At long last, I succeeded in re-experiencing the one Toy Story film which I hadn't seen since I was a child. Toy Story 2 is refreshingly one of the rare first born sequels whose existence isn't recycled from the main purpose, narrative links, and character arcs of its predecessor. The first film presented an analysis of dreams which shatter, depression being born of a sense of dematerializing purpose, as well as transforming jealousy, catalyzed by a self-esteem left to tumble, into affection via empathy. Toy Story 2's themes include the selfish side of a self-esteem gone too high, some individuals' fear of loved ones leaving them eternally behind, and the temptation to be timelessly praised rather than loved as one spends a mortal time with some souls which are interlaced with theirs.
While the sequel's messages are conducted as masterfully as those in the predecessor, the comedy in Toy Story 2 isn't nigh in quality as the first's. Where the humour in Toy Story is delightfully witty with a depth for adults, as well as being impossibly original throughout, that which is in Toy Story 2 is not as eloquent in its composition (though the patriotic Buzz moment and the literal interpretation of using one's head are exemplary) and it is touched by a parody already turned trope (I'm talking about the reveal of Emperor Zurg's relation to Buzz Lightyear). Even with my assessments of the sequel's comic relief, I do believe that Toy Story 2 is a wonderful film and it is one which I immensely enjoyed. Taking everything into account, it is merely a smidgen below Toy Story. ♦♦♦ Additional Thoughts: ★ The opening of Toy Story 2 is brilliant as it takes first time viewers aback by seemingly featuring Buzz on an actual space mission. ★ When She Loved Me, otherwise known as Jessie's Song, is paired with the film's most soul aching segment and that montage goes along well with the I Will Go Sailing No More segment of Toy Story when Buzz tries to fly in that film's most heartrending sequence. ★ I appreciated that there was a scene where Woody's friends believed that he was being tortured. It was a nice homage to the first film's theme of the cost of forming judgements about people without learning the context of situations.
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'Twas the dawn of midnight on January's twelfth day when I last rewatched Toy Story. It was only then when I finally realized how wonderfully witty and amazingly adult its themes are. The film which brought me near tears during a couple sequences like never before used to rank near the bottom of my Pixar film ranking (though I've ever objectively admired it) but now it's within my top three. I'm curious to see where the sequels land subsequent to my rewatch in honor of Toy Story 4's release this year.
P.S. I love this film. "Why am I alive?"
🎵"God only knows what I'd be without you..."🎵 ★★★ I was moderately skeptical about the purpose of this sequel yet I remained cautiously optimistic about its quality. Now I am sold on this film which seems to exceptionally present themes on existentialism, how different individuals react to moving from familiar people as the next chapter in life commences, the beauty of social connections, as well as the ache of either losing or never sensing the ability to bond with souls. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Toy Story 4. How about you? Captain Marvel is an unapologetically female empowering film whose heroine isn't feminine to those who define that word while perpetuating the male gaze. Yet neither is Captain Marvel a nurturing averse fighter like a gender swapped representation of masculinity as defined by a testosterone overdosing patriarchal society. No, Carol Danvers is a human being who happens to be a woman; a beautiful soul who is a non-caricature to the offense of no feminist audience members anywhere and to the displeasure of no intelligent viewers everywhere.
Beyond their portrayal of a person in the lead role, I love that the filmmakers proudly stuck up their middle fingers (via subtext which was upon the border of non-ambiguity) to the real-world propaganda which posits that refugees are terrorists. I enjoyed this film, as I expected I would, even though this film's first act is in a hurry to meet its latter two act companions. Yet what I wasn't prepared for was how empathic of a film Captain Marvel is. |
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