Yesterday, Toy Story 3 crossed the $1 billion mark for worldwide ticket sales. The latest Pixar creation is only the seventh movie of all time to cross that threshold. Strangely enough, Toy Story 3 marks the second time this year that a Disney owned film has earned a billion dollars at the box office. Earlier this year, Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland also scored worldwide earnings over $1 billion. With those films both grossing more than a billion dollars, Disney becomes the first studio ever to have two films reaching those astronomical earnings in one year.

Just two weeks ago, Toy Story 3 became the highest grossing animated film of all time, and now it continues its march up the earnings list with this milestone. So obviously Woody and Buzz are the only animated characters on the billion dollar worldwide earnings list.

Even though Toy Story 3 came out more than two months ago in the United States (June 18), the movie continues to dominate the box office in other countries. The film is the most successful Disney release in Latin America ($138 million) and the United Kingdom ($102.4 million), and its also the fourth highest grossing movie ever in the UK. The film has dominated the Japanese cinema pulling in $111.2 million in its run and finishing #1 at the box office five weeks in a row.

I am not surprised this amazing movie has captivated worldwide audiences like it did the American crowds. The movie is not only a triumph of animation, but of storytelling. Getting viewers to care about toys is never a simple task, but Pixar creators did not get that memo. (Didn’t you get the memo?….Batman Begins anyone?)

The surprising thing to me is that Alice in Wonderland made so much money in theaters; apparently I missed that memo. I just now learned that the 2010 Burton directed project is the fifth highest grossing film of all time, just in front of The Dark Knight. I was taken aback because I didn’t think the newest 3D Alice in Wonderland was really that great of a movie. It was an interesting watch; but the 3D was crappy, the story was average, and the movie didn’t seem to posses the charm of the animated classic.

Any who, I thought posting the top ten grossing films of all time would be interesting for readers to check out. The top seven have all broke the billion dollar mark with Avatar at number one destroying the two billion dollar mark and set to earn even more with its re-release to theaters this weekend.

I think its interesting to note that one of the worst Disney movies I have ever seen, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, found a place on the top ten list.  I know not everyone hated this movie as much as I did, but it was one of the few movies that I seriously considered walking out of; and I absolutely loved the first installment and enjoyed the second one. You can also see two of the Potter movies in the top ten. Did you know that all six Potter movies are amongst the top 27 grossing movies of all time while all three Lord of the Rings films are in the top 20? The top ten goes something like this:

1. Avatar
2. Titanic
3. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
5. Alice in Wonderland
6. The Dark Knight
7. Toy Story 3
8. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
10. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

[Source: BoxOfficeMojo]

What Do You Think? Discuss.

GRADE: A

Well, it is safe to say that the third installment profiling the very interesting lives of toys is the best movie I have seen halfway through the year of 2010. Last week, The Karate Kid held that title. But only a week later, Toy Story 3 takes hold of that top spot with yet another successful tale about the lives of Buzz and Woody. With this huge success ($110 million opening weekend and 98% approval on RottenTomatoes), Pixar again proves that everything it touches turns to gold. Toy Story 3 marks the 11th straight hit for the computer animation company making it more and more difficult to choose a favorite amongst the gems this creative team has produced. I am stuck choosing between Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc., Wall-E, or any of the Toy Story movies. With those things considered, know that Toy Story 3, like all previous Pixar products, is an upper deck home run.

This time around the toys in Andy’s room are growing weary because of the neglect from their “grown up” seventeen year-old owner about to move away to college. Andy has to make the decision whether to store his toys in the attic or donate them to the Sunnyside Daycare Center. The toys end up finding a new home with the eager children at the daycare, but that does not stop Woody from trying to convince his friends to return back to Andy before he ventures off to college. Most the toys are happy to finally be played with again by children, but soon realize the play they are receiving is brutal when it comes from the hands of a toddler.

Even though many of us have grown up knowing these characters, Pixar somehow creates even more attachment to these deep and wonderful personas in Toy Story 3. The characters’ friendship grows even more as they all band together as a family trying to survive life post-Andy. By the end of this movie, when Woody, Buzz and company are backed against the wall, I was choked up with emotion as their fate unraveled (even more than usual too). Pixar movies always reach deep down and tear at my heartstrings. It is because the Pixar filmmakers can personify feelings and emotion to a toy or even a garbage collecting robot. Toy Story 3 was loaded with emotion towards the characters which is why I think it has been such a raging success.

