Thrice-Told Tales

Rating: 7/10 (19 September 2010)

The novelist Colum McCann writes in an interview regarding his most recent novel Let the Great World Spin that there is a continuous need for authors to tell stories. Stories will never stop needing to be told, and there are an infinite number of stories to tell. Still, some stories are so unusual that I find myself unable to conceptualize their creation. Pixar does this, and frequently. I'm amazed that over the past years they have produced stories about a rat that cooks, a robot that cleans garbage, and an old man who floats to South America in his house. All of these sound silly when I describe them to you, but they are told with a great degree of artistry and humanity. They have been some of the best films of their years.
The release of Toy Story 3 in 2010, fifteen years after the original, provides kindle for the argument that Pixar is taking a creative break and milking their flagship franchise. One of these is true; they are relishing in public awareness of the Toy Story saga. They have earned the right to relax a bit after three consecutive years of original works. What they have not earned the right to do is lower the quality of their films. While this installment is not as wonderful as the previous two, it is still a worthy follow up. It's a slight decline, like earning your first A-.
The film takes place several years after the previous ones. Andy has finished high school and is ready to attend college. Woody, Buzz, Jesse, and the other toys have been locked away in a toy box for years since his childhood ended. Since all toys have the desire to be played with, many of the remaining ones want to find another owner. Andy's mom asks him to decide what do with them. He can put them in the attic, take them to college, or donate them to a daycare center. After a mistake that only seems to happen in animated movies, the toys (save Woody) are taken to Sunnyside Daycare and welcomed by its loving authoritarian Lots 'O Huggin' Bear. He explains that this is a paradise for toys, as there will always be children to play with them.
He doesn't mention that the youngest children are abusive, while the older ones are gentler. Lots-'O and his cohorts are always played with by the older children, while Andy's toys must survive with the toddlers until he sees a use for them. The daycare provides the story with many new characters, including Ken and Barbie. There is an ongoing joke about Ken not being gay, despite his remarkable adherence to all gay stereotypes. Buzz provides more comic relief as he is captured by Lots-'O and mistakenly switched to Spanish audio. It's the same kind of cheap humor that the talking dog brings to Up, only with added unnecessary homophobia and cultural stereotyping. It's almost as if Pixar doesn't think its films are "kiddy" enough and adds stylistic elements to dumb them down a bit. The added laughter is even more prevalent in this film than in the previous two. I may have to give a negative review to a Pixar production if this continues.
The film excels as its predecessors did. It's a very emotional work. Woody arrives at Sunnyside and helps the toys escape, but they are forced into a trash can by Lots-'O. They escape destruction and return home. Andy decides to donate them to his young neighbor and has one final playtime with them. Woody's gives a wistful look as Andy leaves. The shot is an ironic closure to everything the toys have done for three films now. They have been separated from their owner so many times, only to part willingly. As the toy soldier says "the mission is over". Will there be another Toy Story? We did not need another installment following the last one, but we got one. It's good, but its quality is more reflective of its placement within a larger body of work, than of its own merits.
Recommended