Film: “Toy Story 3”

At the cast party of “Toy Story 3” – (l-r), Aliens, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, Woody, Mrs. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Hamm, and Barbie. ©Disney/Pixar

by Keith Robinson

When his son was four, my friend Chris explained the appeal the purple dinosaur Barney has to children. “When Disney or the Muppets make a film,” he said, “they always put something in it to entertain adults, too, so you don’t kill yourself when you have to watch it with your kid. And the kid knows there’s stuff in there that’s going over his head. But Barney – there’s nothing in there that appeals to adults. The kids know that show is 100% for them. That’s why they dig it.”

Watching Pixar’s “Toy Story 3,” I thought of Chris’s theory. But here, Pixar hasn’t just made a kids’ movie that has some moments for adults, “Toy Story 3” is a movie for adults, specifically baby-boomer adults. And a terrific, hilarious movie it is. If kids find something they like in it, too, that’s just a bonus.

The characters are based on baby-boomer toys. The plot references old prison films, horror films, and even throws in a nod to one of the first Pixar short films, “Tin Toy.” There are jokes at the expense of Barbie’s “friend” Ken. And the motivations come out of a longing to still be useful – and to be wanted – as one gets older. Not a lot here aimed specifically at the sandbox crowd.

Sure, there is some silliness that appeals to all ages. When Mr. Potato Head has to become Mr. Tostada Head, for instance, or the moves spaceman Buzz Lightyear makes when he’s switched to Spanish. And the gangly, flailing way cowboy Woody runs brings out the inner seven-year-old in me; I want to go out on the playground to imitate it, as I’m sure is happening right now on playgrounds across America.

But even though there were plenty of kids at the screening I attended, I didn’t hear the maniacal, choking laughter of children I recall from when I saw the original “Toy Story” 15 years ago. What laughter there was from the children was drowned out by the laughter from the adults. After the film was over, I asked a woman accompanied by two small children how she liked the film. She beamed; “Loved it!” What about the kids? “Oh, they loved it, too,” then her voice dropped to a whisper, “but it was a bit too scary at times.”

Indeed, some of the movie does get pretty intense. I attended the screening with a 35-year-old woman who shuddered at one point and muttered, “Ew, that’s creepy!” Some of the toys’ adventures are terrifying. Others soar with excitement. The opening minutes, a sequence in which the toys live out a fantasy from their owner’s imagination, is pure joy.

Despite the IMAX and 3D and state-of-the-art computer generated imagery, “Toy Story 3” is an old-fashioned film about old-fashioned values, derived from a carefully crafted, literate script. It’s not giving anything away to say that Pixar wants you to leave the theater wiping a tear from your eye; it’s what they do. Lots of so-called children’s films follow this formula today: 90 minutes of fast-paced gags capped with a bittersweet moment to make you cry. But the “Toy Story” cast and crew put in enough emotion throughout the movie, to make the motivations of the characters real no matter how outrageous the action becomes, that the touching moments at the end of the film feel sincere, not tacked on.

Yes, you’ll laugh, you’ll cry. The kids can have Barney. We grown-ups will hang with our buddies Buzz and Woody. ER

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