Toy Story 3

Toy Story 3

Wait.. today's the 18th? Jesus, time went by fast and I didn't even realize that today is the day that Toy Story 3 is released. Has it really been ten years? Jesus, that's a long time.

So what's going on in the world of toys? Well, it's that time when Andy is all grown up and heading off to college. Leaving one important question - What will happen to all of his toys? What will Woody and Buzz do now that their bestest friend is all grown up?



Well, I'll tell you. They end up getting accidentally donated to Sunnyside Daycare Center. There we are introduced with a lot of new friends including a bear named Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear and the introduction of the Ken Doll.

Now pixar went the full mile with trying to pimp these characters. Look at the following viral ad they put out to make you think that Lots-o'-huggin Bear has some serious history behind him.
Pixar busted out with the viral marketing for this one;



How about a wacky international ad?



And we can't forget the Ken Doll getting some major attention. I'm sure MATTEL must be pleased with this. As well as a couple sacks full of money broker.



Any how, the toys in this new place are pretty excited. Andy, probably filled with playing his Xbox and PS3 hasn't given them the playing that they once were getting when he was young. So the idea of Daycare with all the new kids playing with them must be appealing, right?

Well I guess the rough housing that the kids provide isn't all that it's cracked out to be and of course, they realize Andy is actively searching for them. The other toys, the old timers there aren't so happy to see them off and this day care becomes more like a prison. The previews showed us Buzz getting damaged during an escape attempt and needed to be reset and mistakenly changed to a delusional Spanish version of his old Space Ranger self.

The writers for this one said they were going for an epic scale for the film. Citing that they looked to Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings Trilogy for inspiration. The tag line "No Toy Get's Left Behind" shows you the direction this is going. This one really does show the passage of time. Just look at this surprising, yet a little depressing image of what Andy's dog Buster looks like 10 years later.



Yeah, it's a bit of a bummer and it's pretty clear that Pixar is shoving the "It's been over 10 years. Holy shit." Into your face. And I thought UP made me cry... I'm going to be bawling over this one. Thanks a lot, assholes!

This movie is going to be more depressing than UP. It depresses me because it reminds me of the most brutal and devastating truth of the Toy Story universe: The toys are sentient and immortal. Everything and everyone they love will die or go away and they will live on forever.

But on a positive note.. look at this most gratifying ad for the post office and who they choose to pimp it out to.



Now that's just a reminder that I'm really old and actually watched CHEERS. I really can't wait for this film. I'm just very excited! Now.. to sandwich this blog about a child's film with more talk about zombies...

Toy Story 2 Was Ok

Toy Story 2 Was Ok

The story is told like an urban legend at this point. Someone is in the bathroom of some truck stop, seedy bar or even the local high school doing their business on the porcelain seat and you

Stuff like;
For a good time, call 867‒5309
Your momma sucked cocks
Meet here at 1am on May 4th 2010 - if you dare
Steve Holt!

But among those crudely scrolled upon literature is one graffiti you really can't explain. Something so out of nowhere and so non-committal that you'll have to wonder about it.


Toy Story 2 was OK!!

This can't be true, can it? Why would someone be bored enough to tag that against the wall? I mean, it's not cutting edge. It sure as hell doesn't offend anyone. In fact, it's not even much of an opinion. You mean to tell me that Toy Story 2 was just okay? That's it? There's not much passion behind that.

I've seen more emotion put to fast food combo meals. It sounds like something you would tell your friend who just happens to ask if you've ever seen Toy Story. "Yeah, I guess it's alright." so totally nonchalant. But is this really true?



Toy Story was one of those early Pixar films. When they could do no wrong. Well.. that's to say that they still can do no wrong. The film was all about a lost childhood. Or at least the evolution of a person through the toys they cherished and played with and how they could grow apart from them. To say that it was just OK seems like it's underselling the whole concept of it. Just OKAY?!?! JUST OKAY!?!?!?!?!?!?! FUCK, COME ON MAN!!

Well, okay, I guess it is. But it's so much more than just okay. If you're not crying by the end of Toy Story or the end of Toy Story 2, then you're human scum. You have no heart. Your childhood was clearly destroyed by Lucas and you just no longer need a heart, you soulless person.



It's so true that it has become some sort of internet cliche by now. Chances are if you've seen it at a restroom stall in the past year or so it's there because someone else saw something like this on the internet through their friends and they just felt like passing on an internet meme. Of course, this may not actually reflect how they REALLY feel about Toy Story 2. Maybe the dude who said that Toy Story 2 was Ok was just saying that because he felt that Toy Story 2 did not live up to the hype that Toy Story 1 left.

I humbly disagree. Toy Story 2 had Jessie. How could you NOT like a red headed cowgirl? I mean, she was all sorts of rednecked and what not. She had that sass to carry the film alone. And then you had the collector dude. Maybe it's just that I'm used to dealing with those nerdy collector types, but that really made me relate to the whole collectablity factor of your childhood beloved items.



