'Toy Story 3' Link Round-up: Featurettes, Storyboards, the Screenplay, Interviews, and more!

The Toy Story 3 Blu-ray has been officially released, and I'm planning to watch the complete trilogy back-to-back-to-back this weekend. It's gonna be awesome.

Anyways, to coincide with the release of the Blu-ray and DVD, Disney has released a few things online for our viewing pleasure.

The first is this set of previews, letting you in on what you'll get to see within the Bonus Features section of the Blu-ray.

Next up is a set of storyboards from the "Thrown Away" sequence in Toy Story 3. They are huge images, and slightly cleaner than I'd have expected storyboard drawings to be. Still, they get the action across effectively, and obviously did their job well:






NPR's Fresh Air conducted a wonderful interview with Lee Unkrich and Michael Arndt here. It's definitely worth a listen--if you wondered why you cried at the end of the movie (twice), this will satisfy your curiosity. They talk about everything from advances in technology, to the infamous story retreats, to how Lee thinks of his animators as his actors. Give it a listen if you've got the time. You'll enjoy it. I promise.

Also check out Ned Beatty's (voice of Lotso) recent interview with Hollywood.com here.

I also thought I'd mention this article published in the LA Times yesterday. It predicted a victory for the Conservatives at this year's midterm elections, based purely on the popularity of Toy Story 3. While I think that this theory is completely absurd, it's an entertaining op-ed piece.

Finally, Walt Disney Animation Studios has released the complete Toy Story 3 screenplay, written by Michael Arndt, for your reading enjoyment here. It is located on their "Awards" site, which also indicates the other categories that they hope Toy Story 3 will be nominated for. These include Best Original Song for Randy Newman, Best Director for Lee Unkrich, and Best Picture for Darla K. Anderson. See the complete list of potential nominations here.

I'm calling it right now: Toy Story 3 will be the first animated movie to ever win Best Picture at the Oscars. Maybe I'm just being blindly optimistic, but that's how I see it playing out. It really is the most critically-acclaimed and the highest-grossing film of the year. It deserves Best Picture.

I loved Toy Story 3, and am now the proud owner of the complete trilogy on Blu-ray. I'm planning on watching every Toy Story, as well as every special feature, this Friday night. And I can hardly wait.

Next stop: Awards Season!