Gordon-11
This animated short film tells the story of Barbie and Ken who are going to Hawaii for a perfect romantic holiday. However, they got left behind, so the friends help them have the best Hawaiian themed vacation."Hawaiian Vacation" is very sweet because it tells how friends going above and beyond the call of duty to help each other. I am quite touched by the friends doing so much to help Barbie and Ken. And it is a nice surprise to see Barbie and Ken too! I enjoyed watching this short film that celebrates friendship.
Horst in Translation ([email protected])
When Toy Story 3 became a massive success back in 2011 and many considered it one of the greatest trilogies of all time, it looked like the franchise was over. However, the makers added three short films not much later. These are centered on the "supporting toys", for example one on the dinosaur, and this one here focuses on Barbie & Ken and how the gang is trying to give them their Hawaiian vacation.It has all the characters from the films and the voice actors as well, but for some reason this short film is just mindless fun at best and doesn't even remotely reach the comedic or emotional highs of the trilogy. Maybe it is because it almost treats the toys like human beings and their relationship to their "masters" was always one of the best parts in the films. The romance part towards the end could have been brought in on a sweeter and more convincing note as well. And as Barbie's and Ken's kiss was unfortunately not hot enough to free them out of the ice, this whole short film was a rather lukewarm effort. I read that there will be a full feature for television soon and I hope it manages to reach the quality of the theater films again.
charlytully
So it's nice to see him get some sugar from Barbie, even if Mr. Graham eats his heart out. The shift from make-believe tropics to actual winter brings to mind that old standard, "If ever I would leave you," from CAMELOT. It's almost enough to start changing Barbie's basic image from a gold-digger to a girl with a heart of gold. Not every outfit can cram 17 characters into a short less than six minutes long, but the Pixar folks seem up to most challenges. No doubt they went to extra lengths to balance the pretty big stretches of imagination CARS 2 requires of little kids not versed in James Bond and the whole spy movie genre with something a little more down to earth thrown in as an appetizer before the much longer feature. Perhaps the thinking was that by the time the ads, the previews, the PSAs, and HAWAIIAN VACATION rolled by, half the parents would be standing in line for potty breaks with the wee ones during much of CARS 2's running time. P.S.--Don't forget that MONSTERS UNIVERSITY is one of the 5 flicks recommended by IMDb for fans of CARS 2, so rent it tonight (since 1,156,674 people "like" IMDb on Facebook as of today, a stampede of at least 150,000 or so is rushing to rent MONSTERS UNIVERSITY right now!!) Oops!!! With 243,788 COMPLETED features in its data base to select from for "recommendations," IMDb is listing TWO movies a year away from the big house (BRAVE, & 1906) and another TWO YEARS AWAY from theaters (MONSTERS UNIVERSITY) as 60 per cent of what fans of a big main stream movie should rent tonight. Or maybe IMDb believes people think like WALL-E, and a passing recommendation now will be on the top of our minds in 2013 (or some news fragment from 2009 is fresh in our minds NOW). Well, IMDb, no matter how much the producers of MONSTERS UNIVERSITY bribed you to start beating the drums two years prematurely, it's money down the drain. Only RAINMAN has a chance of remembering this small plug in two years (if he's still alive!). So in the future, do not WASTE my sight lines with promos for movies barely in pre-production (unless you'd like to shill my upcoming remake of BIRTH OF A NATION, now in production for release Memorial Day weekend, 2525).
Hellmant
'TOY STORY TOONS: HAWAIIAN VACATION': Three Stars (Out of Five) The first in a series of 'TOY STORY' short films from Pixar (which debuted before 'CARS 2' in theaters) focuses on the toys' lives after Andy (and the events of the first three films). They're all now living with Bonnie (once again voiced by Emily Hahn) and in this short Bonnie has just left with her mother for a vacation in Hawaii. Barbie and Ken (Jodi Benson and Michael Keaton reprising their voice roles) were planning on stowing away with Bonnie (by hiding in her school backpack) so that they could have their first kiss together on the beach at sunset. They're very upset to find out that Bonnie didn't take her backpack with her but Woody (Tom Hanks voicing for the fourth time) and the rest of the gang decide to help them live out their fantasy there at home instead. The film was directed and co-written (along with Erik Benson, Jason Katz and Christian Roman) by Gary Rydstrom (now having helmed two animated short films). Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, John Ratzenberger, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn, Bonnie Hunt and nearly all the rest (of the voice talents from the films) reprise their roles as well. Most of the film's jokes fell a little flat for me and I didn't find the story especially emotionally involving or interesting but it still does have a little magic. The animation is still top notch and the toys are all likable and enjoyable cartoon characters. The film is definitely not one of Pixar's best animated short films but it's still an impressive little cartoon by most other standards.Watch our review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CN5KZOE7p28
