So apparently the Russians don't like Toy Story 3. In fact they prefer Shrek?!?! I haven't seen TS3 yet, but it's awfully well reviewed. That article also says that Up and WALL-E didn't do very well either. What gives Russia?!?
It terms of its appeal to adults (which blow the numbers), I just don't think that many Russians can relate so easily to the childhood of abundance and toy galore that Toy Story references...
Maybe it's because the bad guy in TS3 is a bear, and we all know how the Russians feel about bears. Heck, their current President's last name has the word medved' as its root. Medved' translates as "Bear" in English.
Russia is trolling us and it's apparently working. Why are they trolling us? I think it's pretty obvious.
Now I'm leaning towards the bear hypothesis. It should have been Mr. Scratches-A-Lot, the irascible tiger instead.
If the prior two Toy Story films are not well known in Russia, then it is not surprising that people would have little interest in seeing Toy Story 3. I would not see the last in a trilogy if I had not seen the first two films. Russia has a unique culture and their people see the world very differently than the West. It could be that these films simply do not appeal to Russians. They could also be reluctant to embrace Disney because it is an iconic American brand. There is still a lot of resentment and suspicion of the US in Russia.
