Ultimate Pixar Tribute- Movie #11: Toy Story 3 part 4 out of 4

by Nick DeVito

Final Thoughts: To put it simply, Toy Story 3 is not only one of the best movies of the year (if not the best movie so far), it is one of the greatest movies ever made. Sure it works greatly as a genre-film (expanding from a comedy to an action flick), but the reason why it is so memorable is because of everything it does beyond.

I’ve said dozens of times during this tribute that I don’t understand how Pixar can be so perfect, but I’m not really surprised anymore. Of course I’ll always enjoy watching Pixar films until the end of my time, but now I realize that the reason why a company makes a good movie is because the people who made it showed care and excitement for bringing their feature to life.

It seems simple, but the reason why Pixar makes so many great films is because everybody at the studio feels like this every day. It’s not like in the future Pixar will get tired and make a bunch of pointless sequels just to acquire money, they will always breathe an equal amount of life into all their creations.

Toy Story 3 is one of the finest examples of this statement. Just like Toy Story 2, Disney wanted to make a direct third entry to the series without Pixar’s permission mainly to acquire more money. Of course Pixar refused, but the company decided to carry on anyway. The movie was struggling and when the script was finally complete, the studio hated it.

The idea of Buzz Lightyear being recalled back to his company origins while the rest of the toys set on a journey to find him didn’t sound like a very strong idea. It removed much of the emotions that would eventually be brought forth in the Toy Story 3 we see today, and the entire premise seemed lazy and predictable. Disney finally set forth on an agreement and bought Pixar Studios to be merged into one company. However, all this happened about four years ago when Cars was being released.

Disney still wanted to create a Toy Story 3, so Pixar finally took the project into their hands with plans of ending the franchise once and for all. While we may see a Toy Story 4 someday, it has about the same chance of a Wall-E 2, Ratatouille 2, or Up 2 being released. It’s not impossible, and if it is released it is bound to be a success, but this third installment wrapped everything up so perfectly that there is no need to create a fourth entry.

If a Toy Story 4 arrives and is good, then that's great, but if it is bad then it may even harm Toy Story 3. Because of this Pixar has plans of releasing a Toy Story short film to be released theatrically with Cars 2, and has hinted at creating a short TV series after it much like their CarsToons episodes.

In these shorts Woody and all the toys would have small little adventures in Bonnie’s house. Pixar is playing it safe this time, but for fans of the series that is all that is needed. There’s not much story to be told afterwards, Bonnie would eventually grow old like Andy and dump the toys at Sunnyside, but now that Lotso is gone it would be a pleasant place the toys could live their entire lives at.

The only important thing that would happen then would be if an adult Andy or Bonnie drops for a visit, but those events would last a few hours at most and wouldn’t be nearly as dramatic as the plots from the actual movies.

Every fan has a different opinion of what would happen after the events of Toy Story 3, but that story doesn’t need to be told. This is why it is a great idea for Pixar to head in this direction. If they planned to create more episodes there are tons of possibilities.

Make a few episodes straight up comedies, make some a small adventure, have some episodes entirely about a single character, perhaps even create an origin story for one of Bonnie’s toys, and they could even have a sad episode if they wanted, but the point is I’m excited.

If Pixar was to do this with more of their movies (even if just for a few episodes, or even just one) I would be very happy. A collection of Wall-E, Finding Nemo, or Ratatouille episodes wouldn’t need a feature length conflict. Ratatouille could just be Remy and his friends working at his job for a full ten minutes and it would still be great! Finding Nemo could just be Nemo’s adventures at school, or even Dory acting randomly for a good ten minutes.

For Wall-E there are tons of possibilities. You could explore the other over-looked bots, have an episode dedicated to M-O and an average day at work for him. For Wall-E and Eve there are tons of possibilities for the romantic crowd. Most fans would be pleased if it was just Wall-E and Eve goofing around together. Have them participate in a flying session, have them watch Hello, Dolly! together, or if you wanted to be serious have Wall-E propose to Eve. Hey, if it was just an episode of Wall-E and Eve going on a date for a while, I’d still see it in a heart-beat!


The point is there are lots of possibilities for these CarsToons, Toy Story Toons, or series for other Pixar films if the conclusion is ever made. You don’t need a full-fledged adventure just to make your fans happy. Sometimes just seeing Woody and Buzz playing a game of chess or something can be a million times better than having to save him if he was recalled.

Not to mention, if Pixar does make series like these for other Pixar films, they might come across an idea so big they would have no choice but to make it into a feature. Pixar never makes a sequel unless it is just as good as or better than the original film (and so far that tradition has been made true).

Last year Up was nominated for the Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature, Best Score, Best Sound Editing, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Picture. That was last year.

Last year we had Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Bastards, District 9, and tons of other films that were outstanding. 2010 will be known forever as one of the most disappointing and all around worst years for films. There have been a few good films, but none have been Oscar-worthy besides Toy Story 3.

As it stands, Inception and The Social Network are the only films that have a chance, while Kick Ass, Scott Pilgrim, and Shutter Island don’t have the same universal appeal as these two, and at this rate How to Train Your Dragon may even be nominated for Best Picture.

2010 may be the year Pixar finally wins the Best Picture award, and if it doesn’t then they can count the Best Screenplay award in the bag. I’ve already described how personal Toy Story 3 is to me, and in a way this may also describe the connection with Toy Story and Pixar themselves.

As Woody says good bye to Andy a generation of fans have ended their cycles. At that moment I say good bye to my childhood, fans say good bye to the trilogy they’ve come to love over a period of nearly 15 years. At that moment Pixar says good bye to Toy Story, the franchise that introduced them to the world and helped them achieve the world-wide status they now own.

Every year one film comes along that stands above the rest, but even then, the films that represent the years they were released in can be ranked into a certain order. Only a small handful of films can be picked out as the best of the best. Films that are not only good in quality, but inspire generations of films after it. It takes a lot to have something originally considered as mild entertainment and to change the world.

There have been good examples of this and bad. Certain movies have inspired entire theme parks designed after them that bring happiness to millions of people every year. Books like “The Catcher in the Rye” have distributed thoughts into countless people that were inspired by it. Some have been inspired to be great people and to pronounce their plans for changing the world; others have been driven to murder.

Movies like Casablanca, Psycho, Jaws, Star Wars, and Snow White and the Seven Dwarves can all be considered some of the most influential pieces of art ever conceived. They have not only inspired people, but countless movies after them that went on to become even greater. The fact that almost all movies I have mentioned in this tribute have created feelings like this is outstanding, but it is even more incredible when you realize all the films have been created by the same band of people.

I believe Jeff Garlin said it best during an interview when he stated, "Please, its Pixar... They make the best movies in the world!" This is why Toy Story 3 among all the other Pixar films stands above the rest. By this point Pixar has extended the realm of simple entertainment. Now, Pixar has created something that has changed the world, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I give Toy Story 3 five tear-stained strawberry scented tissues out of four. *****