Toy Story 3

Fifteen years ago, Toy Story hit the big screen.  I remember it was one of the few movies my family actually went to see in theatres.  With that film, a new era of computer animation began and Pixar introduced itself as the new studio that would quickly become a legacy with an impressive 100% track record.  A few years later, Pixar brought back the beloved toys with the first Pixar sequel.  While I don't remember Toy Story 2 as well as the first, it performed even better in the box office.  Eleven long years after that, Toy Story 3 has finally arrived - with Toy Story still being the only Pixar franchise to get a sequel (though others are in the works).

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger (who has incidentally appeared in every one of Pixar's movies), Wallace Shawn, Jeff Pidgeon, Jodi Benson, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, and Laurie Metcalf all return to voice their characters from the previous two films.  The part of Slinky Dog is taken over by Blake Clark, friend of the late Jim Varney who originally played the part.

New additions to the already massively stellar cast include Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Whoopi Goldberg, Erik von Detten, and Richard Kind, among others.

Toy Story 3 acknowledges the time that has passed, with the toys' owner, Andy (Morris) now grown up and getting ready to leave for college - something that many of the original audience of Toy Story are doing or have done not too long ago.  The toys, after many years of faithful playtime, are now relegated to a perpetually closed toy box, desperate for some time with Andy before he leaves forever.  At the same time they are pondering their fate which could include years of storage in the attic, eBay, or even the trash.  The underlying theme of wanting to belong has not changed much in fifteen years, but really, what else do you think would be a pressing issue to toys?

Through a series of unfortunate events, the gang finds themselves facing a fourth option - being donated to a day care.  Though in what place a day care as elaborate as Sunnyside exists, I'm not sure.  The new place brings the introduction of a plethora of new toys including Michael Keaton as a fabulous Ken who, surprise surprise, feels automatically drawn to Barbie (Benson).  The cheerful facade, however, is deceptive  The movie which began as a drama of loss, uncertainty, and wanting to belong - with Jessie (Cusack) reliving the horrible events of her previous ownership all over again - becomes a prison escape film with hilarious as well as deadly consequences.

Pixar and the original audience has matured since '95 and this movie reflects it - in fact, at the showing I saw, probably 75% of the attendees were over 18.  It is still a children's movie, but exemplifies Pixar's ability to create adult oriented content in a way that is still enjoyable by children and can in fact be enjoyed on different levels by different people at the same time.  There is real peril show here and real emotion.  Pixar is probably the only film studio to successfully evoke tears from adults over animated toys.  Try as I might, I can't come up with a single negative thing about this movie.  I'm sure if I watched it again, scene by scene, I could come up with a few bad things to say about it, but only because nothing can ever be perfect.

The big question that everyone asks is where in the trilogy this movie ranks.  I can say easily - and I think that most will agree with me - that it is much better than the second.  The first one holds such nostalgic value that it's hard to judge it fairly, but Toy Story 3 may just manage to surpass it's grandfather, if only slightly.

Hands down this is a fantastic movie that anyone in their right mind can enjoy.  Pixar has yet to disappoint and I hope this trend continues for many more years.

***** (5/5 stars)