Hey everyone. Capone in Austin here, a day away from departing my first-ever Fantastic Fest. This has been a truly remarkable week for me, but if you'd asked me before I got here what I thought one of the highlights would be, I never would have guessed that watching two films that I've probably seen 50 times each would have been among my most memorable moments.
I thought I knew the TOY STORY movies inside and out. The fully-loaded DVD box set has been watched many times in my household. All of my friends with kids have introduced their offspring to the films as being two of the greatest films about friendship, childhood, and the power of cooperation ever made. Director and Pixar co-founder John Lasseter's uncanny ability to tap into my guilt at throwing away or otherwise shelving old and beaten-up childhood playthings was one of the most primal emotions I've ever felt watching a movie. Plus the voice actors in the films are beyond perfect. Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear are only the tip of the iceberg. And I challenge any right-thinking human being to make it through "When She Loved Me" in TOY STORY 2 without getting a little misty.
It's no secret that TOY STORY 3 is hitting screening on June 18, 2010, and it'll be in glorious 3-D. So for many of you, I'm guessing that this limited-run 3-D double-feature of TOY STORY and TOY STORY 2 seems obligatory and optional. I'm hear to tell you how wrong you are. One of the most enjoyable parts of watching the first two films on DVD (or the collection of Pixar shorts) is marveling at how far Pixar's animation has come with its more recent films. I remember watching TOY STORY 2 for the first time and thinking how poorly rendered the human characters were, despite how life like the toys appeared. But one of the joys of seeing the first two films at Fantastic Fest last weekend was that the animation looks so much better and more realistic than I'd remembered. It's very clear that the sound has been souped up, and it's a wonderful improvement, but seeing the colors and surreal quality of the TOY STORY world thanks to a flawless 3-D transfer really shocked me into a full-on giddy state.
For those who take in the double feature, you get some really fun Intermission entertainment that I don't want to spoil, and there's a cute introductory card that tells you exactly when to put on your 3-D glasses. But honestly, just hearing Jim Varney, Don Rickles, R. Lee Ermey, Joan Cusack, Annie Potts, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Estelle Harris, and all the rest of the gang. Each one of them adds to the comedy and the emotional resonance of the entire TOY STORY experience. I'd also forgotten just how sadistic the next door neighbor kid Sid really is with his toys, and all of the outright bizarre creatures he creates from different pieces of his dismantled toys. It was clear that that segment of the film was freaking out some of the kids in my audience, and I was loving the Tim Burton-ish nature of the whole thing.
And as an older, wiser gentleman, I can look at these toys as a cross section of paranoia. They are all desperately afraid of young Andy getting tired with them and forgetting them or getting rid of them. It's a horrible, death-row-like way to live, yet they make it look like a party. Only Pixar! I know how easy it is to simply review the TOY STORY world at home, but I wouldn't be doing my job unless I implore you to check out these two exquisite films on the big screen in 3-D. It truly is a rediscovery. I didn't think it was humanly possible for me to love these movies any more than I already did, but that's exactly what I feel after seeing them this go 'round. Take the time to see the TOY STORY movies again for the very first time.
-- Capone
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