Ladies & Gentlemen/Girls & Boys, WE HAVE OUR FIRST BIG OSCAR FLICK OF 2010!
I just returned from a full house of ADULTS with a few kids (9:35pm showing).
TOY STORY 3 is made up of the same recipe of its previous two films, however this is not to be said of the film's formula. The plot is simple, there are twists that we have seen before, but the charm of the characters and storytelling mask the film's predicability.
The ending is truly unexpected, however, and the final "homage" scene to the characters we have grown to love the past several years is a definite tear-jerker. I was a SOBBING MESS, and a little girl in front of me was asking her daddy why he was crying, too.
Stick around for the credits!!
Make this one a priority, folks! I guarantee this will be the Oscar winner this year for Animated Feature. Which reminds me, the short that is played prior to the film, DAY & NIGHT, is also Oscar-worthy. This animated short combines CGI-animation with hand-drawn animation, in addition to live-action. The short is surprisingly political, if not humanitarian. I've never been prouder of Disney/Pixar for a film than I have been of DAY & NIGHT. I hope this gets recognized at the Oscars, too!
"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle