Fantastic Fest Review: Toy Story 3D Double Feature

Disney presented a sneak preview of Pixar's Toy Story / Toy Story 2 3D double feature at Fantastic Fest, which offered me a pleasant break from all the indie genre films on the schedule. I'm sure most, if not all, of you have already seen these animated classics, at least once. So there isn't much to point out about these movies which hasn't already been said. So lets just get to the important stuff... The questions you're probably wondering: How is the 3D? Is it enough to warrant paying to see these movies again on the big screen? Answers after the jump.

First of all, even without the 3D, even if the movies weren't presented as a two for the price of one double feature, these films are well worth revisiting on the big screen. Much like Pete Docter's Up, Pixar's version of 3D is presented more like a window, with the dimension demonstrated more in depth than using gimmicky invasion. For some of the film, you might even forget that you're watching the film in 3D. Pixar knows the art of subtlety, in both their storytelling and also in the 3D conversion.

Pixar also took great care to make sure that your eyes wouldn't be hurting after nearly three hours of 3D. That said, you will really notice some beautiful depth when the action picks up, and particularly in the big tent-poll climatic sequences of each film.

Unlike Up, Pixar never planned for Toy Story to be presented in 3D, but you would never know it. The 3D presentation feels like it was something John Lasseter had originally intended for, even though that clearly isn't the case at all. Toy Story is almost 15 years old, and you can definitely tell from the lack of sophistication from some of the computer generated visuals (much more so in the first film than the sequel). However, 3D does a nice job of hiding some of these flaws, and adds a new layer of dimension.

A movie trailer for the third film is presented before the double feature, and actually features a bunch of real footage from the movie threequel. The opening, which shows Andy growing up over the years, presented using family home video footage, is Pixar at their best. I did find it a bit odd that they showed the trailer before the movies, as it acts a spoiler for the films to come. This might be a nitpick, as I assume most people who will be seeing this double feature will have seen the films before either theatrically or on home video. But the thing that excites me most about this 3D double feature is that some people will be seeing these films for the first time, on the big screen.

The double feature also includes a ten minute intermission, featuring new animation, trivia, and footage from both films. The intermission entertainment is just enough fun that you (and your kids) won't want to leave the theater to grab food or hit the rest rooms.