People can be funny about movies like "Toys".

They'll analyze them to death, wonder what underlying messages are hidden in the subtext, how much the FX cost, what the actors were thinking, all BEFORE they let the movie begin. I don't think about things like that when watching a movie at first. I just decide if I was entertained or not.

I was.

"Toys" uses Williams' natural exuberance and Cusack's looniness to its benefit and make them the most unique characters in a movie that ISN'T about toys as much as it is childhood, life, death and whatever happens to be in between. I especially liked Cusack's comment at her father's funeral about the tin horn.

Gambon plays the "serious-minded" adult who traipses into toyland and decides to declare war. What happens? About what you'd expect. Or maybe not, I dunno. What can you expect in a movie where it makes up its own rules along the way, just like a child at play?

I loved the production design and a lot of toys are just downright cute. Williams' speech to the toys near the end that hybrids Gandhi and Churchill with a little of "Begin the Beguine" is a classic in my book. And Cusack's fate is somewhat of a shock. LL Cool J does a pretty good job as does Gambon. Wright is pretty, as always, and you have to love that down-home accent (and dolphin imitation).

In the end, "Toys" breaks free of the world like the elephant during the end credits, making a world all its own, one where children's rules apply and simply allowing yourself to be a child is the perfect remedy to adulthood. Maybe THAT'S what a lot of people don't understand about this movie.

Nice Job, Barry.

Ten stars and a smoking jacket for "Toys", the movie that proves there's a time and a place for children's things, as long as you don't let growing up spoil it for you.

Watching this movie is like eating a banquet of nothing but meringue. It initially looks great but ultimately provides NO satisfaction--none.

The plot is a muddled mess about a toy factory and the forces of evil. So, how is it possible that with this basic plot AND Robin Williams that the movie still turns out so badly?! It's because the picture is all appearance with no substance whatsoever--much like the terrible Popeye picture Williams did at the beginning of his film career. The film must have cost a fortune but perhaps there wasn't enough money left over to hire writers who had graduated grade school.

The film is one unfunny joke that goes on and on and on and on. I really am unsure why it was made in the first place--it certainly wasn't made to provide any sort of entertainment.

Kenneth Zevo runs the family fanciful Zevo Toy factory in Moscow, Idaho. He tries to convince his brother military Gen. Leland Zevo (Michael Gambon) to take over the company instead of his flighty son Leslie (Robin Williams). He is desperate for Leslie to grow up. After Kenneth dies, Leland reluctantly takes over. Leland and his son Capt. Patrick Zevo (LL Cool J) want to make war toys but Leslie and his sister Alsatia (Joan Cusack) object.

Director Barry Levinson tries to make a "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" with toys. He's also trying to make a point about violence and toys. The wacky designs lack the wonder and the joy. The harder it tries, the less fun it is. The military theme and the toy theme clash in a very awkward way. The harder Levinson tries to push his point, the less compelling the point becomes. There is simply no happiness here.