By now, it is probably safe to assume that everyone who cares has seen the touching ending of Toy Story 3, the first animated feature to earn over $1 billion at the box office (imdb.com). It is time, therefore, to set that movie and its two predecessors in the only context that today’s superiority-obsessed society can understand: ranked. What is the order of greatness of Pixar’s greatest franchise?
#3: Toy Story 2. Yes, the current record-holder for most favorable reviews on Rottentomatoes.com, with an astounding 100%, comes in third on this list. There is nothing wrong with Toy Story 2, but it didn’t break the barriers that its predecessor did, nor did it rip the hearts out of its audience with the most soul-wrenching ending in recent memory, as its sequel did. A tear-inducing Sarah MacLaughlin ballad midway through is not enough to place this movie above its more worthy brethren.
Sophomore Jacob Ryave asserts that, “The first one was absolutely fantastic, but the second one is very close because of the additions of Bullseye and Jessie.”
#2: Toy Story 3. After an 11-year hiatus, during which time Pixar entertained movie audiences with such gems as Up, Wall-E and Ratatouille, the movie studio returned to the franchise that had put it on the map, and the result was only the second animated movie to ever be nominated for Best Picture (Oscars.org). Between the dark and often ridiculous humor and the tragic backstory of the franchise’s first toy villain (Stinky Pete notwithstanding), elements of Toy Story 3 make it a powerful contender for best-in-series. But a forgettable supporting cast keeps the film from reaching its full potential, despite its best-in-series ending. With a 99% rating on Rottentomatoes.com, the film is somehow the lowest-rated by critics.
Freshman Devan Zalla enjoyed the movie, saying, “All were good, but it’s obvious the third was superior. The third had the most plot development of all of them and made a wonderful coming of age story.”
Junior Dan Ryave had a more controversial take on the newest Toy Story, saying, “it was one of the worst children’s movies I have ever seen. It was sad, scary, and quite frankly, very similar to the story of the Holocaust.”
#1: Toy Story. This may look like an overly nostalgic look back, but Toy Story forever altered the landscape of visual entertainment. No feature-length movie or video game had ever captured the look it offered, and it opened the floodgates for copycat studios (Dreamworks especially) to push their own CGI movies into the marketplace. Everyone who grew up with Toy Story can easily recall its iconic story, and such lines as, “To infinity, and beyond!” “You are a child’s plaything!” and “The claw!” have become deeply ingrained in our collective consciousness (brainyquote.com). In short, Toy Story is a great classic that both reinvented an industry and left an indelible mark on the world. And obviously is the best in the series.
Fans of the first installment in the series include Dan “The first one!” Ryave, Kurt “First!” de Fiebre, and Mike “The first because it was first” Boyas, but all (apart from Dan) share a love of the entire series, a good sign that Pixar’s charm has not diminished with time.