6.25.2010

Toy Story 3: More Like Horror Story

A combination of unceasing advertising, nostalgia from watching Toy Story and Toy Story 2 with my son when he was a tot, and needing something to do with said son and his pal for her birthday led me to the megaplex to see Toy Story 3. Skipping the 3D option was probably the only good thing about the afternoon's screening.

SPOILERS HO!

My biggest complaint about the film was the horror. The baby doll was utterly creepy. The monkey was terrifying. The bear was ghastly. And the adventure was one frightening peril after another. There were way too many unhappy under-10 year-olds in the theater, either bored or clinging, and I was amazed that there was so little good feeling throughout.

Repeating the horrors of Sid the bad kid from the first flick and the adventure and hiding under stuff to escape being crushed or captured from the second flick didn't help much either.

Did Ken help? The tiniest bit perhaps.
Did Latin-lover Buzz help? Not me.

And the worst of all for me, I think, was the message that toys don't have adventures so much as hope not to be thrown away, abused by tots at daycares who receive no adult supervision, bullied by other toys, or tossed into attics. Where I actually cried when I watched the scene with Jessie and the song "When She Loved Me," I just felt like there was no hope at all in Toy Story 3. People suffer, but toys suffer more. How much guilt do I need to lose all pleasure in toys' adventures? This movie tested my limits and gave far too little back.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

My brother saw this movie with his six year old daughter and was actually disappointed that he exposed her to it. He said it was "desolate", which is a pretty strong thing for him to say.

Once again, the sequels fail. Thanks for being brutally honest. This one can wait for rent.

Elyce said...

Wow, "desolate" is indeed a strong word, Ima.

Anonymous said...

I agree with your sentiments here! I guess it seemed like they were making this one for nostalgia value, and replaced the laughs with tears. Definitely not what I was expecting either! Really enjoyed this post, and your other reviews. I realise you haven't updated here in quite a while now, but perhaps I could persuade you to give your blog a second life over at glipho.com? We're a new social blogging site, and I know our community would love to read your work here. Let me know what you reckon!

All the best,

Teo