Friday, July 02, 2010

Sob Story

THE new Toy Story movie is making grown men sob.

Dads taking their kids to see the third instalment of the adventures of cowboy Woody and space ranger Buzz Lightyear have been moved to tears by this 3D tale of forgotten toys - and even critics have been blubbing too.

Toy Story 3, from animation giants Pixar, has been top of the US box office for two weeks, taking £150million.

One Entertainment Weekly critic who welled up said: "I'm not talking about a tear or two - but that soppy, awkward thing where you make sounds."

And the New York Post's Lou Lumenick admitted: "It had me in tears."

And Dixon Gaines of movieline.com reckoned: "I was weeping buckets."

Here find out what happened when The Sun's GRANT ROLLINGS saw the movie, which is out here on July 12.

US reviewers are supposed to be trained professionals, able to keep a calm, critical eye on events unfolding on screen.

But if a film is doing its job properly, you should get caught up in the emotions of the characters.

And I admit there are some cinematic events that make me cry, such as children with terminal illnesses, dogs dying or the news Megan Fox wouldn't be returning for Transformers 3.

Toy Story 3, though, is on a different emotional level. It doesn't resort to the death of a loved one to wrench tears from the audience. Instead, it picks on long-forgotten losses - the passing of childhood and once beloved toys.

I can't remember being attached to any childhood toys, only the disappointment that I never got that Star Wars Millennium Falcon.

But still, I have to confess that I had to lift my 3D specs to dab my misty eyes during Toy Story 3.

In this adventure Woody's and Buzz's owner, Andy, is off to college.

Andy must decide whether to donate his toys, put them in the attic or dump them in the bin. He intends to take Woody with him and put the rest in the loft. But by a twist of fate all of the toys end up at Sunnyside day nursery.

What at first seems like a heaven-sent opportunity for the toys to get played with becomes a nightmare when they are bashed about by overactive tots.

And the initially welcoming toys, Lots-o'-Huggin'-Bear and Barbie's Ken, are not as friendly as they seem.

Yet the most heart-tugging scenes come near the end.

To say too much would ruin the film, but I can tell you the film will inevitably have you reminiscing lovingly about your own childhood.

I was also moved by a scene early on where Andy's mum stops and takes a moment to look at her son's empty room. It reminded me that my own children will have to leave home one sad day.

There is a very touching scene where the root of Lots-o'-Huggin'-Bear's anger is revealed. Also look out for a deep, tense moment when the toys link hands in the face of what seems to be imminent death.

But the truth is that Pixar have a long history of making me sob. I cried just as much over their brilliant films Up and WALL.E.
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/features/3038204/Toy-Story-or-Sob-Story.html#ixzz0sVrv4Wkw