Rex | Dr. Grob's Animation Review

Director: Lee Unkrich
Release date: June 18, 2010
Rating: ★★★★★ ♕
Review:

I don’t think sequels are a blessing for the animation industry, and I certainly think there are way too many of them, but I admit sometimes a sequel can be very strong. ‘Toy Story 2’, for example, was arguably even better than the original ‘Toy Story’, and even more surprisingly, Toy Story 3’ managed to top both and rounded up the story, neatly.

Unfortunately, Pixar/Disney saw a need for a fourth movie, which is not bad, but extremely superfluous and breaking up the harmony of the first three films. At the time of writing there’s even a fifth film underway…

Back to ‘Toy Story 3’. If there was ever a perfect modern American animated film, ‘Toy Story 3’ is a strong candidate (another strong contender is ‘The Incredibles’ from 2004, also by Pixar). The film already starts great with a fantastic fantasy sequence, showing Andy’s unlimited imagination. But then we move many years forward, and Andy’s no longer a boy, but a young man about to leave his parental home to go to college. Like the moving plot of the first film, this sets a deadline to all subsequent events, which unfold in a combination of chance, errors and misleadings.

The film’s central theme is what are toys to do when their owner grows up? And this theme is played out marvelously, leading up to a very moving and great finale. By now the main cast has become very limited, consisting of Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Ham, Slinky, Barbie, Mr. & Mrs. Potatohead, and the three aliens, and all have enough screentime to shine. But this film also introduces some new toys. After three quarters of an hour the film even turns into a classic prison break movie, and there’s a ridiculously film noir-like reminiscence by a toy called Chuckles (which is a minor highlight in a film rich in great scenes). More importantly, the film makers are able to have new, and pretty brilliant takes on Barbie, Mr. and Mrs. Potatohead, and especially Buzz Lightyear, which I won’t spoil here. We have come to love these characters, and everybody who watches the film up to the finale will experience a range of emotions seldomly felt in such rapid succession.

In all plot twists the film makers keep in mind what it means to be a toy and play marvelously with it. The film is so well told that only after repeated viewing some plot holes become apparent (how did Bullseye retrieve Woody’s hat? How did the toys retrieve Mr. Potato Head’s body from the sandbox?). The only real and immediately apparent flaw of the movie is its deus ex machina scene, which is too much in your face, and not explained satisfyingly, at all.

The animation and rendering, meanwhile, reaches new heights, and by now the humans and animals have left the uncanny valley, and become real characters, too. Anyway, what’s more to say? Watch this film if you’ve never done it before, and I’m pretty sure if you did you love to watch it again, and again…

Watch the trailer for ‘Toy Story 3’ yourself and tell me what you think: