading the article and comments, this is what my conclusion.


There is not a shadow of a doubt in my mind that Pixar was inspired by the film and seemingly borrowed elements - maybe even direct screen-by-screen shots - for their film, Up. I do not, however, think this constitutes as blantant "stealing".

After reading Sciretta's - the article writer - timeline of the two films (as far as when things were actually published so to speak), it seems Above and Beyond was out long enough for Pixar to see it and get inspired from it. The students, or company, who did the film even have a partnership with Pixar.

While I do not think any idea is an original idea and most certainly not the idea of tying balloons to an object to fly away, i'm a little let down by Pixar from borrowing so many screen-by-screens from the French short film. That sequence in Up was my favorite part and, although the French film's cimentography and such do not tickle my fancy, they still seemed to have done it first. It does not make me like Up any less, but I'm just disapointed that my favorite part was heavily inspired by something else. Considering I thought the movie dragged at so many points after that, I am let down even further.

It seems that both Disney and Pixar draw heavily from other things. That does not make either any less of an amazing coporation for entertainment and film. As a fan, I just wish they were a bit careful about how they put their inspiration into their films. I am sure not many people knew about Above then Beyond - I know I did not prior to seeing it on /Film - but I really do wish Pixar would have mentioned being inspired by it. It does make them look incredibly like theives for not saying they were, especially after some of the comments Pixar made that seem contradictory to each other.

What makes a GOOD film?

After reading this article on /Film - my favorite film blog - and the comments on the article, it got me to thinking about what exactly makes a good film. While I believe the Toy Story franchise is an amazing franchise, I still believe people are entitled to their own opinions about films. With saying that, I do not think anyone should bash a film just because they did not like it. This White guy is apparently and so OBVIOUSLY a troll as he puts down all films that a lot of people like and praises those a lot of people do not like. If that does not spell T-R-O-L-L then it needs to get redefined. I do not agree that every Pixar film is golden and amazing, I still think give a film credit where credit is due.

And the commentors can be the worse. I try not to take offense when a film I love is criticized immensely (which is why I try not to review films of franchises that I am heavily a fan in), but sometimes it is hard to do so when so many derogatory words have been chosen to be used - someone refered to Harry Potter as a "wankfest" in the comments. Whats up with THAT?

These days, too many people are quick to bash something. I see this in the film world and the anime world. If something gets too popular in someone's opinion then some people just HAVE to go against the grain and hate it. That seems life a very sad like when you have to be antagonistic about everything.

With these people out there, the question of what even makes a good film becomes blurred. Everyone has a differing opinion in what makes a good film, but my key ideal would be that the film is ENTERTAINING. That's what a films are: entertainment. So, PERSONALLLY, if a film can keep my interest despite all the flaws, i still find it GOOD. It may not win awards, but it wins my heart.