So a friend of mine called me last week to see if/when I was going to see Toy Story in 3D and if I knew it was being shown at our local theater as a free double feature with Toy Story 2. Seeing as how I didn’t even know the movie was in theaters, I was pleasantly surprised to find out I could see both of them together for the price of one. Since movies are expensive and I’m cheap, this seemed like the perfect deal. End of story being that I spent a significant portion of my Thursday evening at the movie theater.
Well, alright, it’s not really the “end” of the story since that would make this a pretty terrible review.
I’m going to work off the assumption that since the movies are fourteen and ten-years-old respectively that you’ve seen them and know what they’re about so I can skip over the plot stuff and just make a few observations.
First off, the transition to 3D is seamless and after about fifteen minutes you don’t even notice it anymore, which is a good thing. Since the movies were obviously not made with 3D in mind, they don’t resort to any cheap 3D tricks (did someone say “cheap 3D tricks?”…sorry, sometimes I slip into Fozzy Bear mode) or goofy effects. Instead the 3D is more of a compliment to the viewing experience, adding an extra layer of depth to the already amazing animation.
There are a few spots where the 3D effects really stand out, one being the opening sequence of TS2 where Rex is playing the Buzz Lightyear video game. Mostly, however, they just add an extra layer to the experience. That having been said, they’re wholly unnecessary as the movies were excellent without the 3D. Think of it more as a special feature, kind of like bonus features on a DVD. You don’t HAVE to see it, but if you’re a big fan then you’ll enjoy it.
One thing that really struck me after watching both movies back to back (I hadn’t seen the original in close to five years and the sequel in even longer) is that Toy Story is really the far superior film. I’ve always seen Toy Story 2 ranked highly on lists of animated movies and I remember agreeing with this sentiment, all until I saw them both together. Toy Story is more about plot development: Woody facing his insecurities, Buzz coming to terms with being a toy, the ultimate toy beat down of Sid, and even other little character moments like Slinky gradually becoming more disenchanted with Woody.
Toy Story 2 is loads of fun with all the “new” Buzz Lightyear meta moments, Potato Head gags, and tour guide Barbie. Really, the movie is all fluff and not much else. It’s fun and I’d gladly watch it over and over again, but as far as being an overall quality film, it pales in comparison to Toy Story. (Well…I’ll make one addendum to that. The Jesse the Cowgirl “When She Loved Me” scene is still an awesome tearjerker. I was literally choking back tears seeing it and I knew it was coming!)
By the time this review is posted the Toy Story 3 trailer that came packaged with both feature should have hit the Internet. The trailer was one big reason to go see the movies over the weekend. If you haven’t seen it or don’t want to know anything about it, here’s your SPOILER ALERT.
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Alright, good.
The plot of the movie surrounds Andy going to off to college (!!) and, apparently, donating his toys (that he STILL has in a toy box in his room, kind of weird) to a pre-school. The toys then stage a breakout and that’s as much plot as I can figure out from the trailer.
Much like any other sequel, I can only imagine that this one will be Toy Story 2 to the next level. Lots of inside character jokes and various gags of that nature without much substance. It’s Pixar and every almost every movie they’ve ever made has been fantastic so I’m sure this one will be good, and the potential is there to do lots of character stuff with the toys moving on in their “lives” but bottom line this is still a cartoon and is only getting made for fun, which is all I’d go into it expecting.
As far as a final grade on the movies themselves, I’d go **** ½ on Toy Story and **** ¼ on Toy Story 2, but I’m assuming you saw them already and don’t really need that. There’s no reason to run out to the theaters to see these but if you’re a big Disney fan or you have kids who’ve never seen it and you have a couple hours to kill then go for it. The two-for-one thing makes it one of the best deals out there right now and its well worth the price.
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