Each Toy Story 3 review had been perfect before this afternoon. In fact, the Toy Story 3 review count looked just as perfect as the other Toy Story reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, each of the first two movies had a perfect 100% rating, and the third film looked to continue that trend. It looked like a sure thing for much of the day, as over 120 critics had given the Pixar epic a fresh write-up. However, it finally ended today, as the Toy Story 3 review perfect score was snapped – and by an unsurprising source.
Not only is there finally a negative response for a Toy Story film, there are now two. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the Toy Story 3 review score is 135 positive, and two negative, for an average of 99% fresh. Technically, that makes it the worst movie of the franchise by far, even though the rating of 8.7 is slightly higher than the second film.
No one is likely to be surprised at who gave the first Toy Story 3 negative review, and the first of the franchise. Armond White, a critic for the New York Press, was widely expected to be negative, and he proved everyone right today. However, White isn’t a lone voice, as Cole Smithy also weighed in with a rotten ruling.
White has famously bashed critically acclaimed movies, like Precious and Up, and praised less well regarded films like Next Day Air and Norbit. He has a reputation for going against the grain, at the least, and there is no greater grain to go against than this one.
In his Toy Story 3 review, White slams the film for having so much product placement that it “strictly celebrates consumerism.” He calls the entire franchise one for “non-thinking children and adults” which also hints at how he would have reviewed the first two films. But since he didn’t review them in 1995 and 1999, the Rotten Tomatoes scores for the originals are still perfect.
White’s complaints surprised few, as even Roger Ebert – who only gave the movie three stars – Twittered that he was waiting for his negative Toy Story 3 review. But under the radar, another bad write-up has come in from Cole Smithey, another online critic who goes against the mainstream.
Smithey’s issues are with the 3D – which most critics said wasn’t necessary anyway – and with the “more sad than joyful” story. Other Toy Story 3 reviews embraced the movie for going dark, suspenseful and sentimental in the last act, yet Smithey calls the climax “inappropriately cruel and drawn out.”
To be fair to White and Smithey, not every Toy Story 3 review called the movie perfect. Some critics only gave it three stars or a B, saying that it didn’t quite live up to the first two, and focused less on character. Yet they loved enough of it – and cried enough at the end – to give it a fresh rating.
But even the mixed and merely good responses are a minority in the Toy Story 3 review count. About half of the Rotten Tomatoes critics give it a perfect score, and the average rating is still in the upper echelon of Pixar’s perfect history. The series has its first negative reviews at last, but the overall filmography of the franchise, and of Pixar, remains decidedly perfect.
Sources
New York Press- “Bored Game”
Cole Smithey- “Toy Story 3”
Movieline- “Will Armond White Write the First Bad Toy Story 3 Review?”
Rotten Tomatoes- “Toy Story 3”
