Toy Story 3
After releasing the very lyrical movies, Up and Wall-E, Pixar returns to the movie franchise that put them on the map. Excuse me, I don’t understand the appeal of the Toy Story franchise. I may be a simpleton and one of the few that didn’t find Toy Story 3 as another Pixar knock-out, blockbuster hit. My low opinion of the Toy Story franchise has biased me into not paying proper respect to the movies. I just can’t understand it.
RottenTomatoes.com has Toy Story 3 at 99%. I may have seen a different movie. Wait a second while I go read some of the blurbs there.
Okay, I’m back. While it does top the tomato meter, a lot of the blurbs give it decent coverage following in the previous movies’ greatness yet also acknowledging the formality of this final installment.
The movie doesn’t wow me like the other Pixar films. Even the ones I don’t regard highly, Finding Nemo and Ratatouille, I can find something to like. The Toy Story movies I find nada. Does this make me soulless?
What I find wrong with the Toy Story franchise is that they’re routine. Maybe the first installment might be a groundbreaker, but the rest I find unappealing. Yes, I know that their stories reflect how we grow up but that don’t mean squat to me.
The final movie just wasn’t impressive enough. It’s better than some other animated schlock, but not high in the Pixar patheon.
Most other Pixar movies give me hope that animated films can move beyond the kiddie movie ghetto, but Toy Story is the quintessential kiddie movie at least superficially. It drives me crazy that they don’t make it awesome. There was a point where I was hopeful that Pixar was gonna be brave and make the movie bold, but I knew that it had to have the happy ending.
That being said. The movie is solid story telling. Flawless in execution. Kids will like it many adults as well. Ho-hum.
3 of 5 stars. Plus a meh.
