If you are one of the few who have actually watched my, quite frankly embarrassing, entrance into vlogging you'll know that last week I went to see the film I have been waiting 11 years for. That’s right. Toy Story 3! I have no notion of embarrassment in going to watch this as I genuinely believe this film is not for the kids of today, its for people my age; those who were 3, 4 or 5 when the original came out and were completely transfixed by the realisation of a dream everyone that age had. The dream that your toys really were alive. This was then repeated 4 years later by the, not quite as good but still awesome, sequel. This time the film appeared to have grown with those who had first seen the original. It managed to draw the same level of fascination from the kids who were now approaching 10 at the same time capturing the hearts of those who were new to the franchise. This, I feel, is no easy feat. To add to this both films loved by parents and adults alike creating an unusual situation of universal love.
This then left a lot to achieve for Toy Story 3. Film history is riddled with poor sequels, let alone third entries to franchises. Notable here are Shrek 3, Spiderman 3 and the list goes on. For Toy Story 3, I am thrilled to report that it fits in the same vein as The Return of the King or The Bourne Ultimatum. In brief then it is brilliant. Once again the film has grown with both its original audience and those who tagged on late with Toy Story 2 whilst being able to captivate those who were joining the saga. The cinema itself was proof of this; filled with all ages from babies and toddlers to teenagers and adults, then at the end was filled with praises coming from the end of showing chatter.
So why was it so good? I'll tell you. The story is beautifully written and follows on from the 2nd film in real time. So Andy is going off to college and the fate of our favourite toys are called into question as Andy's room has to be cleared out. Andy then decides what he wants to do with them all but, a little predictably, all does not go to plan! I will not give away any more of the plot but what follows is a familiar but still fresh adventure for the Toys; meeting new friends (and enemies) and facing perils worse than ever before! This all is then tied up with a very satisfying end to the trilogy that I'm sure will please new and old Toy Story fans alike.
As expected it looked superb, Pixar are still way ahead of any other animation studios, with every scene looking flawless and to immense detail in both image and texture. This wonderful look in addition to the 3D made it a treat for the eyes. The 3D was, in my opinion, even better than how Avatar handled it. With Avatar it was good but felt rather uncomfortable and blurry at times, whereas with TS3 it was crystal clear throughout. There was also none of the gimmicky jump-out's that are too common with 3D films. In an interview with Graeme Boyd for Inside Xbox TS3 producer Darla Anderson said how they wanted the 3D aspect to "add another dimension" to the film and that it was important to them to "not use it as a gimmick." This is definitely the way to handle 3D in my book as it immerses you more into the world without raising the 'cringe factor.'
Combining all of this with the return of Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Joan Cusack and the rest of the original voice cast makes for an enjoyable adventure for any age. This is a truly magical film and one that shouldn’t be missed. It fully deserved its achievement of knocking Twilight's Eclipse out of contention for the biggest opening week in the UK and is now second only to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Hope you enjoyed this FTB special, i'll be back to regular blogging next week :)
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