Hey, Tim Jones, here. I saw Toy
Story 3 the other night, and found that – contrary to my fears a
year or more ago – it is a very worthy successor to the previous Toy
Story films. Lots of LOLs, and fun throughout.
I began to have a
sense of persistent déjà vu as the story progressed, though. Here
is the basic arc of the tale; WARNING!
SPOILERS!!
A young man is growing up, going off to college, and has seemingly
abandoned the __________ he loved as a child. He hasn't really abandoned
them, though. It's all a big misunderstanding.
The __________
find themselves in a jam, separated from their master. They bravely
decide to find their way back to him, but are thwarted in their quest by
hostile __________ that plot and scheme, and finally manage to send the
brave __________ to the city dump!
At the dump, the __________
are very nearly destroyed, but are pulled from a Conveyor of Death at
the last possible moment.
Together, having learned to rely on one
another, the _________ finally succeed, are reunited with their master,
and are given a new lease on life.
Now, fill in the blank with the
word "toys" and you have the synopsis for Toy Story 3. But change the
word to "appliances" and you have the synopsis for The Brave Little
Toaster! If you think I found this disappointing, you would be
mistaken. Toaster has been a family favorite for a long time.
Toaster,
a Disney film, like most of Pixar's stories, is a cautionary tale about
Leaving Important Things Behind, a moral I very heartily endorse in our
throw-it-away-and-don't-look-back culture. Not surprisingly, there are
creative connections behind the scenes, Pixar's John Lasseter and Joe
Ranft (recently deceased) having been involved in the project at various
points. The final product was directed by Jerry Rees, a friend of
Lasseter's.
So, I thought the nod to Toaster altogether
appropriate. Why waste a good story? John Lasseter has been telling the
same story in all his films for years now, and that's a good
thing.
And don't even get me started on the religious symbolism of the
two films…
(Cross posted at Tim Jones' blog, Old World Swine)
I know only geeks notice this sort of thing, but that image is a Toy Story 2 poster with TS3 written on the bottom. Bo Peep, the shepherdess toy, isn’t even in Toy Story 3.
You’re right, Rich. I was in haste. 🙂
It was… a TEST! Yeah, that’s it…
Wow. Tim J, I’ve never seen Toaster, but those are some startlingly specific parallels.
I love Brave Little Toaster but it didn’t even come to mind when I saw TS3! Excellent post.
TS3 is brilliant! My favorite of the 3 films. Tim, you’re right about the religious symbolism. Really great stuff. Thank God for Pixar!
Help me out on the religious symbolism. What exactly are you thinking about? (I do remember one thing that I haven’t seen anyone comment on…did anyone else notice that in the early scene where Woody falls of the roof of the daycare and his pullstring gets caught in a tree, he stops falling just before he hits the ground with his arms outstretched in a shot that looks exactly like the sequence from The Passion of the Christ where the cross is flipped over and miraculously hovers in the air? That can’t possibly have been accidental, especially considering the way the shot was emphasized in the trailers.)
I don’t know if that scene was meant to be from Passion of the Christ; the movie that popped into mind for me was Mission Impossible.
When I see TS3 I said “these is The brave little toaster!!!” i cant believe that jajaja
I completely agree with your review. Being a child when Toy Story came out and following the movies to where I am/they are now, I developed a relationship with the characters, as most of us had. This movie was an amazing pay off for the years I followed Woody and Buzz.