This afternoon I enjoyed the first showing of the Toy Story/Toy Story 2 double feature in Disney Digital 3-D at the local multiplex, coincidentally the same theatre I saw Toy Story 2 in ten years ago, which somehow seems a little bit like last week in my mind.Not having seen the films in the longest time (in anticipation of the re-release), I was struck by how simple and yet mature the stories are, almost like I had never seen them before. Pixar's been doing it since the very beginning indeed. And re-rendered, both films looked just as good as they had been made this year.
I had to work afterwards, but the movies stuck with me. To my amusement/horror, I found myself humming "When She Loved Me" from '2'. The emotional punch that scene packs is still incredible after all these years, and especially so.
The overall experience of seeing both these classic films in 3-D, on the big screen, back-to-back, was naturally wonderful. The 3-hour runtime was a huge treat, in fact. This, of course, will be the last chance for the public to experience these films in this way for a very long time, maybe forever.
Really, the only thing I didn't like was that at the screening I went to they played the Toy Story 3 teaser rather than the new trailer we've been waiting months to see. Ahh!!! Oh well, at least I have something to look forward to for the week after next.
If Toy Story/Toy Story 2 in 3-D meets with box office success, expect to see digital 3-D re-releases of Pixar's other classics announced. Hollywood trade publication Variety is calling the double feature a "testing ground for Disney's back catalog getting the 3D treatment."
Until then, it's on to Toy Story 3, which those involved say will be just as enjoyable and "startling" as the first two films. To infinity and beyond!
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19 comments:
"Really, the only thing I didn't like was that at the screening I went to they played the Toy Story 3 teaser rather than the new trailer we've been waiting months to see. Ahh!!!"
WHAT?!? I am so freaking scared now! I have to see that trailer! Lee Unkrich said it would be attached! Waaaaaahhhhhh!!!
Okay, sorry...
Glad you enjoyed it regardless, and I still can't wait! (even though I'm scared out of my mind now)
Glad to hear you had a good time. I enjoy your entries all immensely, especially ones like these where they're sort of a "formal review". Very nice. Aww, they didn't show the trailer for you?! Darn... hope they show it for me when I catch it next week. Anyway, the anticipation of seeing these is killing me, but I guess it's just building up suspense. ;)
My only fear is that, now that the Toy Story films are being shown to the public, that nasty Rotten Reviews will have another big chance to pop up and ruin the movies' perfect scores of Rotten Tomatoes. (though, the TS2 one already had it at 99% because of a miscalculation...)
I'll finally get to see it tomorrow
(saturday). I kinda wish I could see it in the same theater I saw toy story 2 10 years back, but that theater went out of business.
Also, I heard that support for future 3d conversions at Disney went out the door with Dick Cook. I hope this is wrong though.
"My only fear is that, now that the Toy Story films are being shown to the public, that nasty Rotten Reviews will have another big chance to pop up and ruin the movies' perfect scores of Rotten Tomatoes."
Gah, me too. I don't think its fair, they should get their own separate listings for the 3d versions, because like it or not these are not the same movies anymore, with the subtle tweaks that have been made. and a lot of people would love nothing more than to diss this due to their deep seated hatred of all movies in 3D. not to mention times are just different these days, you have people who love to go against the grain for the heck of it.
Sorry for the third comment in a row, but I just wanted to pop in and rely what Lee unkrich said via twitter. He says those of you who did not get the TS3 trailer should tell him the name and location of the theater and he'll "correct" them. I cant help but laugh at the correct in quotes. guess he'll rip them a new one for screwing up.
My theater showed the teaser instead of the new trailer too. I was so mad.
I can't find anywhere here in Australia that they're playing, so I guess it's not coming here.
What does "re-rendering" achieve? Are there new textures? Or is it just a cleaner image?
Just an FYI about the missing TS3 trailers...if you contact Lee Unkrich on twitter (@leeunkrich) with the theatre and city he's said they will 'correct' them. Sounds like a lot of theatres are messing up!!
