OT: Is Toy Story the best movie franchise ever?

dahliaclone

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Mar 4, 2007
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After seeing Toy Story 4 tonight I got to thinking...is this the best movie franchise ever? There are spectacular franchises but almost all of them that I can think of have one dud/one that just isn't as 'great' as the others.

I'm sure people will say Star Wars, Alien, Terminator, Lord of the Rings, The Godfather, 007, Marvel, etc.

But at this moment, I am not sure anything is as good OVERALL than the Toy Story franchise with every installment so well made and so highly regarded. My runner up would be Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy.
 
If the fourth movie is as good as reviews it would be one of a very few franchises with 4 movies that don't have a significant drop off.

Star Wars and LotR cinematic sagas took a dip with the fourth movie as did Indiana Jones many years later. Those are the major blockbuster series that come to mind with three great titles. Your Batman trilogy is pretty good too if you limit it to just the three.

Even getting to 3 well reviewed blockbuster hits is a rare thing.

MCU is pretty awesome taken as a whole but I can't look at any individual series and claim that 3 or 4 titles in the series are all A- or better. Iron Man 3 was just OK. Avengers is a little up and down for me. Cap Am 3 is really more like an Avengers team movie.

Harry Potter movies I guess are pretty faithful to the book stories but the whole thing seems to be somewhat inconsistent quality.

Mad Max 1 is just OK but II, III and IV are pretty near perfect action movies. Thunderdome is one of the most irrationally criticized movies of all time. The final chase scene probably wasn't improved upon until Fury Road leap frogged past all action in film history.
 
I would put Friday the 13th, Nightmare on Elm St, Halloween, Candyman, Paranormal Activity, and the Leprechaun collections ahead of Toy Story. But it is better than Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter!
 
I'd personally go with LOTR, even though the Hobbit movie was terrible.

You can come up with a number of series that went 3/3 like LOTR.

However, I cannot come up with any 4/4 (and pending my own viewing of Toy Story 4 here, but the reviews so far are very strong) besides Toy Story and Mad Max.
 
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I guess I should add the first four Star Trek movies, too. Not everybody might agree with me, particularly with The Motion Picture, but this is a very good run...

The Motion Picture
The Wrath of Khan
The Search for Spock
The Voyage Home

2-4 are certainly 3/3, and I would argue TMP is underrated. I give it a 4/4.

After that, of course, things go a little more... sideways.
 
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I'm honestly shocked people would include Mad Max. The Hobbit + LOTR is better than Mad Max. Unless we're also including the California Love music video.

Mad Max does not have any abominations like The Battle of the Five Armies.

I have seen some tight edits of The Hobbit into roughly 1.5 or 2 movies that might make your case for a 4/4 or even a 5/5 out of the Jackson films, however.

The Hobbit has some great sequences but some absolute schlock, too. So inconsistent.
 
Saw Toy Story 4 last night. FANTASTIC! They nailed it again.

I think it is the best movie franchise ever. I think it also helps that they've been able to keep the same voice cast together for 20 years. For all the things Hanks and Allen have done, Toy Story might be their finest work.

I really wasn't sure what to expect with TS4 because I thought TS3 was wrapped up perfectly. But I was once again in tears, both laughter and crying, like all the other ones. They are just so well done and well written. It's insanely impressive to have four movies be THIS GOOD.
 
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I thought the LOTR series was amazing film making. I liked the Hobbit too, but it paled in comparison to the LOTR series.

My problem with the Hobbit was the excess CGI, along with the insertion of elements/characters that weren't in the book, and weren't necessary to the story.
 
The lack of respect Leprechaun is getting is sickening.
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