Short Review: If you ignore the lack of humor, originality or actual content, you will probably enjoy this, at least for a while.



This is content-free movie making. There is nothing at the heart of this essentially unnecessary sequel to Toy Story. It is a series of perils and little else. Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jesse along with their cadre of other old toys have been discarded for years as their owner Andy has grown up. Andy is now moving out to college and his toys have been donated to a daycare center.


The daycare center is run by a cruel teddy bear named Lotso. Lotso condemns the new arrivals to live in the toddler's room where the children play too rough and torment their toys. Woody who gets separated from the others comes to the rescue of his friends. This leads to him sneaking around, chase sequences and other visually grabbing moments. What is missing is a point. There is plenty that happens throughout the movie but very little that has any real value other than just sitting there and taking it in.

Yes, I understand I'm talking about a movie with talking toys.

Even kids movies have a point and can be told with proper, solid stories. The original Toy Story had some depth, not much, but enough. Woody faced being replaced, forgotten in his own time. The juxtaposition between the old-fashioned (Woody) and the new and improved (Buzz Lightyear) was a strong place from which to write. There were issues regarding one's purpose, friendship and judging others.


In this outing, there are fleeting moments where content could have been inserted but those moments remained empty. Instead we are given toys that shout about their desire not to be thrown out. The loud protests cover the fact that there is nothing really going on in the characters.

I can recommend this film, but not strongly. It is enjoyable, the characters are still likable and the filmmakers have some inventiveness. My recommendation in place, I will say that you shouldn't expect to be blown away. This is not a great movie. It's barely a good one. It is lukewarm, but in a summer of dead cold productions - lukewarm is pretty good.


Worldview:

Given that these are talking toys, the theological musings are kept to a minimum. Woody does commit himself to his duty to Andy. He knows his purpose in life and sticks to the plan, even when everything looks hopeless. He is right to do so.

There are a couple of interesting moments beyond Woody's denial of his self-interest. The display of Ken, I found to be interesting. Ken, Barbie's accessory, is shown to be a sissy-boy who likes clothes, fancy things and ascots. He is not a man's man. This fact is routinely exploited for laughs. In our politically correct society, this mockery is not common, and in my book - very welcome. They actually make an appropriate cross-dressing joke (that sounds worse than it is). This is a good thing. Anything that reinforces the fact of gender roles in our debased society is a good thing.


The other item I noted is the overall anti-authoritarian slant of the storyline. The daycare is lorded over by Lotso, a thuggish teddy bear. The toys fight to escape his clutches. The toys loathe being controlled and long to live free to be themselves, to fulfill their passion to be useful (i.e. be played with). This is a nice message supporting the idea that we have a point in life beyond being tools for the State. We have a purpose and are happiest when we spend our existence exploring that reason for being.

One final note in this section, the Lotso character plays differently today than he would have just three years ago. After the Bush-era, it is odd to have an authoritarian figure on screen without some clunky reference to Bush/Cheny. I found myself waiting for that political boot to drop - it never did. My flinching, waiting to be hit with an agenda, reminded me of how ingrained the politics of filmmakers have gotten into their works. Maybe since a liberal is in office, perhaps we can finally relax and enjoy entertainers getting back to entertaining, at least until election season kicks in again.

Cautions:

This is Pixar so there is no critical cautions for parents. I will say that there are a few moments of deep peril that may be a bit much for the younger and/or more sensitive kids. There is also a scary monkey - he freaked out my six-year-old.




Related Reviews:
Pixar movies
Cars (2006)
The Incredibles (2004)


Other Critic's Reviews:
Christianity Today
The Film Reel


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Labels: animated, film, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton, movie review, Ned Beatty, Pixar, Tim Allen, Tom Hanks