Think. Again.

Why "Toy Story 3" Is Level With "Wall-E" and is the best animated movie of all time!

It has been awhile since I posted anything on this blog but here goes. For the year 2010, Summer Movies are always the time to look forward to. It is a "season" of seeing beloved film-makers showcase their masterpiece to audiences world-wide. PIXAR does it year after year again. After a slightly down to Earth "Up", I felt that 2010's "Toy Story 3" may not be a winner since trilogies usually don't fare too well, especially the third of the final three parts. PIXAR has delivered time after time again. They are the most consistent movie studio on the planet. 2010 may just de-throne that.

First of all, "Toy Story" was epic. It was in 1995 that it became the first ever full 3D animated movie to be released in cinemas. The groundbreaking word done was a stepping stone for other movie studious such as Dreamworks Animation and of course PIXAR themselves. This movie was such a success, others wanted to follow up. And they didn't fare too well. PIXAR then released "A Bug's Life". Again, they surpassed all expectations. From toys to bugs, they did it brilliantly. Audiences were believing that PIXAR had that magic touch. And lightning struck twice here. Then it was time for a sequel. "Toy Story 2" was hailed as even better than the first film - - an impossible feat considering how successful "Toy Story" was. PIXAR is now regarded as the movie studio to produce the best 3D animated flicks.

I dare not say this, but here goes - - I wasn't fond of 3D flicks. I never watched them in cinemas. I never really liked them. But PIXAR's magic was something you couldn't turn a deaf ear. After the sequel, it was time to give audiences something fresh in the form of "Monsters, Inc.". Ah... I remember watching it on a 'non-genuine' video disc. It was blurry and the sound was off. But I enjoyed it so much. The thought of watching these flicks in cinemas got to me. Not just yet. It took a further two movies to convince me. "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles" were next. "Finding Nemo" was beautiful. I remembered every scene of it. "The Incredibles" is the only PIXAR film I have never watched. Why? Because it was a time when there were other 3D animated movies. I still wasn't in that PIXAR-movie-this-year-must-watch! mode yet. But the reception that "The Incredibles" got was enough to finally make me go to the cinema for the PIXAR film.

"Cars" was PIXAR's 2006 film. After a two-year gap since the last film, it was hailed as "great but not magical". Watching it in the cinema, I thoroughly loved it, but felt it relied too much on having to try on getting the audiences hooked on the 'emotional' side of things. "Cars" tried a lot, it worked and it didn't. Still, it was a huge success.

What happened after "Cars" is something the world won't forget. The world just wasn't ready for it. They had no idea what PIXAR had been cooking up. Pun intended.

"Ratatouille" was PIXAR's greatest at that point. It was utterly beautiful and absolutely crushed every other 3D flick ever made that year and the years before, PIXAR included. It shattered expectations and it blew me away. It made me wonder - - how did they do it. It was a movie that is leaps and bounds ahead of other 3D flicks. It was the first PIXAR film I rated near perfect score.

When "Ratatouille" was released, the teaser for "Wall-E" got me. It felt at that time the next PIXAR movie was something different altogether. I eagerly waited for 2008's PIXAR film. In Malaysia, the movie was released months later to coincide with the school holidays. It was a painful wait. The reviews were all out. They were, how to put, perfect. Not a single score was out of place. I couldn't believe it. Could "Wall-E" actually be better than "Ratatouille". No way. At the Oscars, "Ratatouille" won Best Animated Feature.

Finally watched "Wall-E" when it was released locally. After leaving the cinema, I told myself "This is the best animated movie I have ever seen." Nothing. Else. Mattered. Nothing. Yes, "Toy Story" was epic, and that the films that followed from PIXAR were great but this... this was beyond that.

"Wall-E" took me to a place that was both beautiful and dillipated. Earth was dillipated. Space was beautiful. The humans were fat, and the robots were servants. How could a non-verbal speaking robot convince audiences to fell the emotions and action? "Wall-E"s magic lied in the sounds of the movie. Every beep and blop. Every electronic device. Every sound was the life of the movie. In fact, the first cast credited as 'starring' in the movie was Ben Burtt. That's right - the sound designer. He was the star of the movie. Little did I know that Lee Unkrich was also part of "Wall-E"s direction but was not credited. A bit on this dude later. "Wall-E" won Best Animated feature at the Oscars. TIME magazine hailed "Wall-E" as one of the best movies of the decade. Damn right.

