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TOY STORY 3 is absolutely amazing and incredibly well done. Lee Unkrich has well outshined the enormous expectations that were placed upon his shoulders. He did his directing duty well and because of it, we can rejoice.
I read an earlier draft of the script (actually, come to think of it - I'm not sure it was official or not. The title was just "Toy Story 3"), and the storyline seemed very contrived and unoriginal. I'm really glad that they went another way.
What makes this movie so good? Why does it grab our emotions so well?
I think a lot of it stems from how well we know the characters. We've seen them and traveled with them for so long. We've known how they reacted in the past and how they would react today. A strong character (or characters) can help direct a story and build drama/excitement/laughter/sadness.
[spoiler alert]
When the group is headed for the incinerator and they are looking to each other - giving in to their fate - we are completely 100% with them. We know that even though they are heading toward certain doom, they are doing it together and that's all that matters - that they are together. This is one of the most emotionally powerful moments of the film and I could have sworn that the tough dude sitting next to me was wiping tears from his eyes.
[end spoiler alert]
My friend is writing a pilot about a young college girl who has a pet monster. She goes out at night and rids the world of evil by having her monster eat them. During the day, she's your average "woo" girl who likes to party and have fun during her college years.
During a moment of desperation he texted me:
"Ug! Why am I writing about a crazy college cheerleader! I know nothing about party girls! Writing crisis! Agggggg"
To which I replied:
"Don't 'write' a crazy college cheerleader. Write a character that is secure in who she is. Confident in her decisions. Focused at night at her real job and relaxed and social during the day. I think if you concentrate on what she is, what she does will come naturally."
I don't know if what I said really helped him out or not. But it sure helped me out. By texting him that long text, I was able to get past a few story problems I've been having with my own spec. I was trying too hard! I wanted to fit the characters within my story mold, but what I needed was to have the characters show me where the story was supposed to go.
So what I'm getting at...
is be true to your characters and they will tell you what they want to do and say.
And Toy Story (all three of them) has accomplished this very well.
Toy Story (Two-Disc Special Edition Blu-ray/DVD Combo w/ Blu-ray Packaging)
2 comments:
That is the type of pilot I wish I'd thought of and would enjoy reading. Tell your friend he has someone interested in giving it a look if he wants.
Hoping to see Toy Story sometime this week, but don't know when.
Emily loved it. Her favorite movie is toy story 2 so that's saying a lot because she went in with high expectations. I've never really enjoyed the toy story movies all that much, maybe I'm a bad person. Everyone I've spoken with loved the incinerator hold each others hand part. Honestly, and I'm not a cynic, I was bugged by how cheesy it was. Now do you think I'm a bad person? This probably stems from not really being into the movie or toy story universe that much anyway. I just never connected with it. Give me The Incredibles anyday, ironically, that movie made me cry.
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