Animation & Cartoons

On the surface, Toy Story 3 is about kids' fantasies about toys that come alive after the lights go out -- but its themes speak to a much more grown-up audience. Critic David Edelstein examines the latest movie in the Toy Story franchise, which he says touches on both the present and the past.

The third and final installment of the Toy Story trilogy turned out to have some deep themes: death, abandonment, loss. One inspiration: an incident in which director Lee Unkrich accidentally threw out his wife's toys. Both Unkrich and screenwriter Michael Arndt join Terry Gross to talk about the trilogy, due on DVD Nov. 2.

Walt Disney's Fantasia, the first feature-length film to offer visual images of classical music, has just been re-released in a new box set. Music critic Lloyd Schwartz says the film is a delightful introduction to classical music -- but doesn't always convey it convincingly on screen.

Fresh Air's David Edelstein couldn't limit himself to 10 movies for his Top 10 list -- he put 12 titles on this year's crop -- and explains why he parted ways with colleagues when it came time to hand out the annual New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Director Lee Unkrich and screenwriter Michael Arndt discuss the final film in the Toy Story trilogy. One inspiration for the movie? An incident in which Unkrich accidentally threw out his wife's toys.

The movie Brave is Pixar's first feature with a female protagonist — a medieval Scottish princess named Merida (voiced by Kelly MacDonald) who asserts her independence and wreaks havoc. Critic David Edelstein says the film is "pure Pixar in its mischievousness and irreverence."

The legendary Hollywood FX man died Tuesday at age 92. Known for creating the monsters in such films as Mighty Joe Young and Jason and the Argonauts, Harryhausen spoke with Fresh Air in 2003 about studying animals in nature to create the monsters of our imaginations.

The new film from the acclaimed Japanese animator spans 30 years and centers on a young man who dreams of designing the perfect airplane in the early 1930s.

Director Pete Docter had the idea for this movie a little over five years ago after he saw his own 11-year-old daughter become sad and tried to imagine how the world looked through her eyes.

Co-writers and co-directors Lee Unkrich and Adrian Molina spent six years creating their animated film about the Day of the Dead, the Mexican holiday Unkrich calls a time of "joyously remembering."

Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck have recently been revived in the podcast, "Bugs and Daffy's Thanksgiving Adventure." We mark the occasion by listening to our 1989 interview with Jones, who died in 2022.