If you haven’t yet screened Toy Story 3 as an outdoor movie this year, it will certainly make a great pick for your next flick under the stars! Whether you’re at home with your family and your Cinebox Home Screen, or with your entire community and your 30′ Elite Screen, Toy Story 3 is a great choice for a number of reasons! The film is the third iteration of series that changed the animation industry forever. And Toy Story 3 takes it to another level, as it was created in 3D! Now all your favorite characters will come to life like they have never before – and if you can pool the resources, why not screen it in 3D as an outdoor movie, as was done earlier this year in NYC for Monsters Vs. Aliens?

Toy Story 3 has all the characters your family has grown to love: Tom Hanks as Woody, Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear, Joan Cusack as Jessie, Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, Wallace Shawn as Rex, John Ratzenberger as Hamm, Jodi Benson as Barbie, among others. The toys’ owner Andy is now 17, and is heading off to college. He is set with the task to clean out some of his old toys, and to decide what to take with him to school. He takes Woody with him, but leaves his favorite toys in a plastic bag for his mom to store in the attic while he’s away. His mom mistakenly thinks he wants them thrown away, and throws the back on the front sidewalk to be taken away as trash. The toys are heartbroken! They wonder why Andy would desert them, but quickly snap into survival mode and relocate to a box that is going to the local day care. They figure at least they’ll be put to good use if they are played with.

They quickly realize that daycare is crazier than they thought, as they are a abused and tortured by small children. While all this is going on, Woody sets out to free his friends and get them back to Andy, as he knows the whole thing was a big mistake. In an effort to reset Buzz Lightyear, he is switched into Spanish speaking mode (a timely bit of social commentary), and subsequently Salsa dances and creates a handful of mischief as he did in Toy Story 1! Like its predecessors, Toy Story 3 is a fun film for the entire family, and provides enjoyment for parents and children alike. The animation is top-notch as usual, and represents the best talent in animation as Disney/Pixar take it to another level.

Toy Story 3 presents some great opportunities for your community beyond just screening the film! You could do a 3-week series with each of the Toy Story films, culminating with number 3 being screened in 3D. Costume contests are always a great idea, especially as we approach the Halloween season! You could invite the children in your community to bring their favorite Toy Story toys, and to spread a blanket out on the grass. There is nothing they’d probably love more than to have their favorite toys with them while watching their favorite film on the big screen. We’ve even seen communities encourage families to bring cardboard boxes to build “forts” that kids could watch the movie from. The opportunities are endless!

As with any Disney film, make sure to plan ahead with your film licensing, as Disney has specific dates when you can publicly screen their movies. Contact Swank Motion Picture to find out more about obtaining licensing for a Disney film (and many other films as well). As usual, if anyone has screened this film as an outdoor movie, please share your story by posting it to the comments section below! We’d love to hear what you’ve been up to.

The 2009 film Star Trek, directed by J.J. Abrams is an excellent choice for your next outdoor movie event! The film has a whopping 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and has no doubt turned an entirely new generation into trekkies! The film stars Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Leonard Nimoy as the elder Spock, along with Winona Ryder and Zoe Saldana among others. Here’s the theatrical release trailer!

Star Trek is a reintroduction of the original series, as most of the original characters are portrayed in the film, but with a new cast. The film follows James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) and Spock (Zachary Quinto) before they join forces on the USS Enterprise to bring down the evil Romulan Nero. Nero is from the future, and is seeking to destroy the federation of planets as revenge for his planet being destroyed and his race becoming virtually extinct. The film goes back and forth in space-time, as the elder Spock (portrayed by Leonard Nimoy) travels through time in order to assist in fighting Nero’s evil plans.

Star Trek is an action packed film, and with a PG-13 rating, almost everyone in your community will be able to join in the screening of the film. It is truly an inspiring movie, that is really about good and evil, as well as family and the things that bring us together. If you are adventurous and though your community would enjoy it, you could screen some of the older star trek films in a series along with the 2009 version. You might be surprised at what happens.

There are no doubt many pre-show activities you could create with Star Trek! Costume contests are of course a great choice for Star Trek, although you could have some really interesting concessions such as gooey alien inspired treats. You could also have your MC dress up as a main character from the film. How great would it be to have Spock or Captain Kirk leading the events for the evening! It would truly be an evening that would be memorable for your entire community.

If anyone has screened Star Trek this summer on their Open Air Cinema screen, please post an image and description of what happened in the comments section below. We’d love to see what you’re up to!