To Be a Kid Again & Not Over Analyze

Movie Star?  Fisher-Price HQ Lawn Displays 

I’m hesitant and more than a little embarrassed to admit this, but I spent my afternoon seeing Toy Story 3…finally. If emoticons were still cool, I'd be posting the little blushing one right about now.  I fear what protective parents must've thought when they saw a single, 20-something year old in the theater by himself. 

At this late date writing a review is futile. It’s all old news now. And for the record, I did not—unlike Buffalo News’ Jeff Simon and many others—tear up at the ending. What struck me with Toy Story 3—typical in Disney movies—are all the little “adult” details in the background. There’s always a joke in there for mom and dad, and always some little Easter egg if one is to view between the lines.

I’m assuming you’ve either A) Seen the movie OR B) Don’t give a care. Let that serve as a spoiler warning. In the late scene that takes place at a landfill, it was like déjà vu. The heroes of the movie are trapped on a conveyor belt of trash, quickly headed for the shredder. Of course a last-minute rescue is inevitable—you don’t want a theater of crying kids. But wouldn’t it have been something if the rescue had come in the form of something jamming the shredder’s high-power blades? Something like an old toaster…that would’ve been a great wink-wink joke for those of in the audience who grew up in the 1980s/early 90s and were feeling that déjà vu. There was a Disney movie from our era that involved a very similar scene in a junkyard.

Otherwise, the pluggola and marketing placements especially intrigued me. Mattel has always had its products as main characters in previous Toy Story renditions. But in number three, East Aurora-based Fisher-Price (a Mattel subsidiary) got a significant cut of screen time. There was the classic Chatter Phone, whose FP logo was prominently featured. There was the Corn Popper—a completely worthless push-along toy that makes popping sounds by launching little plastic marbles inside it. I had one as a kid. In one scene where numerous toys are seen scattering, viewers need not look far to see Teddy Bear and Buzzy Bee FP classics swarming through the melee. East Aurorans are inundated with larger-than-life renditions of these toys in town parades and parked on the lawn at 636 Girard (Fisher-Price headquarters).

While the story itself is necessarily void of any serious conflict, analyzing the product placement, pluggola, and hidden jokes in Toy Story 3 made for a good time for this over-analytical mind.

Selling Toys

CREATING A TRILOGY

I was 10 years old when this new animation technology called Pixar was making waves. A first-of-kind Disney film release was planned with much fanfare near Christmas. The name of the movie? Toy Story. I remember as a pudgy little fifth grader counting down the days till Toy Story’s theatrical debut. Hey, we kids were owed a decent film. Disney’s major animated release from 1994 was chick-flick-equivalent Pocahontas.

I remember seeing Toy Story at dumpy Dipson theater in McKinley Mall. Despite the lack of screen square-footage, comfy seats, and Dolby Digital, the movie was still a smash hit in my little eyes. The VHS (remember those?) was promptly added to our library once it hit stores.

Then four years later came Toy Story 2. I know I saw that one also, but remember very little about it. Disney sequels seem to have a way of disappointing—it’s as if they just milk the brand created by the original for all they can.

Anyway, Toy Story 3 hits theaters in a little less than two weeks (June 18). Pixar is no big deal anymore. But Disney 3D and IMAX promise to bring Buzz, Woody, and the rest of the toys in your face (assuming you can find & afford an adequately equipped movie house).

SELLING IT (and so much more)

The Toy Story 3 brand marketing has already begun. Edy’s has a limited edition Toy Story Lemonade ice cream. Sounds gross; definitely won’t be trying that one.

In the shoes department I oversee at Kohl’s, we’ve got Woody cowboy boots, Toy Story sandals, and several styles of Toy Story sneakers. One even has a button that, when pressed, announces “Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!” As I unpacked and played with the initial shipment of these talking shoes one co-worker commented, “That’s a shoe grandma would buy for the kids!”

Kohl’s philanthropic effort, Kohl’s Cares for Kids, features Toy Story character plush dolls and a variety of books. KCK is sold near registers under the moniker, “A toy. A story. A way to help kids.” It’s good brand and cause-based marketing. Seems Kohl’s is ahead of the fast food joints in capitalizing on the TS3 paraphernalia.

By the way, which burger joint is going to put cheap plastic TS3 toys in with kids’ meals? Burger King had it in 1995. (I remember collecting all the stupid little puppets. I even did a puppet show. The home-video tape of it still haunts me as parental blackmail.) By 1999, I'd graduated from kids' meals to quarter pounders, and so I had to look this one up: Turns out McDonalds won the war second time around. Which burger heavyweight is going to market plastic junk with kids’ meals in 2010? Perhaps Subway? It’s a plausible idea, with childhood obesity awareness…

AM I GOING TO SEE IT?
Ok, so, am I going to see Toy Story 3? I hear the plot involves Andy growing up and leaving for college. Where does he go? Is it some prestigious Ivy League campus? Will the music be as corny as the original soundtrack (that awful “You’ve got a Friend in Me” still rattles in my skull!)? Will the film be laced with the usual Disney “adult jokes” (usually about politics or famous people—get your mind outta the gutter!)? Anyway, I’m not saying whether or not I’ll go see it. I’m blushing.  Don't expect a review on the blog...