The Toy Story trilogy (1995-2010)

Yesterday, I finally had the chance to witness the third, and hopefully final act of Pixar's epic masterwork, the Toy Story trilogy. I say finally, because I cannot believe that I wasn't there on opening day. My first memory of a film was Toy Story. My first memory of a movie theater was Toy Story 2. The series is one of the films, along with Rashomon, Seven Samurai, Wild Strawberries, Vertigo, The Wizard of Oz, The Maltese Falcon, Pulp Fiction, and 8 1/2 that I hold responsible for my love of cinema. These are not my absolute favorite films of all time, nor would it be my ballot for the sight and sound poll, but they are the ones that made me grow as a cinephile. I would like to offer up my spoiler-ridden thoughts on the three films.

Toy Story: Toy Story is about people growing up, and coming to terms with who they are. The two leads have an idea of who they are, and are heartbroken when they come to be mistaken. The first is Woody, the favorite toy and their leader. As the favorite toy of owner Andy, he commands the respect and admiration of the other toys. Then, Andy gets Buzz, an electronic toy with wings and a laser-light. He immediately impresses the group of toys, taking attention from Woody. What follows is a montage of Buzz Lightyear memorabilia replace the space formerly held by Woody-based decor. It is symbolic, of the shift in the early '60s, from a fascination with our history, the western to our future, space exploration. Woody's jealousy over his apparent aging leads to an attempt to hurt Buzz, which turns the crowd against him. He is no longer the favorite toy, and he thinks he can change that. Buzz, the new favorite toy, is not happy about his status in the toy world. In fact, he is not even aware of it. It is his firm beief that he is a space ranger from Star Command, who's job it is to battle and defeat the Evil Emporer Zurg, sworn enemy of the galactic alliance. Then, he happens upon a commercial for the Buzz Lightyear action figure. His revelation represents the intellectual journey of a child. He is not a space ranger, just as there is no Santa Claus. At this point, the two bond over their inferiority complexes and learn to help each other. In Woody's abscence, Andy renews his love for Woody who becomes equal to Buzz in power. It could be seen by some as a cop-out on the part of the creators. They would be incorrect. In the movie world, characters should be rewarded for their emotional growth. Woody goes through hell, the inferno of Sid Phillips' playtime, not to mention the temporary loss of his friends and his world of favoritism coming to an end. He deserves a break.

Toy Story 2: In the beginning of the first installment, Buzz only knew of his mythology, but had no knowledge of being a toy. Woody, on the other hand, knew that he was a toy, but had no familiarity with his back-story. Here, he gets acquainted with the story of Sherrif Woody. But first, we get to see how the relationship of Buzz and Woody has changed. In the beginning, Woody was an elderly statesman going through a mid-life crisis, and Buzz was practically a child, ignorant of who he really was. Now, they have become equals, friends, brothers. Which brings me to to the main theme of the story, family. Woody is kidnapped by Al, proprieter of Al's Toy Barn, and ripped away from his family of Andy, Buzz, Hamm, Mr. Potatoe Head, Hamm, and Rex, among others. There, at Al's home, he meets another family, the family created for him of Jessie, Bullseye, and of course, Stinky Pete the Prospector. The end of the union of these two as Andy's toys (with the exception of Stinky Pete) represents a marriage of the two families.

Toy Story 3: This fable could only have come after 11 years. It is aware of the nostalgia of the audience and it preys upon it. As Andy prepares for college, he comes across his long-forgotten toys. It is safe to say that many of the people in the seats in the theaters have not watched either Toy Story or Toy Story 2 in a long while with the recent Pixar "renaissance" of sorts in the last three films (not to say that they are better, but definately stranger and more acclaimed). The passionate hand of John Lasseter was replaced by younger Lee Unkrich, needed for a film that recognizes nostalgia and tells us all to move on. Tropes and traditions from the first two (i.e. moving between places under cones or soda bottles, and references to classic blockbusters) and instead shows that Pixar and the toys have grown along with the audience. Despite a more blockbuster-esque opening sequence, the frequent Lucas/Spielberg references are replaced by references to films we all watch when we get older. Pixar's themes have grown, and their characters have grown much more. They are not just adults, but they are old. Many of them have been thrown out (death?). Those who remain are accidentally put in their retirement home, the Sunnyside Daycare Center. Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear and Ken, two of the villains are Kaspar Gutman and Joel Cairo straight out of The Maltese Falcon, the evil, charismatic fat man, and is extremely effeminate inferior. Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear is also a very Steinbeckian character in his history with Daisy, Big Baby and Chuckles the clown; a back-story full of lies and familial betrayal. They need to escape from the day care run by the fat man and his evil strwberry scent. Like the first installment, we go through hell. All we want is a little security for these toys, and Mr. Unkrich and the Pixar gang grant us that in the form of young Bonnie. Just like Lasseter to Unkrich, Andy has passed on the baton.

Final Thoughts: As a three-part epic, I would argue for Toy Story as the great magnum opus of feature-length animated storytelling.

My Favorite Films: Le Cercle Rouge (1970)

What better way to kick off the blog then a review of the film from which it takes its namesake.

The head of my high school film club said early in the year that "cinema is a lie." According to that rule Jean-Pierre Melville establishes this film as cinematic in the same way he did in his earlier film, Le Samouraï. He utilizes a false quote attributed to the Buddha, Siddharta Gautama.

The quote is: "When men, even unknowingly, are to meet one day, whatever may befall each, whatever the diverging paths, on the said day, they will inevitably come together in the red circle." Like many French directors of the '60s, Melville is not concerned with the real world or its logic in a film. What is important to him is the romantic masculinity of the characters, and the emotional response of the audience.


SPOILERS. From now on, no plot detail will be spared. Just watch the film. It is an all-time favorite.


Loyalty is an the ever important theme of the film. It is perhaps most evident in Yves Montand's Jansen. He is set up in his earliest scenes as a drugged-out, former policeman, who was friendly to criminals. He had no real loyal ties. He worked for both the law and for crime. Loyalty is certainly a huge part of Melville's paradigm of manhood. He was unable to give it to the law, so Melville gives him a second chance for redemption by giving his ties to crime.


Even some characters who do things that work against the protagonists show a certain sense of loyalty. the character of criminal-friendly club-owner Santi is wwanted by the police to inform them. They attempt to imprison his son in order to blackmail him, and he finally gives in. It may appear that he is betraying his comrades, but he was really being faced with an important dilemma. He had to choose between his family, and his friends. As he should, he demonstrates a greater dedication to his family.


Many characters in Melville's film can be considered professionals. Alain Delon's Corey's first mission after his release from prison is to return to crime. Melville admires a dedication, whatever it may be. It just so happens that Corey's dedication is to crime. Melville's heist scene, like Jules Dassin's notorious heist scene from Rififi, lasts nearly half an hour without a single spoken word. The characters do not need to speak, they know what they are doing, and do not need further instruction.

Montand's Jansen, on the other hand, does not have that same sense of duty to his work. Aside from his duplicitous way of working, he is first shown hallucinating on unnamed drugs. They haved crippled his work ethic, which he must earn back. During the heist scene, he has a rifle mounted on a tripod. He proceeds to remove the rifle, and then fire. He is hired to shoot a target perfectly, and he hits it. Proving his ability as a professional.


The police in the film are portrayed as the antithesis of Melville's masculine ideal of loyalty, honesty, and professionalism. They succeed at the latter, while abondoning the two others. In the end, they catch the theives, but they imploy blackmail (of Santi), and espionage when Bourvil pretends to be a jeweler to Corey. These tactics prove a theory given by the chief of police in the film: everyone is guilty.