Toy Story 4 - Cash Grab?

In a big surprise announcement last week, Pixar legend John Lasseter announced that a fourth feature length Toy Story was in the works and has been scheduled for release in 2017. There had been rumours spreading on the internet that a couple of months ago actor Tim Allen who voices Buzz Lightyear had agreed to a pre-contract with Pixar to sign up for a new Toy Story project. John Lasseter, who will director the new film, released a statement and said the following; 

"We love these characters so much; they are like family to us. We don't want to do anything with them unless it lives up to or surpasses what's gone before. 'Toy Story 3' ended with Woody and Buzz's story with Andy so perfectly that for a long time, we never even talked about doing another 'Toy Story' movie. But when Andrew, Pete, Lee and I came up with is new idea, I could not stop thinking about it. It was so exciting to me, I knew we had to make this movie and I wanted to direct it myself." 

 

Sounds promising. However as soon as the news was announced, film fans were immediately split on the studios decision to create another Toy Story sequel. Social media became an intense battlefield of divided opinions. Some fans expressed their delight at the plans for the iconic toy group to come back into theatres whilst others unleashed their fury, calling Disney and Pixar a boardroom of cash grabbing sellouts and are purely doing it for the benefit of their bank accounts. I can fully understand both sides of the argument. I can see why some fans are beaming with cheesy white smiles, Toy Story is a phenomenal creation and is a towering landmark in animation history. However the way that the third installment ended, smartly wrapping up a perfect conclusion to the story, I can see why people are quick to jump on Pixar's back. Here are my thoughts on the idea of Toy Story 4.

I love all the Toy Story films. They changed the way audiences viewed animated feature length productions. Family films which delve into more difficult adult themed topics such as jealously and being abandoned, consequential not feeling wanted. Pixar truly created magic twenty years ago and have continued to do so from that day onwards. What moment sticks with me the most was the conclusion to the third film. The trilogy showed the timeline of a boy who had a deep love for his toys as a child and how that love grew further apart the older he became and the strain that had on the toy's relationship with each other. At the end of Toy Story 3 when Andy passes his toys to a young child, he expresses his love for his childhood friends and how the memories will always stay him no matter how old he becomes and that is all his toys wanted to hear. That he still loves them. That ending reduced grown men to floods of tears. It was powerful, emotional and so beautifully told. Pixar produced the greatest ending to an animation I've ever witness. It was the perfect way to end the beloved characters journey. Incredible doesn't do it justice. So why would Pixar want to explore new territories with Woody, Buzz and the gang after ending on such a poignant high. John Lasseter statement doesn't make much sense. Pixar created the best ending to a trilogy possible, why bother making more Toy Story films? One word folks. Money.

I don't think John Lasseter intended to make a fourth Toy Story. The conclusion to the third film showed us that was the end to the characters story. It had gone full circle. I wouldn't be surprised if Disney executives were banging on Pixar's door everyday for the past 4 years to try and get a fourth installment into production. Toy Story as a franchise is a goldmine for Disney. It has generated more money than sense for the company. I believe this was fueled more by Disney for the purpose of increasing their already bulging bank account. Toy Story 3 made around a $750 million profit, a fair old amount. But is it a straight out cash grab? I don't think so.

A cash grab for example is a big studio making a small budget completely dreadful horror film, that sadly happens too often these days. A quick money making scheme with no thought nor effort hence creating a piece of garbage. Pixar sets far better standards than that (just forget Cars 2 for a sec!). They delivery quality for audiences and that's why we invested so much in their characters stories. In the interests of the original trilogy and how that story was told, I don't see a reason to expand upon that. I'd personally rather see an Incredibles 2 because I've only been waiting for a sequel 10 years! I don't see the necessity for a new Toy Story but money talks in the film industry. They couldn't care less about the fans interests, only the size of their wallets. Fair enough, it's a business. But Disney have been too greedy with Toy Story. Let Pixar create something else magical and not milk more money from a superb franchise which doesn't need to be touched anymore.

