Toy Story 3

Is there Life after playtime? Can you handle a film in which the toys are playing with us, the audience? The third chapter of the Toy Story saga asks some tough questions of viewers, but the rewards of seeing this remarkable film outweigh the emotional toll.

It's the last week of summer before Andy heads off to college, and Woody (Tom Hanks) and the other remaining toys in Andy's bedroom find themselves in fear of what's to become of them. It looks like the attic, but events conspire to throw them a day-care center called Sunnyside. It looks swell enough, at first...

"You'll never be outgrown, or neglected," the toys are informed by the chuckily plush play bear Lots-O (Ned Beatty). "Never abandoned or forgotten. No owners means - no heartbreak!"

It's odd to see a film series that started out as an animated lark turn into "Watership Down", but there's always been some existential angst at the heart of the enterprise, c.f. the fragile buddy system employed in the first "Toy Story", Sid's hapless victims, and talk of rummage sales. The second film pushed these buttons a bit harder, to the point of losing the humor.

This time the drama is stronger than ever, yet the film amazingly manages to stay refreshingly clever and hilarious. We meet Ken (Michael Keaton), who introduces himself to Barbie saying "We were made for each other". Ken must deal with wisecracks about being a girl's toy, or as Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) puts it, "an accessory, a purse with legs." The daycare center is also fabulously realized, a cacophony of misfit toys all showing signs of wear from constant play. Every now and again we break away to see Woody in his new situation, being played with by a girl named Bonnie who is very nice but has a left-field imagination. "We do a lot of improv here," another toy tells him.

All this is very funny, and director Lee Unkrich and the Pixar writers and artists find brilliant ways to keep humor close to the center of things throughout. Yet this movie is no lark. One of the funniest scenes the first time I saw this movie three weeks ago, involving a cutaway to a clown staring at a window, got hardly a laugh when I saw it again tonight. I think it was because the rest of the audience, like me, knew what was coming; a sad story about cosmic indifference and cold-hearted abandonment which sets in motion the real emotional undertow of the film.

Set against this is Woody's firm if shaken resolution to "be there for Andy", even when it seems he and the other toys are no longer wanted by their owner. It's a message of faith you relate to, yet it also brings out another point, the notion of change, even painful change, as needful. The toys know they'll be neglected, perhaps forever, if exiled to the attic, but prefer it to the unknown. This actually makes sense. What can happen out there isn't very nice, but even in the face of extinction the film suggests a certain nobility through acceptance can be still possible. It's a pretty heavy message to take away from watching a G-rated comedy.

The film doesn't leave you on a down note, but it's a funny thing. In the past, I always looked forward to the post-credit goof scenes as something to laugh at on my way out of the theater. This time, I appreciated it just as much as a chance to wipe my eyes before I got out of my chair. It still felt good, though.

Lee Unkrinch directed "Toy Story 3," the third and presumably final installment in the "Toy Story" movie franchise. One could argue that this is probably the best one yet (1999's "Toy Story 2" remains my personal favorite of the three), and I won't argue with those who think otherwise. I still hold onto "Toy Story 2" for deep personal reasons, but "Toy Story 3" does build upon events foreshadowed in the previous installment, which does gives this film a weighty emotional punch - a rarity in animated films these days.

As foreshadowed in "Toy Story 2," Andy (John Morris) has finally grown up; he's 17 now, and is on his way to college in just a few days. His mom is putting pressure on him to get rid of his old toys, either by throwing them out with the garbage, donating them to other needy children, or simply putting them in the attic (a sort of gone-but-not-forgotten-and-within-reach-type of deal).

Woody (Tom Hanks), brave leader of the toys and Andy's favorite, manages to dodge a bullet somewhat, but puts himself in the line of fire when Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the other toys are accidentally thrown out but somehow or another wind up at Sunnyside Daycare, where they are welcomed with open arms by the resident toys there. This introduces us to Lotso (Ned Beatty), the strawberry-scented teddy bear who runs the place, along with the metro-sexual Ken doll (Michael Keaton) and others. As it turns out, this daycare center is actually a prison, and Lotso runs this place with an iron fist; of course, Lotso has a very tragic back-story that explains his evil ways, much like with Jessie (Joan Cusack), who first appeared in "Toy Story 2." So Woody and the other toys must mount a valiant escape if they are to be reunited with their beloved owner before he leaves for college.

"Toy Story 3" is an amazing film, and a fitting end to a wonderful film series that started in 1995 with the first "Toy Story," which also signaled the arrival of the very illustrious and extremely talented Disney-owned animation studio Pixar. They have yet another significant hit on their hands with this picture. The animation here is at its most life-like and real and it's damn-near flawless and strikingly beautiful, which signals just how far Pixar has come in the 15 years since their first hit with "Toy Story." And every film since then has added significant amounts of realism, weight, and dimension to their animated stories.

