It’s everywhere. It seems as if every film coming out these days is available with 3d glassses. This of course has a lot to do with money. Ever since that groundbreaker Avatar came out & stormed the Box Office, the studios wanted to take advantage of the 3d medium by releasing every mediocre effort with glasses. When conceived, most of these movies were not meant for 3d viewing, compared to James Cameron’s Avatar which was born and bred as a 3d experience.
The reason why these studios are releasing everything they have in this form is simple- money. the 3d glasses make the movie ticket 3$ more expensive, meaning that the average 12$ ticket price gets boosted up to 15$ for 3d. It’s a Hollywood studio execs wet dream to have his ticket price boosted. I’ll be the first to admit that 3d could quite possibly be the future of filmmaking, Martin Scorsese is planning a film in 3d, so are other key Hollywood filmmakers.
Cameron’s 2009 film was a curse and a blessing. It brought out the best and the worst in movies. Its influence on the next generation of film is limitless. Film will be more focused on visuals and filmmakers will surely try to outdo themselves with visionary eye popping images. This is surely a positive but @ what cost? The negative is simple, while a 3d film will focus on the visual it might just forget the most important part of a film- The story, the narrative, the structure.
How To Train Your Dragon did not forget the rules of 3d, which is why it’s the best 3d movie of the year thus far. Its story is heartfelt and well told, ditto its visuals which pop up & blow your eyes away. The story might be old fashioned and tiresome but it has an old school vibe that had me hooked from its colorfully inventive dragons to its innocently told tale. Cliches come about in many ways but the key to enjoying it is letting yourself go to the images directors Dean Deblois and Chris Sanders conjure up in this medieval tale. There are many far more gripping movies playing @ the moment but none as eye popping or colorfully transporting as this B movie dragon tale.
Don’t waste your money watching Toy Story 3 in 3d, it is not essential & the film -the best one out there @ the moment- does not benefit in any way shape or form from it. Watch it sans the frames, you’ll thank me later for it. As for the movie, it’s quite a feat in how it mixes its dramatic and comic undertones so damn well & gosh, how serious & dark & scary it is. In fact its got such deep darkness that some online bloggers and critics are saying that somewhere in the movie there’s an allegory to the holocaust. Watching the picture on Friday, I could see why some folks would think in such a way, but I highly doubt first time director Lee Unkrich and his Pixar peers had this idea in mind while making the film.
All the characters we’ve come to love are back but -as I said before- there is an extra layer of darkness added. The idea of being trapped and imprisoned looms deeply in the movie, giving the viewer an almost claustrophobic feeling throughout its 100 minute running time. Not a dull moment or second pops up in this fascinating film, the best of the series. It all comes together in a finale that divides the gap between what it means to be innocent and what it’s like to let go of the things we love and welcome adulthood. Heavy stuff for the kiddies he? That’s why Toy Story 3 -and for that matter Pixar- is such a special gift, it is wrapped on the outside with vibrant colors that pop out and stun your eyes but it is layered deep inside with adult themes and a darkness that cannot be shaken.
Although How To Train A Dragon made quite the impression on me, it pales in comparison to Pixar’s new masterwork. A visual feast, layered with hilarious and darkly intimate characters that are finely created via immaculate attention to detail. Although Dragon’s 3D visuals were spectacular, Toy Story 3 is even more exciting because of its masterful use of plot- which is really why we love movies in the first place, right kiddies? Attention Academy voters, Best Animated feature is nothing but sealed with this one.
