Toy Story 3

I took the kids to see Toy Story 3 on opening day. Most sequels pale in comparison to the first one and Toy Story 2 was the rare exception. Well Toy Story 3, dare I say it, is the best of the trilogy. It was by far the darkest in the series but also had some good laughs in it (the Ken doll steals every scene he is in, kudos to Michael Keaton).

Pixar has the uncanny ability to evoke strong emotions in their films (take the first 20 minutes of Up for example) and TS3 was no different. Without spoiling anything there was a scene close to the end where there wasn't a dry eye in the theater. That's what I like about this company, it's more than just technology to them.

Not to say the tech wasn't bad, in fact it was quite excellent. In keeping with the look of the previous films the characters really couldn't look much different than before (with the exception of the human ones) but Pixar was able to goose up the background scenes compared to the previous 2 films and those little details show.

An interesting tidbit is the fact the animators where unable to use the original 3D files from the previous films and apparently had to start from scratch. Perhaps Rob could explain to me how this could happen.

The 3D effects were at just the right levels. Just like with Avatar, nothing gimmicky that "pokes you in the eye" but provided a depth to match the stunning visuals.

My favorite Toy Story character is new to this film, Chuckles the Clown. The creepiest is Big Baby. Watch the film and tell me if you agree.