When Elijah came along he naturally ended up loving Toy Story too. For Christmas 2008 we gave Elijah a Buzz and Woody and Desiree a Jesse and Bullseye. Desiree spun her Jesse around in a circle and sang "When Somebody Loved Me".
So -- we are big Toy Story fans. Or maybe, more accurately, we are big Toy Story 2 fans.
We have waited with anticipation for Toy Story 3 to make it to our local cheap theater. Sure it wasn't in 3-D, but it saved us money. The kids wore their matching Toy Story t-shirts and brought their toys clutched under their arms, eyes filled with anticipation.
The intro of the movie had Elijah laughing enthusiastically and we settled in to watch. It was like a reunion with a fond, old friend.
How had no one told me how incredibly scary the movie was?!?!? Elijah ended up crying frantically half way through the movie and I had to carry him out of the theater and hug him till he calmed down in the lobby. We went back in when the scary part was over and left with Elijah in tears again (and again). I'm shocked that Desiree stayed with Daddy in the theater instead of fleeing with me and Elijah. However, at bedtime Desiree, who is a sensitive soul, couldn't stop talking about the scary part over and over.
It seemed like Toy Story 3 was aimed at the original Toy Story audience who are now in their 20s and not at the current batch of children. Or maybe they felt they had to make it more intense for the newer generation. Either way if you have kids who are unsure about loud noises, scary expressions, intense music etc... preview it when it comes out on dvd before letting your kids watch it.
If you've already seen it --let me know your thoughts.
~❀~ Chelsey ~❀~
you know, i agree, there were some very scary parts. the baby doll was crrrrreepy, for one. but i think the reason no one told you it was scary was because they got so caught up in the sentiment and emotion of it at the end, that they forgot the dark bits. i know i did, til i read your post here! sorry to hear it was so traumatic for your little one.
ReplyDeleteBlake was scared of the original Toy Story when he saw it. That kid, Sid?, and his hacked up toys freaked him out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the heads up. We haven't seen Toy Story 3 yet. Poor Elijah. :(
I guess my kids are used to scary...my husband likes to tell scary bedtime stories and they love them...and I got caught up in the emotions. But it does seem like the target audience was really more the parentsor adults rather than the children. Lately pixar seems intent on making me cry. First UP and now this. But I can see how children could be very scared...Lotso and the incinerator and all.sel
ReplyDeletei read in the paper that it was the stuff of nightmares.
ReplyDeleteAnd if the paper says it, it must be true right? We haven't seen it.
ana, I thought that doll was creepy too, but it was the monkey that threw my kids over the edge...
ReplyDeleteYou're right -- the sentiment at the end probably made people forget about the scary parts.
Kim, the original Toy Story scared my kids when they first saw it too. Sid, and even his toys, were scary at first. We watch Toy Story 2 most often!
Julie, you'll have to read Desiree's opinion on UP posted here on the blog. I agree about Pixar -- even Nemo was tugging at my heart strings.
Jo-Ann, 'the stuff of nightmares' -- that sums it up! lol... But the end was nice...
I think you are spot on about the audience here, definitely aimed at the parents, those who have grown up with Toy Story. The comments here rang true for me, my daughter seemed obsessed and disturbed at how Andy could have possibly given all his toys away, whereas her friend was wailing at the incinerator scene.
ReplyDeleteIt was a lot more nightmare inducing than I had aniticpated!
MayBee, surprisingly my sentimental daughter wasn't upset by Andy giving his toys away.
ReplyDeleteYour daughter's friend is right -- that incinerator was scary!
Hi Chelsey,
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by my blog!
I agree that Toy Story 3 was aimed towards those who saw the first movie as a child. I sort of thought the same thing about the latest Shrek movie too - there were parts that were a bit scary for my 5 year old.
Despicable Me is our latest favorite!
PS - Where exactly in Canada are you?