Justin's Rating: Any movie with a Tori Amos song in it is a winner in my book
Justin's Review: Dreams. They're both fascinating and terrifying when they're your own... and as much as you might try, you can never quite convey its full significance to your friends the next morning. On the flip side of the coin, listening to someone else's dream can be both interesting and incredibly dull. That is why, according to the brain inside my head, this 1992 Robin Williams vehicle flopped. People just ain't as interested in dreams as they used to be.

Toys takes place in an odd pseudo-world, that's not-almost-quite like ours. Tim Burton meets the light side of life, almost. At the beginning, we see Mr. Zevo (an old dying man who runs this gigantic toy factory sitting in the middle of nowhere) who is being visited by his brother (a militant general played by Michael Gambon). Since Zevo's son, Leslie (Robin Williams), doesn't want the responsibility of running the factory, Zevo hands it over to the General. The General has some pretty nasty plans in store for the toy factory, etc, Leslie and Co. tries to stop him, etc, climactic battle at the end. You get the plot, I won't insult you.

Going back to the dream reference, Toys is one huge surrealistic daydream. Bright colors, odd references, and only one foot planted on earth. Just the way we like it. Every set is unique (from the funeral pavilion to the factory's innards), every character very odd (Joan Cusack plays the child-like bizarro sister of Leslie), and even the music is not quite what you'd expect. I'm sure this film has been compared to Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory numerous times, but it doesn't really strive to be a Willie Wonka (thank God -- if I have to see one more of those stupid Oompa inderlude songs, I'll go on a rampage). At times Toys runs very much like a comedy where Robin Williams is a king in his own sandbox. But it really never gets to out-right hilarity. The fantasy element is surely the strongest thing going for this movie, and the struggle between a peaceful way of illogical proceedures and the regimented society that the General brings divides us all. Watching this movie, I thought of a few different people, and it was very easy to say "Bob would definitely be a factory worker" or "Uptight Nate would be a security guard." It's a battleline drawn in our own lives.

As you've probably guessed, this is another one of those estranged, disliked films that Justin has taken under his wing and nutured over the years. Overall, I do like this film tremendously. It's amusing, certainly different, and satisfying to watch. I would not put it on the "Perfected Masterpieces" shelf, since there are some rough areas that hurt the film in parts. For instance, Robin Williams portrays the child in all of us, irresponsible and imaginative. His journey to responsibility seems to strip that away from him (most notably when he has sex with his girlfriend) and betrays our empathy in his part. The end battle is... very strange, to say the least. It doesn't make much sense, but I guess that's not too out of character for the film.

But! Don't dispair! LL Cool J is in this movie! Why! I don't know!

Definitely not for everybody, particularly not for people who have long since transcended fantasizing (the clean type, peoples), but perhaps for you. Test the waters with oddity. This has been Justin Olivetti, and now back to your regular scheduled programming.

Recommended for:
Tim Burton
Those of us who still visit Kay-Bee Toys in the mall

The Movie Store!
Toys: Movie [VHS]
Toys: Soundtrack [CD]

Intermission!
When the sea monster is charging the General, the General uses the command "Klaatu Barada Nikto" to try to stop it. This is the infamous phrase used by Ash in Army of Darkness and to command the robot Gort in The Day The Earth Stood Still.

Groovy Quotes:

Leslie: We'll fight fire with marshmallows!

If you liked this movie, try these:
Beetlejuice
The Nightmare Before Christmas
Edward Scissorhands

Soundtrack Review: This is one of my most treasured soundtracks. The opening title credits and "Closing of the Year" are very cheery and moving (appropo to Christmas), there's an Enya song, a Tori Amos piece, and some other good scores.