Pixar hits it out of the park with a brilliant send-off to one of the all-time great movie trilogies.
I didn’t believe they could do it. Surely not. Not even Pixar could avoid the curse of the trilogy. No matter how good the first two movies are, the third will invariably suck. Well, Pixar isn’t like other studios. In fact, I don’t think they’ve ever released a bad movie. Cars would come closest but even that was one of the best animated offerings from 2006. And so it continues with Toy Story 3, not only the best kids’ film of 2010 but the best movie of the year, period.
It’s been over 10 years since we last saw Woody, Buzz and the gang but their charm and camaraderie had me in movie heaven within the first few frames as I realised that it was opening with the toys acting out a Western inspired action sequence! And that was just the beginning. I pinch myself every time I watch a Pixar movie. The stuff they come up with is consistently genius – a mushroom cloud from a barrel of monkeys? I don’t care if I’m waxing lyrical. They have no peer.
After the great opening, which cut to the heart when I realised it was a flashback, we see that the toys no longer enjoy such extravagant playtimes and are left hiding away in a chest. Andy is 17 now and off to college and has condemned the toys to what they fear most – being outgrown. His mum wants him to chuck the toys out but that beautiful thing called nostalgia prevents him. He does agree to store most of them in the attic, apart from Woody who will come with him to college. Only disaster strikes when mum mistakes the black bag, which Andy intended for the attic, as a rubbish bag. Woody couldn’t bear to see his fellow toys get thrown out so it’s time for another adventure…
To cut a long story short the toys end up in a day-care centre, run by Lotso the bear (Ned Beatty, Network) who convinces them they are about to have the time of their lives, being played with every day. He forgets to mention they will be the playthings of toddlers, and we all know how they treat their toys. Our friends find themselves imprisoned by night, by the two-faced Lotso and his cronies, and left to the mercy of the toddlers by day. Obviously an exquisite escape plan is needed, and with Woody and Buzz in charge you know it’s going to be something special. It has to be to get past the all-seeing cymbal-bashing-monkey, who is genuinely disturbing. These extravagant set-pieces show Pixar at their very best. I particularly liked Mr. Potato Head getting turned into a Picasso painting and Buzz being switched to Spanish mode – cue much, MUCH hilarity.
While all our favourites are back, there are some brilliant new additions to the toy roster this time around. Ken, played by Michael Keaton is a joy to watch, especially his scenes with Barbie (Jodi Benson, Enchanted) when she gets him to strut his outfits on the catwalk. Big Baby is a hoot, even if he doesn’t talk but my favourite addition by a country mile was Mr. Pricklepants, (Timothy Dalton; Hot Fuzz, Flash Gordon) a stuffed hedgehog-cum-pompous thespian whose deep baritone had me in stitches.
I saw Toy Story 3 in 3D and while it’s not essential that you fork out the extra couple of bucks, it’s definitely the best showcase for the technology since Avatar. Like Cameron’s film, the 3D creates a more immersive depth of field instead of wasting time on in-your-face trickery. Pixar have done a great job in keeping the feel of the original Toy Stories while making it even more crisp and colourful.
It’s great to have movies like this where parents can take their kids without the fear of being bored out of their minds. Indeed the most likely thing you’ll find parents doing in the movie is crying, because the ending is one hell of an emotional piledriver. I know I shed a couple. It’s a melancholic feeling saying goodbye to these characters, who have brought so much joy to audiences around the world over the last 15 years. As cliche as it sounds the trilogy is ultimately about the enduring need to be loved. And love this movie I do, with all my heart.
5 Stars
Andrew Cozens
N.B. As usual with Pixar there’s a charming short film that screens before the movie. Using a rare mix of 2D and 3D, Day and Night tells the story of two personifications of day and night meeting each other and learning to appreciate the wonder in their differences.