Let me tell you another [TOY STORY]

cloudeagle

It's been a fairly grim summer for movies so far, with dud after dud opening up and getting yawns from most of us. But that's all about to change, with the release of what may possibly be the best flick of the year so far:



What? A kid's story about toys? From Disney? Pfft. You're doing some serious smack there.

Ah, but you forget this is Disney/Pixar. The company that has made between nine and 10 utterly fantastic movies, depending on what you thought of Cars. The company that made you give a shit about a movie starring a grumpy widowed man played by Ed Asner, the biggest-name actor in the film. The company that got you weepy over a goddamn trash compactor robot. THAT company.

Feh, this is the sequel to a sequel. They're just cashing their checks this time.

As of this writing, Toy Story 3 has a 100% positive rating from Rotten Tomatoes. That's pretty damn tough to do.

Whatever. They're just going to stand around and look cute and babble for a couple of hours, I just know it.

Pixar ain't taking the easy way out this time. Remember how Toy Story 2 hinted that children grow up and get abandoned? Well, that's finally happening to Woody and the gang. Their owner Andy leaves for college, and the toys get thrown out. Now, they have to figure out what kind of future they'll have without the boy who was their world. Several reviews have warned that there will be tears.

Huh. Okay, remind me, who are voicing the plastic things?

Courtesy of IMDB, these characters will be back in speaking roles:

Tom Hanks ... Woody (voice)
Tim Allen ... Buzz Lightyear (voice)
Joan Cusack ... Jessie (voice)
Don Rickles ... Mr. Potato Head (voice)
Estelle Harris ... Mrs. Potato Head (voice)
Wallace Shawn ... Rex (voice) (inconcievable!)
John Ratzenberger ... Hamm (voice)
Blake Clark ... Slinky Dog (voice) (replacing the late Jim Varney)
Jeff Pidgeon ... Aliens (voice)
R. Lee Ermey ... Sarge (voice)
Jodi Benson ... Barbie (voice)

And there are 14 new toys. Click on the spoiler to see 'em:

Some of the new toy voices include Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt and Whoopi Goldberg. If you go to check the list thar be some serious spoilers.

....all right, all right, I give in. When is this coming out?

This Friday.

pyromaniac221

I always thought that Pixar didn't really do sequels.

Sterica

Toy Story 3 has a really interesting history. Originally, Disney scraped together their own crew to make it, complete with a different plot than what we got now.

They only do sequels if they see a story in them, so I think Cars 2 and so forth are legitimate movies and not soulless cash grabs.

cloudeagle

Yeah, back when Michael Eisner was still in charge and Disney was very publicly fighting Pixar over their distribution contract (Pixar was threatening to go to another studio), Disney (who owned the rights to the Toy Story movies and characters) put together a development team for their own Toy Story 3 purely as a threat to try to get Pixar to stay.

Thank God that ended when Disney bought Pixar wholesale and put John Lasseter in charge of Disney Animation AND Pixar.

Ketar

Caught a screening of this Monday night thanks to AICN. Another great addition to the Pixar body of work - every bit as worthwhile as anything else they've put out. It was more fun than I expected to revisit the Toy Story toys after all these years.

3-D looked great, though it's hard to say if it was that much better than the 3-D in Up or if it was because I saw it on a vastly superior Imax screen.

Tears are possible, though even the saddest moments don't quite compare to the beginning of Up for tugging at the heartstrings. The abandonment/need to move on/things change theme throughout is pretty heavy though, and I think the adults in the audience may have enjoyed this one more than the kids.

Rent

looking forward to this

Looking the fuck forward to this

DarkCrawler

HOLY SHIT THEY ARE MAKING TOY STORY 3?

...

THEY ALREADY MADE TOY STORY 3?

Scalfin

I was actually not sure what to expect. On the one hand, making fun of how people dressed in the '70's and Pixar. On the other, rehashing the Buzz story but with stereotypes and sappy college kid who still thinks his toys are alive.

Fencingsax

Scalfin wrote: »

I was actually not sure what to expect. On the one hand, making fun of how people dressed in the '70's and Pixar. On the other, rehashing the Buzz story but with stereotypes and sappy college kid who still thinks his toys are alive.

On the third hand, fucking Pixar, dammit.

Ketar

Fencingsax wrote: »

Scalfin wrote: »

I was actually not sure what to expect. On the one hand, making fun of how people dressed in the '70's and Pixar. On the other, rehashing the Buzz story but with stereotypes and sappy college kid who still thinks his toys are alive.

On the third hand, fucking Pixar, dammit.

Thankfully, the only hand that matters in this case is also the only hand that isn't woefully overstated.

cloudeagle

In case you're interested, here's the story behind the new voice of Slinky.

When Pixar announced that they were going to make a third installment of the "Toy Story" series, fans everywhere asked: "What about Slinky Dog?"

The beloved southern toy dachshund with the metal slinky middle was originally voiced by actor/comedian Jim Varney who also starred in "Ernest Goes to Camp" along with its seven sequels. Sadly, he died in 2000, not long after "Toy Story 2" came out. So naturally, when the third movie was announced, the internet was a buzz over who would fill Varney's shoes, er, paws.

