Movie review - Toy Story 3(D)

Name me a trilogy where the third movie is the best. The original Star Wars? Return of the Jedi was wrecked by the Ewoks. Godfather part III? Don't make me laugh! Okay, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is pretty entertaining, I'm not sure if it's better than Raiders of the Lost Ark...but enough of this because I would like to review Toy Story 3 and start off by declaring it as good as the other two...AND POSSIBLY THE BEST!!!

*SPOILERS ABOUND IN THIS REVIEW*

Eleven years after Toy Story 2 and FIFTEEN (!!!) years after Toy Story 1, Andy is now about to head to college - his toy collection is now greatly reduced in size and down to a handful of favourite toys such as Woody, Buzz, Jessie, the Potatoheads, etc. Those who are left are worried about their futures - they're not keen on being thrown out but are willing to be stored in the attic if that means they can stay together. When Andy decides to take Woody to college and store the others in the attic, a bag mix up results in them nearly being sent to the rubbish tip, and then all, including Woody, being actually sent to Sunnyside Daycare Centre. Here, they're welcomed by the genial Lotso the Lotso'huggin' bear (Ned Beatty) who states that at Sunnyside, there's an endless supply of kids who will keep playing with them - a toy's heaven, if you well. There are new friends, and Barbie falls in love with her soulmate, Ken (Michael Keaton) and his large number of clothes and accessories. The gang decide that they would rather stay at Sunnyside and be played with rather than attempt the dangerous return journey, with the exception of Woody who wants to return, so the toys part ways. But Lotso, sadistically twisted after being replaced when lost on a daytrip, runs Sunnyside as a prison for toys - breaking the spirits and bodies of new toys by forcing them into the pre-school room who don't realise they're age-inappropriate. But is it better to be broken and played with or abandoned and forgotten?!

Everything about this movie is so great, I almost don't know where to start with the gushing. It's difficult to articulate what's so great about it other than telling you to go see it yourself. As with all Pixar films (except Cars), the animation, story, and acting of TS3 are top notch.

As we all know, CGI has advanced in leaps and bounds since TS1 came out, but the animators have resisted the urge to make things look more realistic in a Finding Nemo or Wall-E way, instead sticking to the bright blocky palette of the original. But movement between expression is clearer...except where deliberately left to be clunky such as the jerky movements of Ken and Barbie's fused joints! The detail on Lotso's fur moving from fluffy to mottled and dirty as time and weather conditions pass, Mr. Potatohead's plastic shell covered in sand or his floppiness when he becomes a pitabread...all amazing.

But the glossy visuals mean nothing without a killer story to back it up! (Take note, Avatar!) As you can probably tell by that long plot summary/introduction, the story is a bit more sad and emotional than the previous movies, dealing instead with themes of growing up, letting go, the bonds of friendship, abandonment, courage, loss, and redemption. No one ever wants to be discarded from the lives of the people you love but kids grow up, pets get old, toys get broken or forgotten...its all very sad reality for the lives of humans and toys. And although your heart may be broken when the one you love moves on, you can't let yourself get bitter and twisted like Lotso - you have to man up and realise that life goes on like the pre-loved toys at Bonnie's house! There are so many moments of suspense and horror! From when they are accidentally sent to the curb for the garbage to when they end up at Sunnyside, when Buzz discovers the truth of Sunnyside but is forcibly reset to factory setting and acts as the other toys' gaoler, Woody's distress at Chuckles the Clown's retelling of Lotso's history and the conditions in which he's left his friends, their dramatic break out, and the ending when Andy finally realises that although he has so many good memories of his toys they're better off being given to someone who will love and keep playing with them. It's all good.

And the acting! We all know the previous actors do their stuff and do it well, so just looking at the new toys or the ones with expanded roles...Ned Beatty who switches from jovial to menacing in mere words, Jody Benson (Ariel the Little Mermaid!) showing that Barbie may seem like a bimbo but she's an intelligent woman at heart, and But most important is the voice acting combined with the animated faces! I can only give you a description of the Incinerator scene when the toys realise they can't out-run a garbage incinerator. From the moment Jessie looks at Buzz and lets out a ragged, "Buzz, what are we gonna do?"...the look of resignation upon their faces as the toys one by one link hands and accept the worst possible fate of death...it's right up there with the pain on Optimus Prime's face as he died in Transformers 2! I even sat there and thought *they're NOT really going to end the trilogy like this...ARE THEY?!?!* It's a most torrid and convincing combination of acting there is.

My main note of criticism is that we watched TS3 in 3D. Save your money and don't do this. As far as I could tell, I doubt there was any particular sequence which was enriched by the use of 3D. Or it was so seamless that I didn't notice it. *shrug* Also, I guess the scene where the Chatter Telephone explains how the toys won't be able to escape Sunnyside because of the Monkey Guard...that Monkey is pretty scary! Me and Pooey actually turned to each other with fear in our eyes!

Seriously, this movie is amazing. It made me feel bad that last year at the grand age of 28, I decided to pack up my childhood ties and sell them on ebay. Except not my favourite - a raggy, somewhat disgusting old toy named Kanga (it's a 'roo) that I received when I was 4. I had to go home and give Kanga and Watermelon Pooh a hug. In the words of Pooey - one of the best movies I've seen in a long time! If you haven't watched it or made plans to, I think you should!
9/10