Working the Weekend with Luke-Trilogy Countdown #3

Welcome to the October 5th edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. It’s my twin girls’ birthday weekend, so I didn’t have a lot of time this weekend, but I did want to bring you the latest entry in the trilogy countdown, and it couldn’t be more fitting. Let’s take a quick review of the countdown and then we’ll get to #3.

THE TRILOGY COUNTDOWN

#10-THE INFERNAL AFFAIRS TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE

#9-THE NAKED GUN TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE

#8-THE LECTER TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE

#7-THE MAN WITH NO NAME TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE

#6-THE KARATE KID TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE

#5-THE BACK TO THE FUTURE TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE

#4-THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY-IF YOU MISSED IT, CLICK HERE

#3-THE TOY STORY TRILOGY

TOY STORY, TOY STORY 2, TOY STORY 3

This set of movies will always hold a special place in my heart as they are really the first set of movies that I watched with my daughters. For nearly a year, not a week went by where I didn’t watch at least one of them. I remember one cold and rainy Saturday morning where we laid around in our pajamas and watched all three in a row. This could very easily be #1 on the list.

It all started with this. Woody and Buzz. Jealousy. Deception. Acceptance. Friendship. And one seriously deranged neighbor kid. Seriously, how did Sid’s mother not know what her son was into and why didn’t she ever stop it? But beyond that, the original set a pretty high standard. The brilliant writing made this not just a great kids movie, but just a great movie altogether. From the idea to the writing to the brilliance and chemistry of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, the original Toy Story quickly became one of the best movies ever created.

Toy Story 2 brought us some new characters and a whole new adventure for Buzz and Woody. I gotta say, however, that Jesse (Joan Cusack) steals the show here as she tries everything in her power to get Woody to go to Japan. But damn, it gets real when her back story is revealed. I’ll get to something else in a minute, but some of the real emotion of this trilogy gets going here. You really start to identify with some of these characters and the scene below is just amazing.

The addition of Wayne Knight and Kelsey Grammer certainly didn’t hurt the sequel. But Toy Story 3 really took it up a notch in that department, adding Ned Beatty as the sinister Lotso, but the smartest move Pixar ever made was this.

We’d seen a little bit of Barbie in Toy Story 2 and her part became even bigger in the third installment. (Fun fact: Barbie is voiced by Jodi Benson, who most of you know as Ariel from The Little Mermaid.) And the reason behind Barbie getting more screen time was to introduce Ken to the mix, and I’m so happy they did. But who do you get to voice such an iconic character. Well, you get an icon. Michael Keaton is so absolutely perfect in this movie. I’ve always been a big fan and the comedy he brings to this flick is just awesome.

It only adds to the awesomeness that is Toy Story 3. In my opinion, the third movie is easily the best of the trilogy and perhaps one of the best movies I’ve ever seen. There are so many stories to dive into here that I could probably write for hours on this movie. It really teaches you about what it means to be a good person, to be a good friend, and how hard it can be to move on. The way in which the writers really bring the story full circle is truly astonishing and let’s be real, if you didn’t cry during this scene, can you honestly say that you have a soul?

The end gets at you a little bit too, but the incinerator scene is epic. The score alone will give you a few goosebumps. Watching them band together at the worst possible moment they could have ever imagined will at some point be considered a classic moment in cinema history and it’s moments like these throughout the entire trilogy for The Toy Story Trilogy to be my #3 favorite trilogy.

That’s it for me. Do you have a favorite Toy Story movie or moment? Let me know in the comments section below or follow me on Twitter @THElukenorris.

I’ll be back next week with the #2 entry, but before I go, here’s your Beverly Hills, 90210 clip of the week. Why yes, that is Color Me Badd. What up ’91?