Film Strip

A little while ago, I posted about kids movies with intention of seeing Toy Story 3.

Well, since then I have seen Toy Story 2, Toy Story 3, and How To Train Your Dragon, and I stand by that thought…not all kids movies are created equal.

First off, I need to address these three movies in particular.

Toy Story 2: Wow. I cannot believe I had never seen this movie. It was so good, clever, and creative.

Toy Story 3: WOW! This movie was incredible. It helped that watched Toy Story 2 right before I saw it, but it was really really good. It also may influence my perception of the movie that I’m a kid at heart with a wild imagination who still loves a trip to Toys”R”Us and plays with toys regularly. Basically, this was the best movie I’ve seen in 2010 (ahead of Inception), and it’s a good thing that I was wearing big 3D glasses because I may or may not have needed something to cover some waterworks at the end of the movie.

How to Train Your Dragon: This was a good movie that would’ve been better in my mind if I hadn’t seen it after Toy Story 3. It also didn’t help that I picture all the voice actors as Rated R comedy actors and not as family fun adventure movie actors.

Which leads me to my point of this post.

As we were leaving the theater after seeing How To Train Your Dragon, my wife and I were talking about the movie in the car (as I always do). She liked the movie, and I did to as it was the third best movie I’ve seen so far in 2010 (behind Toy Story 3 and Inception), but there was something about it that I couldn’t put my finger on. I was trying to talk through some nit-picky points as to why it didn’t live up to the standards of Toy Story 3 and Up, but she wasn’t having it. Until I finally said, “It just didn’t have the love that Pixar movies have.”

And that said it all.

It is not a secret that I’m a huge fan of the Pixar movies. But I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. After seeing the movies and watching a few documentaries and interviews with the Pixar powers-that-be, it’s obvious that these movies are crafted to be perfect. There really is care and love put into these movies.

That’s not to say that How To Train Your Dragon wasn’t good. It just didn’t make me feel wowed like a Pixar movie. That’s also not to say that a non-Pixar movie like Shrek can’t be as good.

I guess what I’m getting at was ironically said best by a friend of mine. “The music, movies, and books that become your favorites are the ones that say what you’re truly feeling in a way that you can’t put into words yourself.”