Toy Story 3 (2010)

[a touching tale ,a fitting end to the classic series]

Toy Story 3 (2010)
IMDB- 8.5 (Top 250: #48)
RottenTomatoes- 99
RJG Rating- 100

The toys are mistakenly sent to Sunnyside Daycare.

Starring- Tom Hanks ,Tim Allen ,Joan Cusack
Director- Lee Unkrich

Toy Story 3 is Pixar's 11th and the final part of the Toy Story trilogy.It reunites a major section of the main cast and brings along a large new cast of toys.Unlike the previous 2, Toy Story 3 was directed by Lee Unkrich (co-directer of Toy Story 2,Finding Nemo and Monsters Inc) ,since John Lasseter was busy with Cars 2.

Animation from Pixar was top notch.The beauty and detail can be clearly seen in each scene.During Toy Story 1 & 2,Pixar hadnt mastered human animation ,but after its success in Incredibles ,Up etc Pixar uses more human characters and gives them a major role in Toy Story3.With more toy characters animation looks absolutely fantastic.

Toy Story 3's story doesnt falter or disappoint.It has the same excitement and level of fun the previous 2 films had.In addition to this ,Toy Story 3 also increases the intensity of the story.The 3rd part takes on a much larger scale.Pixar's objective to please kids as well as grown ups is very much noticeable.Toy Story 3 spoofs heist movies this time ,and its done wonderfully.The way the story pans out is beautiful yet exciting.

Direction from Lee ,equals that of Lassetter and manages to keep Toy Story 3 running in the same vein as the previous movies.This part also increases the emotional content and there are plenty of heart touching scenes.The climax is emotionally charged and the movie signs out with perfection.Toy Story 3 reaches upto the classic levels of the first part and ends up completing one of Hollywoods rarities - A perfect trilogy.

On release ,the movie was a raging success worldwide.It was the highest grossing movie of the year 2010.And the only animated movie to make more than $1 billion making it the highest grossing animated movie of all time.
Toy Story also raked up universal praise ,and was nominated for Best Picture Oscar ,making it the 3rd animated movie ever in the history of Oscars to be nominated for a Best Picture Award.Toy Story 3 earned Pixar its 4th consecutive and 6th overall, Best Animated Movie Oscar.

Overall ,Toy Story 3 is an instant classic ,a must watch !

Animation- 5/5
Story- 5/5
Direction- 5/5
Action- 5/5
Drama- 5/5
Comedy- 5/5


Oscars
Nominated - 3
Best Picture
Best Sound Editing
Best Adapted Screenplay- Michael Arndt

Won - 2
Best Animated Film
Best Original Song- "We Belong Together" by Randy Newman

Toy Story 2 (1999)

[One of the best Sequels ever]

Toy Story 2 (1999)
IMDB- 8.0
RottenTomatoes- 100
RJG Rating- 100

Woody is kidnapped by a toy collector.

Starring- Tom Hanks ,Tim Allen ,Joan Cusack
Direction- John Lasseter ,Lee Unkrich and Ash Brannon

Toy Story 2 continues the tale of Andy's toys and is Pixar's 3rd movie.John Lasseter returns to direct as well as the entire star cast of the first part.

Animation is much improved than last time.This time the story takes place in a much larger environment,and the background is beautiful.

Toy Story2 has a much larger concept for the story and brought on board more fully fledged characters.Still ,Pixar gives #1 priority to the character development of every toy we see.The friendship between Woody & Buzz are one of the main highlights of the movie.

The fun is doubled and the comedy is spot on.Just like the first part we have some iconic scenes from major hollywood classics spoofed toy story style.

Another Pixar trademark is that its story and animation will touch your hearts.And Toy Story 2 has plenty of such scenes,the best one being Jessie's flashback.

Direction by Lasseter is flawless.He once again is able to create a well knit movie that never loses focus for even one frame.From start to finish its a complete adventure.

Pixar's devotion to bringing the finest movies can be seen in the movie's production.Disney as usual wanted a sequel for the hit Toy Story ,but just as a direct to video version.But due to the strong opposition from the Pixar team this was thankfully averted.Yet more problems faced the team.During production, Lasseter was unhappy on how the movie was turning out,and decided to redo the whole movie.But Disney was against this and wanted the movie at its proposed date.At extreme pressure the team worked non stop.Thus Toy Story 2 was made in 9 months.

On release ,the Pixar magic worked wonders.It was the second highest-grossing animated film of all-time , behind Disney's The Lion King (as on 1999).

Animation- 4.5/5
Story- 5/5
Direction- 5/5
Comedy- 4.5/5
Action- 5/5
Drama- 5/5


OSCARS
Nominated (1)
Best Original Song for "When She Loved Me"

*Award for Best Animated movies werent introduced till 2001.

Toy Story (1995)

[a timeless classic]

Toy Story (1995)
IMDB-8.2 (Top 250: #127)
RottenTomatoes-100
RJG Rating-100

Woody ,a cowboy toy, gets jealous of a new spaceman action figure.

Starring- Tom Hanks,Tim Allen
Director- John Lasseter

Toy Story was a revolutionary movie made back in 1995.It was not only Pixar's first full length movie ,but also the first ever feature film to be made entirely with CGI (Computer-generated imagery).

Toy Story was lead in the voice department by Tom Hanks (Woody) & Tim Allen (Buzz). John Lasseter ,the head of Pixar, directed this movie.

Toy Story may at first glance appear to be a very kiddish story with talking toys and what not.But within 5 min into the movie,anyone will be hooked on to it.The story isnt just for kids,but for people of all ages.The story is simple but yet has different layers to it.The humour used is clean, and for movie lovers its fun to see a lot of classic movies being spoofed in a couple of comic scenes (ex:Woody does an Exorcist 360 degree head turn in a scene with Sid).

The dialogues and characterization of each and EVERY character is handled perfectly.The most important factor is the heart warming effect you get after watching this movie,the Pixar touch ,as many would put it.But still,the music in Toy Story is as touching as the story itself.The song ,"You've Got a Friend in Me" by Randy Newman is brilliantly used.

Toy Story was box office gold earning on release and won most of the animation awards of that year.

Animation- 4.5/5
Direction- 5/5
Story- 5/5
Comedy- 5/5
Drama- 5/5

OSCARS
Nominated (3)
Best Original Musical or Comedy Score Randy Newman
Best Original Song for "You've Got a Friend in Me"
Best Original Screenplay Screenplay [Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow, John Lasseter, Pete Docter & Joe Ranft]

*Award for Best Animated movies werent introduced till 2001.

Won (1)
Special Achievement John Lasseter [This is a special award by the Academy for exceptional contribution.As of 2012,John Lasseter's win for Toy Story was the last time this award was presented]