As we're sure you've gathered, Shiny & New is a Disney-leaning blog. We like Disney. It's gay, it's beautiful, it's 'magical lulz' - something we possibly love a tad more is Pixar. Lucky us - Disney owns Pixar! If you are a reader of the regular type, you will also have gathered that we have been SO FUCKING EXCITED FOR THE RELEASE OF THIS FILM.
In 1995,
Toy Story changed the face of animated motion pictures forever, a grandiose statement but true none the less. It took the heart-string-plucking, stomach-winding, tear-duct-antagonising storytelling that as of yet only Disney had shown the capabilities to truly master and layered it between sheets of the most breath-taking, detailed tri-dimensional animation yet to be seen. In the years and movies that have followed this trailblazer, Pixar have accomplished the almost unthinkable feat of continuously outdoing themselves with each further venture. Last year's
Up managed to keep up this trait yet when it comes to sequels it seems to be a whole new ball game. You don't need us to tell you that when it comes to sequels in Hollywood, it's not the most common thing for them to be as good as the mother movie, yet good old Pixar manages to not only meet the quality of the previous movie but to
surpass it. This is in reference of course to 1998's masterful
Toy Story 2, which took a spectacular return to the picture which started it all.
And twelve years later we are dragged most eagerly back to Andy's bed apart from he's moving out to college and no one wants the toys any more. We couldn't have possibly imagined a more natural, cohesive and appropriate ending to one of the finest motion picture trilogies to be made. Maybe it feels more significant to this post's writer due to him sharing the same age as Andy (hell, the same name too) in each film - 5 years old in 1995, 9 years old in 1999, 19 in 2009. We saw nothing but the action adventure of the toys in the first and second films, yet with the benefit of hindsight and maturity, found overwhelming resonance in the third film. The themes of abandonment, growing up and moving on are all too close to the bone and we feel as if we've genuinely grown up with the characters. That was one of the many reasons why choosing to place the second sequel in a real-time timeline, with the same amount of time passing within the film as it did in real-life, was so very genius.
There's no possible way we could pick apart the plot for you. The details are far too intricate and tied to describe any of the highlights without slightly spoiling the story. We will try and summarise as succinctly as possible the main points; the villain and his back story is absolutely incredible, the comedy is genuinely laugh out loud and not in the the slightest patronising and as with most Pixar films, the opening and closing sequences are ridiculously emotional and lump-in-throat-inducing.
This review hasn't in the slightest done any justice to what we believe has to be the most incredible second sequel to be made, but if it has encouraged anyone not particularly interested to take the plunge and see a 'kids film', it will have been well worth writing.
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