Throughout the story was an assortment of comedy coming from all angles. Who would have thought toys could be so funny? Of course the other movies also had the comedic relief in them, but Toy Story 3 had some of the funnier moments I can remember in the series. The introduction of the character Ken, Barbie’s other half, brought some of the funniest pieces from the film. A game of toy roulette comes to mind and made me smile at the creativity of the Pixar people. And of course, who can not laugh at the one liners coming from Hamm, Mr. Potato Head, and Rex.

The best thing about this movie is the jail break scenario to escape the daycare facility. The filmmakers weaved classic story telling throughout, but this escape was the bees knees (A+). The storytelling kept the audience intrigued not knowing the details of the plan but watching the masterful escape designed by Woody unfold. Another huge plus is the many references to other movies and culture, bringing pure enjoyment to viewers who can catch them all. Woody hoovering just inches off the ground like Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible is a great example of this “culture jamming.”

Overall, Toy Story 3 is a perfect compliment to the other two chapters in this series. Is it possible to pick a favorite amongst the three? I dare you to try. This film is not only great for kids, but one that anyone and everyone needs to see. Of course seeing the first two is necessary, but who hasn’t seen the first two? Toy Story 3 is not only one of the best movies of the summer so far, but will go on to be one of the best of the year. I will put money on it competing for a golden statue come Oscar time. If you have been holding off on seeing this movie, take my official guarantee that it will bring you nothing but enjoyment. If my approval isn’t enough, how about the other 172 critics calling this movie top notch? If you don’t like this movie, I wonder if  you own a soul?

What Should You Do? Find the next showtime, and GO see Toy Story 3 now!

As the June 18th Toy Story 3 release date nears, fans of all ages are getting doses of more and more Pixar content. For months now, Slashfilm has been writing pieces that introduce the new characters from the third installment, so viewers will know the new toys in the story, even before seeing the movie. Many big name films are releasing specific online content paired with viral campaigns (i.e. Inception) to further promote their movies. Ah, the beauty of the internet.

Enter Disney into the ring. The media giant has just released a short one-minute internet-only video breaking down the plot of the movie; showing the toys involved, as well as some sweet new footage. While this short clip does not give the breadth for what was featured in the longer released trailers, it definitely shows the fun nature of the Toy Story series.

I personally found this clip hilarious, especially how it played out like a classic heist-type action movie with the main characters (Woody & Buzz) being profiled in a video game-like reference, coupled with the old school voice over narration. The clip also features a lot of culture jamming (notice the Mission: Impossible reference as well), which is a huge reason why Pixar films appeal to more than just children. Without further delay, check out the clip. Is it June yet?

What Do You Think? Discuss.

In this addition of Trailer Trash MASH we have a comedy for adults and a comedy for the entire family. The first is the unofficial sequel to Forgetting Sarah Marshall titled Get Him To The Greek. The film reunites two of the stars from Marshall, Jonah Hill and crazy British comedian Russell Brand, each reprising their former roles. This time, it’s several years later and Hill’s character is now an assistant to a mega record producer, played by none other than P. Diddy. Or is it just Diddy? Whatever.

In this film, Diddy is desperately seeking new ideas on how to reinvigorate his record company. Hill suggests putting on an anniversary concert for Brand’s outlandish rock star character from Marshall, Aldous Snow. Hill’s task is to go to London and bring Snow back to America in time for the concert. And of course, hilarity ensues. This movie has a lot of great cameos ranging from Aziz Ansari, Pink, Lars Ulrich from Metallica, to even Meredith Viera. It looks really funny and I’m now expecting a lot from this raunchy R-rated comedy. Check out the first official trailer for Get Him To The Greek, which opens everywhere June 4th.

Next up we have the first full-length trailer to a movie that a lot of people have been waiting a long time for. I am of course talking about the completion of Disney/Pixar’s epic trilogy of toys come-to-life, Toy Story 3. The first Toy Story is the film that put Pixar on the map way back in 1995, and officially changed making animated films with CGI into the Hollywood standard. Toy Story 1 & 2 grossed nearly $1 billion combined worldwide, and with Pixar’s flawless track record (i.e. Finding Nemo, Wall-E, UP) you can bet that Toy Story 3 will continue that tradition of excellence, while providing fantastic entertainment and banking at the box-office.

The entire gang is back, including Tom Hanks and Tim Allen reprising their roles as Woody and Buzz Lightyear. This time, the toy’s lovable owner Andy is now off to college and doesn’t have time for toys. He then donates the toys to a local daycare center where they meet a plethora of new friends including Barbi and Ken. By the way, is it just me or is it sad that it took Andy until college to get rid of the toys he played with when he was 5? Ah, well. It looks like great family fun. Check out the full-length trailer for Toy Story 3, opening of course, in 3D, on June 18th.

What Do You Think? Discuss.