This week also saw the release of Toy Story 1+2 release on Bluray. Which in itself is great news as all the Pixar flicks so far released on Bluray have been amazingly good looking. You know what's also good to do? Save a ton of money and now you can!

This week, well, namely today is your last chance to save major bucks on both of these Bluray dvds. How do you do it? Here's your definitive information on how to save at least $30 bucks on these two films.



First you have to sign up for an account at Disney Movie Rewards. When you log in, input the following two UPC's where it says "Enter Code":

786936294507
786936294521

This will give you access to print a $10 coupon for each Toy Story Blu-Rays. That's $30 total savings when combined with the $10 discount retailers are offering for buying both movies together.

So if you buy at:
-Toys R Us, you pay $14
-Target, you pay $16
-Best Buy, you pay $20



If you want to give it a shot, you can also try using both $5 coupons available here. If you are successful, you will pay $4 at TRU, $6 at Target or $10 at BB. (Note that you are most likely to have success with this at Target since they have a record of accepting multiple coupons, re: Up and Monsters Inc a few months back)

Obviously TRU is the best deal here, and made even better by the fact that you get a voucher for $15 off any other Disney Blu-Ray if you pre-order both TS Blu-Rays. If you decide to use this voucher for The Princess and the Frog, you can also take advantage of two other coupons available for this title - a $10 coupon (expires this Sunday) and a $5 coupon.



But you see, the absolute best case scenario? You get Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and The Princess and the Frog for $4 + tax at Toys R Us. Hey, stranger things have happened. But you know you can at least save a ton of bucks on two films that will make you remember your childhood. This alone should be reason enough to go out to target and try to get these deals.

What are you waiting for? Go out and print them up right now and be a consumer! BUY BUY BUY!!

UP, im YOURS

UP,im YOURS

It's a wonder that Pixar keeps cranking out such great movies. Though, I have to admit that this is my new favorite Pixar movie. I feel like I say that with each new movie, but it's true with this one. Holy hell, that was a fun adventure and it ripped at your heart.

One thing that really surprised me was how well the back-story for the old man was written and told, albeit i think this is one of those kids films where I might feel uncomfortable taking young children. The first ten minutes of this film are touching beyond all belief. If you're not crying by the end of the montage, you're not human and should just unplug your robot heart.



The story is about Ellie and Carl, two fun loving adventures who meet at a young age and just grow old together. I really can't do justice in words in how wonderful and how sad the opening made me feel. I'll let you go see the film and feel the same. Suffice to say, in his later years after losing his partner in life, he decides to go on the adventure that the two of them never had the chance to go on and away he goes lifting his home up with balloons.

The people at Pixar just know how to make a movie that people will care about. You care about the characters, you care about the surroundings, and you notice the changes that the characters go through the movie. That's another awesome thing that Pixar does, they create some of the most believable character arcs. In every single Pixar movie, the main character is changed in some way, and, again, in every single Pixar movie, there's no suspension of disbelief needed in regards to those changes. They know how to tell a complete story.



Something thing about Pixar is that they like to toss in stories. Toy Story had this message that on how to share and how things change around you and you need to adapt. Considering Woody had to adapt to the change that Andy was growing out of Cowboys and into Space Cadets. Bugs Life, another favorite of mine was all about socializing with others you normally wouldn't have in order to save the day.

Cars was about red-necked tow trucks or something. I don't remember. Wall-E was all about going green and so on and so on. The point is that they tell a story that not only kids can enjoy but that parents love to enjoy with their kids. That's the smartest thing possible and it leads to not pandering to children for a quick buck but giving some lessons in an entertaining manner.



Visually the movie was beautiful, really they have genuine artists at Pixar. From the style behind every object and character, to looking at how rooms were decorated or colored and then all the nature entire landscape scenes, everything was superb and it made it feel as though I was watching something more then a movie. It's kind of hard to describe other then visually poetic. I also loved watching the little facial expression nuances in each of the character.

As for the 3d, loved it. It was interesting watching the trailers shown in 3d before the movie started. Most were obnoxious, over the top, or disorienting from all the motion (other then the toystory3 teaser). I was kind of worried until the movie started. How they used it to gave fullness and life to objects rather then novelty purposes and I think was near perfect. I wouldn't want them to change a thing.



Dug was so cute. I want that dog. I think I would actually buy a Dug toy if it talked. Well, what am I talking about. This is Disney after all, of course they made the toy.

And for those of you looking for easter eggs, try to see where you can find the Pizza Planet Truck. It is a Pixar movie, after all. There's a constant law in Pixar films to have cameos and have a character voiced by John Ratzenberger.

In the end, and I mean that literally, Carl sees the final message which is particularly powerful because they didn't really need the grand adventure to South America anyway. Ellie was content with the adventure of their marriage alone. It's striking since it basically tells the audience to enjoy the adventure of their lives now and not to dwell on the regret of what they could not accomplish in life.

If I can only convey my opinion ofthis film in one image, it's this