Director Lee Unkrich put that speculation to rest with a video released on Twitter. "We searched long and hard for someone who would have the spirit of Slinky, like Jim, so we can keep the character alive. We were very fortunate to find that person in Blake Clark," he announced on the video. You might not know the name, but you've most likely seen his face -- he's been in dozens of TV shows and movies along with an impressive number of Adam Sandler flicks including "Little Nicky" and "The Waterboy."

As it turns out, Clark actually knew the late actor. "We were really excited when we found out that Blake was actually friends with Jim Varney," said Unkrich. "They knew each other from way back."

"And when I'm in recording sessions with Blake, [he] just channels the spirit of his friend, Jim Varney, and he's done a really awesome job keeping that character alive and I hope you guys feel the same."

http://movies.yahoo.com/feature/movie-talk-a-new-voice-for-a-toy-story-favorite.html

Sterica

Varney did a good job with Slinky, so I hope the new actor can do the same. Most people are surprised when I point out that Slinky Dog is played by Ernest.

THEPAIN73

Oh god I am so excited for this.

I want to cry for the toys.

I want it.

YamiNoSenshi

I have to protest the line about a season full of dud movies, but...

PIXAR YAY!

I swear, I see more kids movies than anything.

joshofalltrades

Rent wrote: »

looking forward to this

Looking the fuck forward to this

You and me both, chum

I used to have a bit of doubt whenever a new Pixar movie came out, things along the lines of, "They're really making a movie about that?"

But now they can basically do no wrong in my eyes

This could have been Shit Story, a story about shit, and as long as it's got Pixar behind it I'm gonna be fucking pumped to see it

Omeks

Rorus Raz wrote: »

Varney did a good job with Slinky, so I hope the new actor can do the same. Most people are surprised when I point out that Slinky Dog is played by Ernest.

Blake Clark is probably the best person I can think of to take over Slinky. To get an idea of how good a fit he is, you just have to put video Slink over the voice of Shawn's dad from Boy Meets World.

Alternatively, use video of Slink over the voice Harry the Hardware Store Owner from Home Improvement.

Improvolone

I recorded Toy Story and 2 off of Disney for my 2.5 year old and he is just enamoured with them. I think Toy Story 3 might be his first movie in a theater!

TDawg

I have very fond memories of seeing both Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in theatres as a kid. I have followed Toy Story 3's development since Disney announced they were doing it (before John Lasseter scrapped it), and throughout its production I have been terrified. Absolutely terrified. Even when Pixar took the helm and completely revamped it, I was afraid of getting my hopes up because how could they live up to two of my favorite films?

Then last year at Comic Con they showed this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XTfxrnuCjdA

Instant alleviation of all of my fears. Pixar has not let me down yet, and I look forward to seeing this over the weekend. And then again. And probably a few more times.

Ketar

There is a lot of goodness involving Ken. Definitely the best addition to the cast for this one.

Gorilla Salad

I am seeing this TONIGHT and I cannot wait.

Joolander

midnight showing

because why not?

Sterica

None of my friends want to do midnight showing.

Does Rorus

A) Go it alone

See it later with friends

C) All of the above

Rent

Rorus Raz wrote: »

None of my friends want to do midnight showing.

Does Rorus

A) Go it alone

See it later with friends

C) All of the above

RR, I think you already know the right choice here. That, of course, is D) drink and all of the above

redfield85

Midnight release. Woo!

Vesty

Amazing. If that ending was 5 minutes longer I would've lost it. Hardcore tears. So good.

Oh man and it looked beautiful to boot. I also thought they made a vast improvement over the sense of the scale of the toys compared to the other two movies.

-e- I really want to go play with my old toys in the attic now.

redfield85

Vesty wrote: »

Amazing. If that ending was 5 minutes longer I would've lost it. Hardcore tears. So good.

Oh man and it looked beautiful to boot. I also thought they made a vast improvement over the sense of the scale of the toys compared to the other two movies.

-e- I really want to go play with my old toys in the attic now.

I recently went through my old stuff last year and got rid of some things. The ending really had me choked up. :?

I think I will be revisiting all the stuff I still have soon.

edit: Also...

...I really thought they were going to have them all go up in flames or something toward the end. That would've really gotten to me as much as Andy playing with them one last time. Fuck you, Lotso.

Gorilla Salad

redfield85 wrote: »

Vesty wrote: »

Amazing. If that ending was 5 minutes longer I would've lost it. Hardcore tears. So good.

Oh man and it looked beautiful to boot. I also thought they made a vast improvement over the sense of the scale of the toys compared to the other two movies.

-e- I really want to go play with my old toys in the attic now.

I recently went through my old stuff last year and got rid of some things. The ending really had me choked up. :?

I think I will be revisiting all the stuff I still have soon.

edit: Also...

...I really thought they were going to have them all go up in flames or something toward the end. That would've really gotten to me as much as Andy playing with them one last time. Fuck you, Lotso.

like this. Exactly this.

It was soooo good. I was pretty much crying the whole movie, either from laughter or sadness, but always tearing up.

BloodySloth

This was an amazing movie.

