Eleven years after Pixar’s second installment of the phenomenally successful Toy Story series, Woody, Buzz, Andy and the rest of the colourful gang are back for one more momentous outing.
Seventeen-year-old Andy does not play with the toys anymore, and decision time is looming for the toys as Andy prepares to move away to attend college. Andy has to decide whether he will store the toys in the attic, or donate them to the local day care centre.
When Woody, Buzz, Mr and Mrs Potato Head, Barbie, Cowgirl, Jessie and Rex are subsequently disptched to the Sunnyside play centre most of the toys are overjoyed with the prospect of being played with regularly again, but the ever loyal Woody misses Andy and their old life.
Sunnyside seems like an idyllic setting for the toys when they are initially welcomed by the resident toys, but these early preconcepions are soon crushed when the maniacal leader Lotso, a pink strawberry smelling bear, reveals his true self. Lotso is undoubtedly the most dastardly of the trilogy’s villains, and his gang of tormentors include the creepy Big Baby, and the hilarious Michael Keaton voiced Ken doll.
As you might expect Ken and Barbie share some romantically awestruck moments tinged with a large dose of irony and sarcasm, which is very entertaining. Director Lee Unkich and fellow writers John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton capture a world that all of us can relate to and thats what makes the third installment of this Toy Story genre so appealing. Parents will also relate to the personal anguish of seeing a child grow up and fly the nest, so Andy’s situation is easily identifiable with the audience.
When the evil Lotso sabotages Buzz’s settings he resets him wiping his memory of his dear friends and employs him as a jailer ruthlessly locking up his companians. Woody evades capture and triumphantly sets the others free,
After an exerting dalliance with Lotso and his gang, Woody, Buzz, and the crew find themselves on the way to the rubbish tip and a nerve jangling finale in an incinerator provides an epic last chapter in the film.
Toy Story 3 is a fun, well scripted, rollercoaster ride that tugs at even the most rugged of heartstrings. The consistently brillant humour, fast paced action, and endearing characters make Toy Story 3 one of the most entertaining films you are likely to see this year.