While "Toy Story 2" had a high nostalgia factor for days long gone by, "Toy Story 3" is a film about the inevitability of children growing up and putting away their toys. There are also themes about the effect of loss, love, and friendship going in the proceedings here. In addition, "Toy Story 3" can also be an incredibly dark film at times - a bold move considering that this is a family film - but there's no need to worry because the fact is that it's all perfectly balanced out amazingly well with some very light-hearted humor, fast and furious action scenes, and stirring emotional moments that just might bring a few tears to your eyes.

"Toy Story 3" is a triumph of animation and imagination, and I say that as a die-hard "Toy Story 2" fan. What we get here, is a fitting closer (?) to an amazing film series that just continues to surprise again and again with each new entry. It's just a great reminder for all of us heartless adults of better days in our youth that have long gone bye-bye.

10/10

I'm nineteen and I wasn't as enthusiastic about going to see this as I was when I was eight years old.

I entered the theatre; the lights went out, the movie began, and after the first twenty seconds I was a child again. The laughter came often and natural. The story was even better then the previous two combined.

I went to go see this with my seven year old nephew and if I laughed that much when I was his age I know I had a good childhood. The mix of humour and emotion mad this movie one of the best I have ever seen, including big ones like Godfather and Shawshank.

This movie is both hard and easy to review because you try to look at the down sides to the movie but the hard part is that there isn't any. I'm sure if you shut off your emotions you could see a fault of two but when it comes to an animated trilogy this is by far the most enjoyable time you can spend in a theatre... The best part, you can bring your kids.

I can't vote... in my opinion ten isn't enough!

The only Disney movie I cried in was Lion King. The other Disney film that came close was Pixar's WALL E. I did not cry during Toy Story 3. I went home walked into my room a realized that my Optimus Prime is not at the foot of my door, my Sylvester the Cat stuffed toy was not on my bed, and my McDonald's Sonic the Hedgehog toy was not on my shelf. My conner only housed my stack of video games. I asked myself why did my mother give away my toys without my permission? At THAT moment is when I thought about the last 30 minutes of Toy Story 3 I started to cry. This film was a carelessly thoughtful stoke of genius! It keeps both children and adults entertained. Lots of drama, lots suspense, and lots of toys! Disney and Pixar outdid themselves with this one. Toy Story was a smash hit when it first hit the screens. Toy Story 2, in my opinion, was not as good as its first installment but it was a film that almost never hit theaters so I'll give them the benefit of doubt. But Toy Story 3 set the bar "to infinity and beyond!" The VA cast was pheNOMenal. The visuals were stunning! The script was enjoyable! This movie reached all corners of film greatness (and its a kid's movie). I have no idea how Disney and Pixar knock out great movies like this (they make it look easy). I related to Andy in this film just as I did in Toy Story 3. The ending was so tough to watch without sniffling because if you watched Toy Story at around Andy's age during the time and you watch Toy Story 3 around Andy's age now (he was 17 and I am 22 and went through roughly the same hassle as he did when he was moving out for college), you would feel a wallop of emotion. Toy Story 3 is a MUST SEE. If you don't have children to take to go see this film then take friends who saw the first two films.

Since I felt none of the other reviews here do the movie justice, I became compelled to write my own. It is the most inspired film I have ever encountered.

The creators of Toy Story 3 have an imagination that is unparalleled. I cannot begin to compare any of the other animated movies that I have ever seen to it. It is a fantasy in an unconventional sense: aside from the talking toys, the environment and settings are typical; commonplace. Yet, the Pixar Team manages to cram every last drop of energy into the incredibly clever story and inventive plot devices out of just common household objects. The animation is so brilliant that it captures shading, lighting, and textures that have yet to be seen on film.

Then, Toy Story 3 becomes a beautiful elaboration on the first two, with very clever character development. Its maturity of relationships is concise but witty: Woody, the wise sheriff, leading the other toys with courage and finesse; a spaceman winning the love of a cowgirl; the loyalty of the dog, slinky; the grumpy married potato and his devoted wife; the superficial relationship of Ken and Barbie; the broken spirit of a lost teddy bear. At the same time, Pixar uses a metaphor that is so strong that it drives the audience to love these characters with all of their hearts. It is a similar emotional complex to a happy puppy who is brought into a home and has nothing on its mind but playing with its youthful owners. But these toys never age, and as its owners, once in their playful youths, leave for work and college, these toys still know nothing more than their youth and happiness of living to one day play again. As you leave for work every morning, your dog doesn't know where you go. And every day, he does nothing more than pray that you come back to see him, every day waiting for you to bring out the ball again for a game of fetch.

Finally comes Pixar's ability to integrate so many emotions - fear, love, action, and comedy, among others - with each having so much vigor in its own right, that the movie becomes a roller coaster of animation and adventure, wound together by the constant movement of setting and storyline, always keeping the audience guessing on what might happen next. It is a brilliant tale; a perfect movie for children and adults alike. I cannot wait to see it again.