For those not aware, Toy Story 1 and 2 were just in theatres for a limited engagement. Both were re-done in 3d, and I had the pleasure to see them last weekend.
I’ve seen two other movies in 3d, Superman at IMAX and Nightmare Before Christmas. Superman was a bit iffy, at times it seemed the framerate wasn’t quite right. Nightmare Before Christmas was a much better experience, but neither of them were nearly as good as Toy Story 1 and 2. Especially 2.
It’s an interesting technology, although one that has flaws. My pal that I was with, it initially gave him a small headache but it went away. For me, my eyes aren’t 20/20, so the 3d effect isn’t perfect in some shots. That said, it gives a fantastic effect and had incredible depth on certain scenes. The sequence near the end of 2, with the luggage and the plane wheel? Blew me away. There were scenes shot through Buzz’s helmet that looked utterly gorgeous. It’s just amazing to me that these two films, shot a fair while ago, not only look great on the screen, but look like they were made for 3d. I can only imagine how seeing Up, a modern Pixar film developed with 3d, must have been!
The technology has such potential, although I imagine it’ll be a bit distracting until people are used to it. I’d be pretty shocked if that wasn’t used on most action/adventure movies within the next few years.
I was also happy to see that two of my favourite films hold up so well. There’s a great sense of enjoyment in toys, a sense of wonder in this small world, and great adventures with plenty of comedy. When a film comes together as well as these, you can tell the people involved really cared about the project they were working on.
All in all, if you didn’t get to see Toy Story 1 and 2 in 3d, you missed out. If you haven’t seen any films yet in 3d, I’d suggest making some time to see one in the next few months. As far as gimmicks go, it gets a thumbs up from me.