McAllen

This is one of Pixar's best, but I didn't feel that much during the ending because I had such a really really bad need to take a shit. I was flexing every muscle I could to restrain from dumping one in the car or when Andy FINALLY

gave Woody away

.

I felt bad because I enjoying the movie so much until I ate that fucking popcorn. I don't know why America still sells it in the theatres. I could've used a bundle of celery after the pain and misery my ass and body went through :x

EDIT:

On the whole 'sentimental' fans thing, THIS IS DEFINITELY A MOVIE FOR FAMILY OR YOUR SIGNIFICANT OTHER. The amount of AWWW and OOOHHH! from the crowd was awesome and annoying because PIXAR GOT THEM EVERYTIME. But I loved it. The intro of the movie is perfection.

EDIT2:

If you play your cards right you could probably even get laid after

SirUltimos

I'm seeing this on Saturday. There are no words to describe how fucking excited I am. The release of a Pixar movie is an event.

Homestar Gunner

I have never cried so much in a movie. Not even the first ten minutes of Up could do what Toy Story 3 just did.

Does anybody remember what Andy said to the little girl at the end about Woody meaning a lot to him? I've been trying to remember the exact words, whatever it was, it hit me really hard, and felt like a metaphor for how I (and I'm sure many others) feel about the Toy Story characters that I have known since I was four years old.

I didn't see a single person texting during the movie. I think that speaks volumes about how important this franchise is to people, like myself, that have followed it for literally their entire lives. Also, still 100% on RT. A few movies get 100% each year, but they're always either documentaries or weird foreign films that get 20 reviews and nobody sees them. The last wide release, widely-reviewed movie to get 100%?

Toy Story 2 in 1999. And before that? Yep.

Wazza

How was the Pixar short prior to the film?

Gorilla Salad

Wazza wrote: »

How was the Pixar short prior to the film?

Awesome and delightful and happy.

yalborap

Gorilla Salad wrote: »

Wazza wrote: »

How was the Pixar short prior to the film?

Awesome and delightful and happy.

And immensely impossible to describe. But really awesome.

So, yeah, loved the film. My one, ONE thing though, is that I would've liked to see:

Bo Peep at the end safe in the girl's home, or perhaps a refugee from the daycare, or something. They say they lost her, they set up this whole thing of the old toys and all that good stuff, and everyone gets at least a bittersweet ending...But no Bo. She was just "lost". Bugged me.

cloudeagle

Okay, very important question here.

Are there outtakes? While I can understand why Pixar gave them a rest I just re=saw Toy Story 2 and enjoyed them a lot.

Gorilla Salad

cloudeagle wrote: »

Okay, very important question here.

Are there outtakes? While I can understand why Pixar gave them a rest I just re=saw Toy Story 2 and enjoyed them a lot.

Not outtakes but there is something at the end of the credits, and it is awesome.

Vesty

Homestar Gunner wrote: »

I have never cried so much in a movie. Not even the first ten minutes of Up could do what Toy Story 3 just did.

Does anybody remember what Andy said to the little girl at the end about Woody meaning a lot to him? I've been trying to remember the exact words, whatever it was, it hit me really hard, and felt like a metaphor for how I (and I'm sure many others) feel about the Toy Story characters that I have known since I was four years old.

I didn't see a single person texting during the movie. I think that speaks volumes about how important this franchise is to people, like myself, that have followed it for literally their entire lives. Also, still 100% on RT. A few movies get 100% each year, but they're always either documentaries or weird foreign films that get 20 reviews and nobody sees them. The last wide release, widely-reviewed movie to get 100%?

Toy Story 2 in 1999. And before that? Yep.

The theater I saw it in isn't in the best of areas (but the theater is really nice) and there were a lot of teenagers coming in that I was thinking "oh no they're going to talk or text or be obnoxious all movies". I can best describe them somewhere between wiggers and bros. But throughout the whole movie not a sound or phone out from anyone unless they were laughing or clapping. Whole audience was captivated. Coming out out of the theater when it was over and overhearing conversations my friend commented "I love how everyone is 7 again."

joshofalltrades

Dammit I really need to go see this movie today

My kids are absolutely gaga over Toy Story, how good of a father would I be if I took them to this on Father's Day

The best father, right

Zeguna

I cannot tell you how excited I am for this movie. When the the double feature of the first two movies came out, I was on the verge of tears the whole way through just because I was so happy, and no doubt I'll be doing the same at 3.

Sir Platypus

cloudeagle wrote: »

Okay, very important question here.

Are there outtakes? While I can understand why Pixar gave them a rest I just re=saw Toy Story 2 and enjoyed them a lot.

I remember on a commentary (A Bug's Life, I believe) they stated something along the lines of that they stopped doing bloopers because they felt it would just be the same jokes over and over. There is a bonus scene during the credits, so it's all good.

cloudeagle

I can understand that.

Oh, I re-watched Toy Story 1 and 2 this week. Even though the first one came out 15 years ago (has it been that long?), it holds up fantastically well. The visuals are fine aside from a few textures (some of the plants look plastic), but the actual animation and design (well, maybe not on the humans) are still damn good. And that's without getting into the fact that, well, it's a great story.