When Toy Story 3 was released last year, i didn't get to see it. I was sad.
Imagine my distress when it seemed to occupy the Top 3 of almost every Best Of 2010 list!
Therefore, I made a commitment to see it as soon as possible on DVD. I was excited.
Last night I watched Toy Story 3 for the first time. I was mildly disappointed.
I made the following Twitter statement: "@Alibianchi: Toy Story 3 - not the classic I was led to believe."
This innocuous opinion is apparently heresy, and resulted in a torrent of fervent dismissal and horror. I was sad again.
As such, I have decided to explain why I believe it's not as good as you think it is. Please don't lynch me:
1 - It's not that funny.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but one of the key things I look for in a CARTOON (private jk) is to laugh at a series of mad-cap japes that could not possibly be accomplished in live-action. Bar a couple of great, and admittedly clever ideas - the Great Escape parody, an insecure Ken - TS3 is just not that funny. I laughed more in Megamind and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and actually, Toy Story 2.
2 - Its a re-tread!
Plot: Toy gets separated from the group, toy tries to find group, pesky kids and evil toys get in the way, some kind of contrived escape effort ensues, toys ponder philosophically on what it means to be a toy and find one's place in a world that no longer needs toys. (thanks to @adamhopelies for clarifying this point).
3 - Poor character development.
TS3 completely relies on the previous films to find emotional connection. Perhaps most unforgivably, the fizzing chemistry between Hank's Buzz and Allen's Woody, a highlight of the previous outings, is almost completely missing as the two spend most of the film separated.
4 - Emotional blackmail.
Much has been made of the emotive heft of the final scenes. Admittedly, yes I did cry, but consider this:
A - I cried at the end of Free Willy!
B - Remind me of my pet gerbil who died when I was a child and I am going to cry!
My point being, the film plays on universal feelings of loss and nostalgia from childhood to bring about an emotional crescendo which is entirely dislocated from the rest of the adventure - I was more relieved that Woody finally realised what a doosh-bag Andy is! I felt emotionally blackmailed into a response that the film does not warrant (though admittedly, taken in the context of the trilogy, the threads are all there).
5 - Pathos for a pixel
Try as I may, animated films leave me cold. I just cannot care about a pixelated creation, be it a talking car, a talking candlestick, a talking Potato Head or a mute garbage disposal unit. I can appreciate it as a story-telling device, but please, please, please don't ask me to empathise!
Having said all that, it's an enjoyable film, certainly better than 75% of animated features. There are some nice ideas, great characters, and clever visual humour, thrown into a story with energetic pace. A good film, possibly scraping a Top 20 of 2010, but certainly not Top 3!
(And, in case you were wondering, I would rate the films from best to worst as TS1 / TS3 / TS2.)
Whilst I can't fault most of your points - I disagree with them, but I can't fault them - I'd have to take issue with number 1.
ReplyDeleteAnimation is not synonymous with comedy. It just isn't. That's like saying that live-action films can only be dramatic. To quote Brad Bird, director of The Incredibles, animation is a medium, not a genre, and as such can be absolutely anything. That it is so often used for comedy is irrelevant.
If Toy Story 3 set itself out to be a comedy, then the fact that it isn't that funny would be a mark against it, but it isn't purely a comedy. Much like WALL-E and Up, the film aims to be more thoughtful and emotional, rather than something like Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, which sets out solely to be funny. Pixar's films have always relied more on heart and characters to tell their story, rather than just wacky antics, and criticising it for not being funny, for me, is like saying their aren't enough car chases in the films of Ken Loach.