What with all the specualtion and banter that is building in anticipation of the steadily approaching Academy Awards, I find myself paying much more attention to critics' predictions than ever before and I can't explain why. I suppose it probably has something to do with the fact that a film that struck a greater chord with me than any other I've seen (or am likely to see) is involved in the race this year.
When I first saw the trailer for Toy Story 3, I found it amusing and was delighted that it seemed to capture all of the humour and heart of the first two movies and regenerate them successfully. Although if I'm honest, the trailer in no way prepared me for what I would see (or feel) while watching the movie itself. To say that Toy Story 3 took me on a rollercoaster of emotions would be an understatement to say the very least. From the outset, the music, gags and dialogue immediately return you to that comfort zone that you built from the ground up with Toy Story and Toy Story 2. I'm sure this came as a relief for anyone who may have even been the slightest bit concerned over the fact that John Lasseter would not be at the helm of the ship. If there was ever any doubt that Lee Unkrich was capable of doing a magnificent job on his own, those doubts were hastily washed away only a couple of minutes into the film.
For the uninitiated (shame on you) the story itself starts off in typical "Toy Story" fashion with the toys facing a dilemma that is certain to take them miles (or at the very least hundreds of metres) away from home. But any brief thoughts that this may just be a re-hash of the first two movies are quashed fairly quickly too, as the fact that the toys are taken away from home and at some point start looking to make their way back is where the similarities between this and the plot of the first two movies end. For a start, rather than getting lost or being stolen by a greedy toy collector, this time the Toys make the decision to leave Andy of their own accord...only to discover shortly thereafter that there really is no place like home (even if you are facing years of being bundled away in a refuse sack in the attic).
One of the things that makes Toy Story 3 so special is obviously the characters...and to be fair, if we look at the characters on a broader scale across the trilogy, the subtle yet significant character development is astonishing. We see a metamorphosis of sorts in Buzz Lightyear, who we almost saw as an antagonist for a healthy portion of the first movie. He has now grown into a leader along with Woody, whose foremost priorities are to ensure Andy's happiness, and the safety of his fellow toys. And then there's Woody, who came across as a jealous toy who was afraid of losing his spot as Andy's most beloved childhood memory...after wavering back and forth on whether Woody is actually a nice character for solid chunk of the first movie, somewhere along the way we see that the reason that he wants to be closest to Andy is not necessarily for his own happiness, but more so out of his desire to be the one to take care of Andy as he had done up to that point, playing the role of his loyal best friend for years. It is this characteristic of Woody's, this idea of loyalty, which is magnified in Toy Story 3 to the extent that we actually see just how un-selfish Woody is, sacrificing his own happiness at a seemingly perfect day-care centre in order to ensure the happiness of his best friend Andy. In essence, Woody becomes the conscience and heart of the entire third movie, believing in Andy when everyone else had long since given up and this re-affirms his position as the main protagonist of the franchise.
Without going into too much detail, the movie itself is nothing more and nothing less than a piece of art, wavering back and forth between comedy, and heart-breaking melancholy at the flick of a switch throughout. Prior to this, I genuinely cannot remember the last time (if there even was a last time) that I actually felt a tear run down my cheek as I became so utterly engorssed in the story that I was being told. I sat there for the last few minutes of the movie with my chin wobbling and making the occasional sniffle sound (which by that point was being echoed repeatedly throughout the auditorium), and I can honestly say I've never been so moved by a film, animated or otherwise to the best of my recollection.
I was delighted to see Pixar push for an Academy Award nomination for best picture again this year, because there's no doubt that it's well deserving. In my humble opinion, the movie is hands down better than "Up" and likewise is easily head and shoulders above any of the other "best picture" nominees that I've had the pleasure of seeing this year. Pixar are right to press hard for these movies to be accepted, not just as great animated movies, but also as great movies in general. Personally, I genuinely think that in the interest of being pregressive, we should no longer regard "the medium as the message". Films should not be classified by the manner in which they are made...they should simply regarded as "good" or "bad". If the classic "Beauty and The Beast" was nominated for Best Picture in 1992, it astonishes me to think that here we are, almost 20 years later, and only two other animated movies have ever been nominated, still without winning. It's about time that the Academy stopped looking for that "bigger picture" when choosing their winner...there seems to be a history of movies winning that tick a certain number of boxes (I'd like to see this Academy list of criteria for best picture) many of which seem like they could be as pretencious as "Theme and Issue" or "Cultural DIversity". Why can't you decide what the best picture is, based simply on the question "was it the most enjoyable film I've seen all year?" I promise you, if you were to judge it that way, there is simply no way you could hand that oscar to anyone other than Lee Unkrich and co.
Toy Story is now a franchise that has defined a generation, it now belongs in the annals of film as one of those very few perfect trilogies, so why not grant the audiece their "Godfather Part II" moment at this year's ceremony? Regardless of whether this will be Pixar's year or not, they churn out success after success and continue to blur the line between live-action and animated features, and it is undoubtedly just a matter of time before they walk away with that best picture oscar.
Regardless of how the movie fares at this year's awards, it is still the best movie I've seen all year...maybe even for a few years if I'm being honest, and I know the word is overused, but it is nothing short of a masterpiece.
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