Hello, all!
I’m glad that Pixar made TOY STORY because I’d been a fan of their shorts for a long time before they did so. The conceit was great [and has made me much less inclined to utter an expletive under my breath when cleaning up (or stepping on) my kiddos’ toys… you never know, they *might* be listening] and the story was good, too. Still, the follow-up effort in TOY STORY 2 was even better, and not simply because the computer animation was so much more crisp.
The gang is back, along with a few new [albeit short-lived] characters like Wheezy, and instead of an annoying kid as their foil, it’s the nefarious owner of Al’s Toy Barn [great voice actor casting with Wayne Knight as Al] as the primary nemesis. If you were wondering why a random character like Wheezy got mentioned, it isn’t just because of the fact that it’s his being put in a yard sale that serves as the catalyst for the film’s plot to kick into gear. Rather, it’s because this film manages to squeeze some real emotional content out of the situations in which it puts its characters. For example, the way that Jessie’s story is presented is actually compelling stuff.
Try watching that scene in its entirety and not getting misty. Yeah, 1s and 0s can actually make for some genuinely dramatic moments.
Put somewhat simply, the plot arc is about getting the gang back together after Al steals Woody from the yard sale, but along the way, the film manages to provide clever backstories to both Woody and Buzz, with both providing nice little subplots that manage not to distract from the story… that’s no small feat.
It isn’t surprising that the series wound up with two more installments [the last of which was somewhat pedestrian, but… Bo Peep was back, so there’s that], but it’s the second that is by far the best of the bunch. I am obliged to reference the third because The Walking Dead seemed to mirror the plotline of the first three TOY STORY films. That’s a bit of a non sequitur, admittedly, and though both franchises may have jumped the shark with their most recent outings, the early fare is particularly solid. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN; Day 10 - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; Day 11 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER; Day 12 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES; Day 13 - PADDINGTON 2; Day 14 - RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET; Day 15 - LETHAL WEAPON 2; Day 16 - FINAL DESTINATION 2; Day 17 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE; Day 18 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 19 - THE RAID 2; Day 20 - THE BOURNE SUPREMACY; Day 21 - SPIDER-MAN 2; Day 22 - EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN; Day 23 - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST; Day 24 - BLADE II; Day 25 - BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY; Day 26 - THE GODFATHER PART II; Day 27 - STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK]
I’m glad that Pixar made TOY STORY because I’d been a fan of their shorts for a long time before they did so. The conceit was great [and has made me much less inclined to utter an expletive under my breath when cleaning up (or stepping on) my kiddos’ toys… you never know, they *might* be listening] and the story was good, too. Still, the follow-up effort in TOY STORY 2 was even better, and not simply because the computer animation was so much more crisp.
The gang is back, along with a few new [albeit short-lived] characters like Wheezy, and instead of an annoying kid as their foil, it’s the nefarious owner of Al’s Toy Barn [great voice actor casting with Wayne Knight as Al] as the primary nemesis. If you were wondering why a random character like Wheezy got mentioned, it isn’t just because of the fact that it’s his being put in a yard sale that serves as the catalyst for the film’s plot to kick into gear. Rather, it’s because this film manages to squeeze some real emotional content out of the situations in which it puts its characters. For example, the way that Jessie’s story is presented is actually compelling stuff.
Try watching that scene in its entirety and not getting misty. Yeah, 1s and 0s can actually make for some genuinely dramatic moments.
Put somewhat simply, the plot arc is about getting the gang back together after Al steals Woody from the yard sale, but along the way, the film manages to provide clever backstories to both Woody and Buzz, with both providing nice little subplots that manage not to distract from the story… that’s no small feat.
It isn’t surprising that the series wound up with two more installments [the last of which was somewhat pedestrian, but… Bo Peep was back, so there’s that], but it’s the second that is by far the best of the bunch. I am obliged to reference the third because The Walking Dead seemed to mirror the plotline of the first three TOY STORY films. That’s a bit of a non sequitur, admittedly, and though both franchises may have jumped the shark with their most recent outings, the early fare is particularly solid. Enjoy!
Other films recommended:
[Day 1 - THE DARK KNIGHT; Day 2 - DESPERADO; Day 3 - THE ROAD WARRIOR; Day 4 - X2: X-MEN UNITED; Day 5 - TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY; Day 6 - DAWN OF THE DEAD; Day 7 - DEADPOOL 2; Day 8 - HOT SHOTS! PART DEUX; Day 9 - STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN; Day 10 - THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS; Day 11 - CAPTAIN AMERICA: THE WINTER SOLDIER; Day 12 - ADDAMS FAMILY VALUES; Day 13 - PADDINGTON 2; Day 14 - RALPH BREAKS THE INTERNET; Day 15 - LETHAL WEAPON 2; Day 16 - FINAL DESTINATION 2; Day 17 - FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE; Day 18 - NATIONAL LAMPOON'S CHRISTMAS VACATION; Day 19 - THE RAID 2; Day 20 - THE BOURNE SUPREMACY; Day 21 - SPIDER-MAN 2; Day 22 - EVIL DEAD 2: DEAD BY DAWN; Day 23 - X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST; Day 24 - BLADE II; Day 25 - BILL & TED'S BOGUS JOURNEY; Day 26 - THE GODFATHER PART II; Day 27 - STAR WARS EPISODE V: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK]
