By BlueZero
30 May 2009 06:07
Now here is a movie that I can look forward to. You know that Pixar won't allow Disney to whore out their franchise for a quick buck. The teaser trailer has some classic dialogue which means the new script writer is doing a good job of capturing the dialogue of the first two movies. I'll give a quick overview of my opinion on the deeper content of the first two movies:
Toy Story
This was the first amazing use of computer graphics in a commercial movie blockbuster. It set the bar for storytelling and CG movies which propelled Pixar to the forefront of movie studios. It was a graphical powerhouse that inspired people to be able to develop video games that look as good as Toy Story. Developers have come close and its only been about 10 years. The real charm with the first movie is that the main theme of changing fads (from the Old West with cowboys like Woody to the future of mankind in space with Buzz). Toy Story takes the climate change of popular culture of those times and makes it accessible to children and parents.
At the same time, it has a great story of betrayal with Woody basically murdering Buzz Lightyear. We all want to go "To infinity and beyond!" I really like Mr. Potato Head's dialogue and mannerisms as he seems mild to children, but adults understand that he is alluding to Woody sucking up to get Andy to himself.
We also get racism with Sid's altered toys being feared as "cannibals" because they look radically different than the other toys. You know the white man Woody had to go conquer them to make them peaceful and uses them to accomplish his own goal of escape.
Toy Story 2
How to top the greatest CG movie ever? You add more celebrities and expand the setting to the unfamiliar. There are some particularly good scenes in the second movie and plot devices. For starters, we as the audience relish the chance to see Buzz Lightyear be a main character and save Woody. Buzz owes Woody and they are now square.
To bring all this together with some visual aid, here is a comprehensive scene from the second movie:
The Prospector is a great villain because he makes me feel anguish. This is of particular note as when a story makes a person, me, feel something for the characters, then it has accomplished its storytelling. If the Prospector weren't a well developed and emphasized villain, I would be devoid of emotion and feeling nothing is a failure. He has both pity and hatred working for his character from my point of view. The Prospector is a loser toy that is only worth something if he has other people to complete the Woody's Roundup play-set. His dream of being in a museum is completely narcissistic as people will be looking at him compared to him being put in storage and the fact he is already inside a box.
Jesse undergoes character development as she realizes she can still be a child's plaything for Andy. Again, I feel real sadness when she is left in the box on the side of the road. I think the music and the rain make it particularity effective (I haven't watched the movie in a while so I'm not 100% certain this is how it goes down).
The audience is treated to some great dialogue between our Buzz Lightyear and the Buzz Lightyear fresh out of the toy store (FOOTS). There is deja-vu from the first movie where Buzz has to convince his clone he isn't THE Buzz Lightyear. Then of course there is the battle with Emperor Zurg on the elevator. I don't remember which one fights Zurg, I think it was the new Buzz. Zurg is Buzz's father!!! It's not like this is the first time this plot device has been used.
The movie benefits from "Newman" as Big Al, the toy store owner. Wayne Knight was the perfect choice for this character and Al was created to mirror Newman, the character from Seinfeld. There is great payoff at the end where Al has to appear on his own Toy Barn commercial since his toy collection has disappeared and he needs money.
It's hard for me to choose which is my favorite movie. If I could, I would pick the first half of Toy Story 1 (up to Sid taking Buzz and Woody from Crane Game) and combine it with the first half of Toy Story 2 (up to where the Prospector becomes evil but including the Zurg fight). Both movies have good plots and character development. Toy Story 2 gets to be a little lazy because it doesn't have to develop the characters we already know which allows for the development of the new characters and expanding the overall plot consistency. Toy Story 3 will have the graphics, that's a given. Will people flock to the movie theaters to watch it? I will just on the franchise alone and this isn't counting Pixar as the developer.
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