Monday, June 21, 2010

Summer Movie Review: Toy Story 3

I was 9 years old when the first Toy Story movie was released. I was 13 when the second graced us with it's presence. Now, here I am 24 years old, eleven years later, and I've just gotten home from seeing the third. I cried like a baby.

If you have ever felt sentimental about a childhood toy, felt the sadness that comes with growing up and not wanting to give up something that has truly become a part of who you are, then this is the movie for you. If not, and you just want to see hilariousness all over the place, it's still the movie for you. :) I am both, but more so the former. This movie was magnificent. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you bite your fingernails in anxiety!

I'm not going to go into details about the synopsis. Just go and experience the fantastic-ness of the whole thing. We get to see all of our favorite familiar characters and we also get to meet some really really funny new characters. Ken, Barbie's male counterpart, is hilarious to the extreme. There is one scene where he and Barbie are saying "I love yous" and it had my dad and I cracking up for at least the whole scene after. Michael Keaton voiced him and he was perfect.

Seriously, what a great (and heartbreaking!) way to end such an original trilogy. What a fun day it will be when I can watch all three movies consecutively.

Final score: Solid 10 out of 10.

Also, the short six minute movie that comes before the film: Oh. My. Heck. It's pure genius. No joke, it was the most creative (and if I'm going for cheesy, truly inspiring) six minutes I've ever seen. That I also give 10 out of 10.

Now, for something to make you laugh! :) I would like to show you why this movie meant so much to me. When I was 3 years old I got a stuffed mouse for Christmas. She's about a foot tall, blue, with chewed up plastic whiskers and to this day, I love her more than anything I own. I, being such a creative child, named her Mousy. That same same Christmas, Leslee got a stuffed bunny....and named her Bunny. Mark received a stuffed yellow furred bear.....and named him Yellow Bear. Ken was given a brown furred bear.....and can you guess? Named him Brown Bear. These 4 stuffed animals honestly became the center of our universes. We gave them life, personalities, quirks. Our imaginations grew from these inanimate objects.
Time passed and they became less played with, but they were still very much a part of us. None of us have parted with them. Yellow Bear is still with Mark, Leslee has put Bunny in her cedar chest, I think. Mousy still sleeps on my bed (In fact, she's sitting next to me right now!!). Brown Bear however.....well....the poor little guy sometimes gets left behind. About 5 years ago, Mark, Leslee and I noticed that Brown was stuffed away in Ken's closet. We realized he probably hadn't seen the light of day for some time. This made us very sad. I mean, just because he's not real doesn't mean he has no feelings! So, being the witty people we are, we decided to teach Ken a little lesson by making him this video. It might not be as funny to others as it was to us, but I dare you not to laugh at least once! Quick note, just so you don't think we're total weirdos. The last part of the video (music and text) is taken from the movie King Arthur. And no, we really didn't burn Brown Bear......

****Also keep in mind we were thinking "funny," not "high quality."****





The last picture shown is a parody of a picture of us kids. It got quite the discussion going on facebook. I swear it's the most commented on picture I've ever seen! :) I'll load it for you here so you can see it.
Gosh we were cute. We look like quadruplets. ADORABLE quadruplets.

Well, peace out for now! :D

2 comments:

SuperStokes said...

That is so funny! Great Job Doug!

LibertyLady said...

Man, I remember seeing this a long time ago... like right after you made it. It made me laugh then, and it made me laugh again today. I love it! Simply genius! I'd say you'd give Pixar a run for their money if only they were into stop animation. Really.
:)