Toy Story 3

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by Strangler Lewis

The better and more realistic ending: the toys go to a toy drive, and each poor kid who participates gets a toy. The toys get separated, but to a good and necessary end.

One can imagine the Pixar crowd doing an animated Fiddler on the Roof but changing the ending so that instead of dispersing, the entire village of Anatevka goes to live with Eloise at the Plaza. The better to make Fiddler 2.

You got me to laugh with the Fiddler joke but I'm still interested in your grudge against the "toys stay together" concept. Since the very beginning of the series they have harped on the concept of the toys being friends and helping each other through everything. "You've Got a Friend In Me" isn't just Andy and Woody, it's Woody and Buzz, and all the rest. No matter where they ended up, if they had been separated it would have been a sad ending.

I'm intrigued that you think it's "unfair" that Bonnie gets more toys when she already has some. "Andy learns of the plight of toyless children and is moved" doesn't sound like fun to me. Wall-E got bogged down in similar horrifically sad concepts. As I said before, the movie celebrates a certain type of consumerist childhood, one which millions of us grew up in, and we don't have to feel guilty about it.

In case you think I had a few too many toys myself - my first toys were cardboard oatmeal canisters and cereal boxes. My parents were not well off, and I remember those days clearly. Yes, I did end up accumulating quite the pile of plastic over the years, thanks in large part to yard sales and hand-me-downs, (augmented by birthdays and Hanukkah gifts of course) and only years after I was Bonnie's age. I do not begrudge her the toys at all. I'm glad she is living in that lovely house full of fun, even in the face of other children playing with whatever their parents can pull together for them.

[innerSpaceman]

I agree about Lotso being pretty much a Stinky Pete retread, too. But perhaps since I don't recall there being a Stinky backstory, Lotso struck me as different enough once his motivations were made clear.

I don't much care for TS2, so perhaps Stinky Pete did have a backstory ... but Lotso's added some pathos to his character that I don't recall feeling for Stinky Pete.



Ok, if Strangler Lewis wants a sad ending, that's his perogative. But the ending was one of the best movie endings I've ever seen, and I think the world pretty much agrees. For once (and it takes one to know one), I can point at someone else and scream, "CURMUDGEON!"

[Chernabog]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

I can point at someone else and scream, "CURMUDGEON!"

Pfffft. I can point at Brad and say "Queen!" but it don't make our conversations in Margo Channing-speak any less queenier

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

Do you folks think Big Baby is creepy because of the Uncanny Valley or some other reason?

I think Baby is creepy because I find those bedraggled baby dolls creepy IRL. I never really owned one, so maybe that's why. I had my share of loved-to-death toys but they weren't the soft-bodied, hard-limbed, blinky eye babies.

[I Heart Disneyland!]

Originally Posted by Cadaverous Pallor

I think Baby is creepy because I find those bedraggled baby dolls creepy IRL. I never really owned one, so maybe that's why. I had my share of loved-to-death toys but they weren't the soft-bodied, hard-limbed, blinky eye babies.

Same here!! (And, I do lump Chatty Cathy in that category--she too was creepy even though I still have her.) You described my baby doll nightmares in perfect detail! When I was little...my parents had to remove my doll bed out of my bedroom for me to fall asleep. I was scared of them at night! Maybe Pixar has something here!

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Ok, if Strangler Lewis wants a sad ending, that's his perogative. But the ending was one of the best movie endings I've ever seen, and I think the world pretty much agrees. For once (and it takes one to know one), I can point at someone else and scream, "CURMUDGEON!"

You've convinced me. Most emotionally satisfying ending since "Cocoon." And, here's the good news. Me, my wife and kids are all becoming Mormons, so we can dwell in heaven as an eternal family. You may wish to do the same.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

There's the weird thing with a cute, lovable toy being a villain.

You can meet Lotso and get a pic with him, not to mention that you can buy Lotso as a buddy, not a nemesis for Woody. He talks and does a million other things and costs 50 bucks...which sucks since it doesn't really match the Lotso from the film. In any case it makes me wonder what children think of the dynamic of Lotso. Perhaps since Lotso was replaced it's easier to think of the Lotso in your arms as being a good one? I mean, he did actually feed the heroes into a furnace. It's a lot to bounce back from.

Smelling like strawberries probably helps.

[scaeagles]

Well, I think it clear that mass manufactured toys have their own differing personalities. Space Ranger Buzz v. Buzz the Toy v. Spanish Buzz would seem to imply that just because you have a toy that might look the same as another toy doesn't mean they act the same.

Sounds like blatant toyism to me, CP.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by scaeagles

Well, I think it clear that mass manufactured toys have their own differing personalities. Space Ranger Buzz v. Buzz the Toy v. Spanish Buzz would seem to imply that just because you have a toy that might look the same as another toy doesn't mean they act the same.

Sounds like blatant toyism to me, CP.

I learned a lesson today in open-mindedness.