To Infinity and Beyond - The Toy Story Trilogy

4/29/16 Toy Story, Special Oscar, #99 AFI, National Film Registry, 1995

4/30/16 Toy Story 2, nominated for Best Original Song , 1999

5/2/16 Toy Story 3, Best Animated Feature, Best Score, 2010

It feels kind of superfluous to do reviews of these movie because you have probably seen them all, possibly even ten or twelve thousand times. You're probably thinking that I hated them or was bored or didn't care. Yes you are, and that's okay, I have built you up to have certain expectations, mainly I'm a crabass. But...you'd be wrong. I actually liked the movies more the second time around (maybe third or fourth for the original Toy Story). In case you have been under a rock for 20 years, Toy Story (and the sequels) are about Andy's toys, featuring his favorite, Woody (Tom Hanks); Buzz Lightyear, the new kid on the block (Tim Allen); Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and many more, and their adventures when they are out of sight of their human. The toys' actions are the products of some very vivid and creative imaginations - the way the toy soldiers 'march' and do reconnaissance; Little Bo Peep, Slinky, etc.  In the first Toy Story, Andy gets a new present for his birthday, Buzz Lightyear, "To infinity and beyond", which seems to threaten Woody's place at the top of the pecking order. In addition to the mild rivalry between Woody and Buzz (Buzz is very naive and has no ill fillings towards Woody), it turns out that the family is moving to a new house. Things get interesting as toys prepare for the move, Woody and Buzz end up at the neighbor's house; Sid is probably a psychopath in training as he enjoys torturing toys. Woody and Buzz eventually make it back in time to be reunited with their friends and Andy. Of course, I am leaving out all of the action, mainly because I have two more reviews to write. Surprisingly, Toy Story didn't win any competitive Oscars, but it has been recognized as one of the top 100 films by the American Film Institute and as a film worthy of being on the National Film Registry.

Toy Story 2 is probably my least favorite of the three, although I still loved the interaction of the toys. I think Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head are my favorites; Don Rickles and Estelle Harris are perfect spuds. I just wasn't drawn in by the story, which is Woody gets stolen/toy-napped by an unscrupulous toy store owner who is going to sell him as part of a package with his television cast mates: Stinky Pete (Kelsey Grammer), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and Woody's horse, Bullseye. I was more entertained by the toys trying to rescue Woody (again) and the little adventures they had.

Toy Story 3 originally struck me as sappy; I must have been going through my cynical phase when I saw it the first time. I saw it with two friends and three kids and me, which was unusual in itself. The kids seemed to like it and the moms got misty, more on that later. This installment sees young Andy heading off to college and cleaning up his room. He puts the toys in a garbage bag, not intending to throw them out, that's just how boys pack. Unfortunately, the bag is put on the curb for trash. Never fear, the toys escape and head into the 'donated' box and get donated to a daycare. Oh, except for Woody, who is again separated from his friends, and he gets to meet Bonnie, a nice little girl with a powerful imagination. The daycare 'operation' is run by a teddy bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty) who is kind of like a mob boss; he decides which toys go where, and the new toys go in the room with all of the little kids who promptly bang, smash, color, drop the toys. Watching this the second time, I really enjoyed this story line more than Toy Story 2, not because I'm some kind of sadist, but I loved all the new toys, including Barbie and Ken, and the action of the toys trying to escape. Andy gets ready to head out to college, but he stops by Bonnie's house to drop off some toys and plays with her a little bit. This left the story open-ended and even though it's been eight years in the making, it looks like Toy Story 4 is set for a 2018 release date. So, the moms, friends of mine, were a little teary and I was totally unsympathetic; I guess it had to do with their kids were little and they were 'watching' them grow up? I know, I suck. The second time around, I appreciated the growing up bit, and kids moving away and just the story construction. This movie in the series won the Best Animated Feature and Best Song Oscar. I would be remiss if I didn't mention that Randy Newman wrote the soundtrack or main songs for all three films. He won his second Oscar (the first was for "If I Didn't Have You" in Monsters, Inc.); he is kind of Mr. Pixar as far as the music goes.

The movies taken as a whole (or not) are really good and they still hold up. The voice characterizations, from Tom Hanks and Tim Allen to Don Rickles, Annie Potts, Jim Varney, Ned Beatty and all the rest, are spot on. Of course THAT'S what Barbie would sound like, you say. Just like Monsters, Inc. brought to life our imaginations around monsters and nightmares or the monsters under our beds, Toy Story makes us think (or wish) that our toys talk and have a little social order all their own.