In "2009", PIXAR released "Up". Hailed another 'first' for PIXAR, released in 3D and featured human characters ("The Incredibles" were 'superheroes' and "Wall-E" humans were 'another dimension of humans'). "Up" had the first human characters that were grounded solid as 'real humans' with 'real emotions'. No fakery or magical powers or in-space bloatness. Carl Fredricksen was the main character. It was about an elderly who missed the things he cherished in life so much, and to only find it later in a boy that had somehow mistakenly entered his life. It was a heart-warming story filled with adventure. It was a movie that PIXAR could only do. The movie worked. But because of how ridiculously good "Wall-E" was, I still had that feeling that "Up" was great but never magical. It had the warmth that grew on you, a feeling that is rekindled when you watch the movie knowing that one day you will lose the ones you love. It was a movie that will always be great but not superior. It overwhelmed critics and was so well received, it won the Oscar for Best Animated feature. Third time in a row. Now that's PIXAR for you.

Ah... finally 2010. "Toy Story 3" was released. I shrugged it off. "Yeah, but I don't know how will it be great." Why? Because it is the last part of a trilogy and we all know - - the film makers want it to better than the previous two. OK, here is the thing. The first two, were among the finest. You couldn't put a foot wrong in the first two films. They were too good to be made 'better'. No way. An impossible feat for director "Lee Unkrich".

How could I be wrong? "Toy Story 3"s early reviews were positive. Well, perfectly. I could not believe it. 20 reviews. Perfect. 40 review. Perfect. 100 reviews. Perfect! Oh my goodness. This is all before I watched the movie myself. This is not possible... over a hundred reviews and it was perfect on RottenTomatoes.com. Then I got the chance to watch it myself (in 3D).

I left the theatre and... was completely overwhelmed with emotions. "Toy Story 3" was not only the best animated movie of all time, it was the best movie of the year. It literaly beat every other movie, kids and adults alike, out there, squarely. It was a movie that was unlike anything PIXAR had delivered. It was first of all, familiar. Returning characters and voices. Then it was the last in a trilogy. And it had a story that will make you weep. That's right, weep. Well, maybe not but it will choke you to want to weep. I know I did.

"Toy Story 3" now is the most beloved animated movie ever. PIXAR had done it. After Dreamworks "How to Train Your Dragon", this movie is absolutely better than that and all the rest. I hailed it as the best movie of the year and the best animated movie ever. Yes. It sits pretty with "Wall-E". It is sitting with it. No other animated movie sits with "Wall-E". But this one does. I gave it a splendid 9.5/10. I later agreed wholeheartedly to give a full 10/10 after watching it... a second time. That's right. A first for me. Not only did I watch a PIXAR film, but I watched it twice. Wow.

And now... we look forward to the Oscars. Best Animated feature goes to, "Toy Story 3". Without doubt this will happen. I have nothing to lose to bet for this. PIXAR will win the Oscars again. "Lee Unkrich" is a God. Maybe. But he will be hailed as the director that has done the impossible. It is like climbing Everest barefoot twice in a row. Or rowing a boat with your hands down the Amazon river. Or swimming with sharks with fish taped onto your body. Maybe. But he has done it. Congratulations Lee. I can now safely say, "PIXAR, you are the best animation movie studio in the world." Nothing else can ever touch PIXAR. They are Gods.

Next, in 2011, is another sequel. This time to the great (but not so magical!) "Cars". "Cars 2" will be released in 2011. Then its "Brave" and "Monsters, Inc. 2". The movie "Newt" has been postponed, perhaps to give way to these two movies first, but work has apparently been halted. Don't worry, PIXAR knows best. Even if they scrap it, it matters not. They will give you the magic.... I know this because they gave me magic in 2007, 2008 and 2010.