Tangled

A-
Review Pending

Toy Story 3

A

Another home run for Pixar! They just can't make a bad film. This is the third movie in the Toy Story franchise and it blew my socks off. I kind of feel like I grew up with these toys/characters and their owner Andy. I was worried about how they were going to wrap it all up, afraid that however it ended it would be dissatisfying.

With their beloved Andy preparing for college, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), and the rest of the toys find themselves dumped in day care. Unfortunately, the uncontrollable urchins do not play nice, so woody and the gang make plans for a great escape.

I can definitely say that it was very satisfying. The animation is, again, a step forward T(their animated humans are more lifelike than ever). The story was funny, charming, clever, and heartfelt. I loved it. I highly recommend it for everyone, especially fans of the first two.

Wall-e

Grade: A-

Visually stunning with a touching story. I (and more importantly my 3 and 7 year old kids) loved this movie. Pixar has done it again! I am amazed how they can continually reinvent the genre to avoid stagnating.

In the distant future, the Earth has become uninhabitable. WALL-E, short for Waste Allocation Load Lifter Earth-Class, is the last robot left on Earth. He spends his days tidying up the planet, one piece of garbage at a time. But after 700 years, WALL-E has developed a personality, and he's more than a little lonely. Then he spots EVE (Elissa Knight), a sleek and shapely probe sent back to Earth on a scanning mission. Smitten, WALL-E embarks on his greatest adventure yet when he follows EVE across the galaxy.

The overarching message is one of love which is displayed on many levels: artificially intelligent machines learning to love each other, people learning to love each other, and people learning to love the planet. In addition to the environmental message, we find a humorous social commentary on sedentary life. The animation was incredible. I was surprised at how much emotion the animators could evoke from robots who don't even really speak. The first 30 - 45 minutes was almost entirely dialogue free, but it was still mesmerizing to watch. I recommend this film for kids, parents of kids, Earth-lovers, and hopeless romantics. (If all you care about is action and blowing up stuff, then maybe this is not the movie for you, even though there are a few explosions.)