If you see it and it doesn't have the new TS3 trailer contact Lee Unkrich! I'm serious! He's taking names and locations of theaters playing the wrong trailer on twitter.com/leeunkrich so Pixar can "correct them."
Well, I have kinda the opposite problem. The theater I went to (Century 14 Walnut Creek) showed the new Toy Story 3 trailer, but we didn't get any of the new stuff during the intermission. No timer, no trivia, no games. Just the same exact trailers we had seen before the first film (Astro Boy, Planet 51, A Christmas Carol, Despicable Me, Where The Wild Things Are.)
The TS3 trailer stole the show. I'd pay full admission just to see it. The movies were brilliant too, they looked great in 3D.
Do you know when are we going to see a new Toy Story 3 trailer?
If you tweet @LeeUnkrich, maybe he can do something about that trailer problem. Apparently many people have had that problem!
The AMC-Pleasure Island theater in Lake Buena Vista, FL was showing the full Toy Story 3 trailer with the double feature. On Lee Unkrich's Twitter, he gives the impression that all theaters should be showing the full trailer, and that attaching the teaser to some of them was an accident that they're trying to correct.
It was wonderful to sit and watch the shows in the theater again. For my 12 year old daughter, she barely remembers seeing Toy Story 2 in the theater, and for my 6 and 4 year olds, it was their first opportunity ever to see them in the theater. It was great, and the Toy story 3 trailer was fantastic, I can't wait for June 18th!
At least some of you saw a trailer. there was NO Toy Story 3 trailer AT ALL during the previews! I'm probably going to see it again though, and hopefully they'll have SOMETHING.
Saw it with my 3 year old son (we're both die-hards fans of all things Pixar, and he sat through all of Wall-e, including credits at age two). We loved it all, and got to see the full trailer for TS3 (excellent) as well as the funny intermission gags. The details I saw in the big screen versions was really refreshing, esp. after having seen both at least 20 times each over the years.
Wow. Just got back from seeing this, here are my thoughts.
Pixar has, without a doubt, retained its charm throughout the many years it has stood strong. After this year's Up and last year's WALL-E outtings, it's good to just sit back and enjoy some of their earlier films like this. And, as much as I try to avoid clichés in writing, they're better than I remember!
The re-rendering makes textures, lighting, etc. on both films look much better than before; though it's more noticable with the first movie. The faces of the humans look a good deal better, as well. And this goes without saying, that the two movies are spectacular. Inbetween them is a 10-minute intermission where you can watch Toy Story Trivia and answer questions, theatre-styled. Most questions are easy, though you have to remember that the point of the Double-Feature was so that new audiences could experience the films on the big screen. There's also a bit of nice, new 2-D animation that plays before the movies start, with a bit of a Mary Blair-ish flair to them, at least color-wise.
And of course, there's the big question of how they looked in 3-D. Like Up, the 3-D was used to enhance the experience, the moods and the scenes, and never at times seemed gimmicky or overdone. The car chase scene in the first film, in particular, looked spectacular with the new 3-D effects.
The trailer attached for "Toy Story 3" was also amazing, and much better than I anticipated. It starts with home videos of Andy playing with his toys, and then it shows him now, a young adult, with his mother telling him that he can only bring one toy with him to college. Naturally, all the toys panic, and Mr. Potato Head cracks a joke about how much they'd sell for on eBay (in the spirit of Peach's line from Finding Nemo). Buzz accidentally gets set to Spanish-speaking mode by the end of the trailer as it presents us with the catchphrase for the upcoming threequel, "No toy gets left behind." A fitting statement.
It was a very enjoyable theatre experience, and well-worth the money if you're a big fan of these films or have never seen them before or in theatres. Highly recommended, as this may be the last time we get to see the movies on the big screen....
And a great review was left by Leirin...
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