Toy Story and Toy Story 2: 3D
By MATTHEW LUECKE
In my continuing effort to see every kid’s movie ever made, the family and I went to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in 3D. Other than the thrill of looking like Buddy Holly, I generally enjoy the movies I’ve seen in the new-fangled 3D movie-making, be it live action or animation. The best part of the 3D is the depth and detail. The sensation of stuff coming out of the screen and at me is a bonus, and normally not critical to the plot or story. For instance, the depth and clarity of the 3D in Up was far more important to me as a viewer than the classic effect.
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are similar in this regard. But, it is difficult for me to tell exactly how much of the depth and clarity was provided by the 3D and how much was there to begin with. As you may remember, Toy Story was revolutionary when it came out because of the animation’s depth, clarity, and how realistically the toy characters were rendered. The few 3D effects that were added were cute and novel. However, Toy Story needs far less “gimmicking up” than other movies. And that is simply because of what a great movie it still is and how good the animation was the first time around.
To recap, a pre-teen (Andy) boy’s toys come to life when nobody is around. They are led by “Woody,” a pull-string cowboy. Andy’s birthday party gets moved up because the family is moving soon. Woody and the rest of the toys (Bo-Peep, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm the Piggy Bank, Rex the Dinosaur, etc.) worry about any new toys that will take Andy’s attention. Lo and behold, Andy gets a Buzz Lightyear toy, the coolest toy around. To top it off, Buzz does not even realize he is a toy. Woody gets jealous of the attention Buzz receives from Andy, inadvertently knocks him out of Andy’s window, and has to rescue him. Buzz learns he is, in fact, a toy and gets depressed. Woody rescue’s Buzz, Buzz overcomes the fact that he is toy, and they are reunited with Andy just in the nick of time.
In Toy Story 2, Andy goes off to “Cowboy Camp” and his mother has a garage sale. Woody tries to rescue a broken penguin toy named Wheezy and ends up in a “for sale” bin. Andy’s mother realizes that Woody is not supposed to be for sale, but “Al” of Al’s Toy Barn steals Woody because he is part of a complete set of rare and valuable nostalgia toys. Woody discovers that he was part of an enormously popular television franchise until the launch of Sputnik caused kids to forget about cowboys and pay attention to racecars—I mean space based toys. “Stinky Pete,” the prospector toy, really wants to be sold to Japanese collectors and does whatever he can to make it happen. Buzz, Rex, Hamm, and Mr. Potato head set off to rescue Woody.
What I had forgotten is that these are GOOD movies. I also hadn’t realized that I missed part of Toy Story and that I had never seen Toy Story 2. (I was aware of the plot from a toddler’s video game my son played over and over and over and over.) There is humor for adults and kids. There is a positive message in accepting who you are and your purpose in life. There is a positive message in overcoming your shortcomings. The main characters grow and change over the course of the movie to something better. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Kelsey Grammar and the rest of the voice talent are excellent at acting with only their voices.
I have to say, if you get a chance to see these movies, go and see them again or for the first time. Not for the 3D, but for how good these movies are. And besides, when else can you see a double feature these days?
Toy Story and Toy Story 2 are similar in this regard. But, it is difficult for me to tell exactly how much of the depth and clarity was provided by the 3D and how much was there to begin with. As you may remember, Toy Story was revolutionary when it came out because of the animation’s depth, clarity, and how realistically the toy characters were rendered. The few 3D effects that were added were cute and novel. However, Toy Story needs far less “gimmicking up” than other movies. And that is simply because of what a great movie it still is and how good the animation was the first time around.
To recap, a pre-teen (Andy) boy’s toys come to life when nobody is around. They are led by “Woody,” a pull-string cowboy. Andy’s birthday party gets moved up because the family is moving soon. Woody and the rest of the toys (Bo-Peep, Mr. Potato Head, Hamm the Piggy Bank, Rex the Dinosaur, etc.) worry about any new toys that will take Andy’s attention. Lo and behold, Andy gets a Buzz Lightyear toy, the coolest toy around. To top it off, Buzz does not even realize he is a toy. Woody gets jealous of the attention Buzz receives from Andy, inadvertently knocks him out of Andy’s window, and has to rescue him. Buzz learns he is, in fact, a toy and gets depressed. Woody rescue’s Buzz, Buzz overcomes the fact that he is toy, and they are reunited with Andy just in the nick of time.
In Toy Story 2, Andy goes off to “Cowboy Camp” and his mother has a garage sale. Woody tries to rescue a broken penguin toy named Wheezy and ends up in a “for sale” bin. Andy’s mother realizes that Woody is not supposed to be for sale, but “Al” of Al’s Toy Barn steals Woody because he is part of a complete set of rare and valuable nostalgia toys. Woody discovers that he was part of an enormously popular television franchise until the launch of Sputnik caused kids to forget about cowboys and pay attention to racecars—I mean space based toys. “Stinky Pete,” the prospector toy, really wants to be sold to Japanese collectors and does whatever he can to make it happen. Buzz, Rex, Hamm, and Mr. Potato head set off to rescue Woody.
What I had forgotten is that these are GOOD movies. I also hadn’t realized that I missed part of Toy Story and that I had never seen Toy Story 2. (I was aware of the plot from a toddler’s video game my son played over and over and over and over.) There is humor for adults and kids. There is a positive message in accepting who you are and your purpose in life. There is a positive message in overcoming your shortcomings. The main characters grow and change over the course of the movie to something better. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Kelsey Grammar and the rest of the voice talent are excellent at acting with only their voices.
I have to say, if you get a chance to see these movies, go and see them again or for the first time. Not for the 3D, but for how good these movies are. And besides, when else can you see a double feature these days?
1 comment:
I want to go check out this double feature! Two really good movies!
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