Interstellar - Film Review

Hooray!! This is it. The film I've been waiting for all year. Christopher Nolan's Interstellar staring Matthew McConaughey as Cooper, an astronaut assigned to search for a new habitable planet as Earth is no longer able to sustain human activity. Earth is now a dying planet, ravage by dust storms and with a limited food supply expected to run out within the next 30 years. NASA's head of operations Professor Brand (Michael Caine) explains to Cooper that a wormhole has been discovered near Saturn which allows the aircraft to be transported to another galaxy in the hope of finding a new planet and allowing the continuation of mankind. Cooper and his crew (Anne Hathaway, David Gyasi and Wes Bentley) embark on a quest to find this new world within a relative timescale and save the human race from extinction.

Christopher Nolan is a darling of the film critics and the film going community. In our eyes he seems to do no wrong. For all his flaws and problems, we gloss over them as he is a pioneer of cinema. He managed to adapt a well known comic book character Batman into a sublime trilogy which change the way we view comic book films. Subsequently the success of the Nolan Batman franchise has lead to studios attempting to copy his style in an attempt to rake in the cash. Dracula Untold which I reviewed not long ago tried to create a Nolan atmosphere giving the film a very serious dark tone which ultimately didn't work. Because the director wasn't Chris Nolan  His unique style is only something he can pull off and his box of tricks never gets tiring or repetitive. He's an explorer looking to push the boundaries and give the audience a memorable experience. He is the main selling point of a film and not many film makers can say that about themselves. A legend of modern cinema. Is Interstellar another Nolan mystery ride? Absolutely.

As per usual with a Nolan film, the direction is done to perfection. He creates a fascinating space exploration story which at its core is about a father and daughter relationship between Cooper and his daughter Murphy. McConaughey is superb as the lead character, for whom you have so much sympathy for because he is an emotional family man who isn't doing the mission for the glory, he's doing it for his children and one scene in particular did make me tear up which is unusual for me! My man wall got bulldozed. Powerful performance. The imagery and cinematography at times is beyond gorgeous. I only saw this in at a normal screening and I thought it looked excellent. I keep wondering what it'd be like in IMAX. Mind blowing. That brilliance mixed with Hans Zimmer's beautiful spine tingling score makes the long run time of nearly 3 hours fly by, even with the urge for a wee break which I had for an hour! There's even a surprise performance from a well known A-list actor who has a quite predictable role but is executed perfectly for what purpose it did to enhance the story. Anne Hathaway's performance is heartfelt and sincerer without being too melodramatic and she was top notch in her side character role. There is comedy relief in the form of two robots who gave a few quality one liners. This is exactly what you expect from a Nolan film, a compelling cinema experience. But his well known flaws which I gloss over without thinking are unfortunately exposed and is much more apparent the longer the film progresses.

One factor that's a bugging problem is that there are too many conveniences in the plot. How things coincidentally happen at just the right time. One or two you can get away with and you don't mind but it got out of hand especially in the third act of the film. The science behind the mission is complex even for folks who love a good dose of scientific explanation. I had to concentrate extremely hard and if I'd gone to see this film after I'd finished work I don't think I would have stood a chance. Again this got more and more difficult to understand and the last 15 minutes make you think that hard that your head starts to explode. It's interesting to listen to but it feels at times like a drawn out physics lecture. With all the futuristic science references and the insane intricate detail that the film goes in to, Interstellar maybe does deserve to be in the future. I don't think we're quite ready for this film simply because we don't yet understand it. If this came out in the next decade, we'd might appreciate it more. It reminds me of what Apple did with their apps and music software. The early models they released in the 90's weren't quite ready for the audience at the time and now they're one of the most successful technology companies. I feel like this film will get better the older it becomes. Similar to 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Interstellar is an ambitious project which in true Nolan style sets the bar for what is technically possible. A majestic film that spends too much time trying to be a crazy science lesson and forgets to concentrate on the heart of the story. It's not the masterpiece which I and many others expected it to be but it is an excellent space film which I think with age will become a landmark which will be talked about for years to come.

7/10