Good movie, but the first time I have been disappointed by Pixar.

Rating: 6/10 (13 November 2010)

Toy Story 3. Stunningly animated. Clever. Funny. Technically innovative....DARK.... I was indeed shocked by how dark this movie was. And it is probably being marketed to little kids which would be shameful since this movie left me feeling tired and down instead of the usual exhilarated experience I have with Pixar films. It is not a little children's movie. No kid under 7 should see it unless they have already been jaded by watching stuff too mature for them. It seems as if the producers were aiming their script at the audience that saw Toy Story 1 when it first came out 12 years ago in theaters. Because it is too perverse for today's children. It is a brilliantly edited and filmed technical achievement which has a lot of laughs, but there is an undercurrent of tragedy, hurt, and despair that runs through the lifeblood of this picture. It is unnecessarily cruel with some of its back-stories and comeuppances. The very ending and end credits are delightful and touching, but they feel like cool water sprinkled on ashes that have burned way too long. Too late...
The thing that made the first and especially the second movie so great was the insights into Child/Toy relationships. That made for a touching and beautiful experience amid the fun action. This movie offers no new light on that, but brings the Toy Story trilogy to a fine close at the end. But what an ordeal to get there. I feel Pixar was trying to outdo itself with the effects and action. They could have closed the trilogy off much more simply. Here's where I feel they went too far:
1. Characters who were too perverse. A big baby doll who acts as a bruiser. Would have been great if they gave baby a tough guy voice. That would have been funny. The baby voice made the whole character too perverse. Also the Monkey doll at the security booth was drawn way too creepy. Sid from Toy Story 1 was a great villain. Dark, but not too much. Just right. They wanted to make Sunnyside a bad place and they did it too well.
2. Way too much action, and done with a sense of despair. Having the toys in this movie all clasping their hands resigned to being melted in a trash incinerator did not leave me on the edge of my seat. It made me depressed. Lotso breaking the heart necklace, again, much too cruel.
3. Why not redeem Lotso? That would have been logical and would have eliminated the scene in the incinerator. Lotso didn't need to have his comeuppance.
Toy Story 3 taken on its own terms is a very well made movie and has moments of brilliance, but it is no way a little kids movie and it is a shock when compared to the charm of the first 2. Though still keeping it's high standard for quality, Pixar really let me down on this one.