I’ve always known Toy Story. Woody, Buzz and the gang have been permanent fixtures in my life for as long as I can remember. The film that lodged Pixar firmly in the public subconscious in 1995 is also the film that won over the hearts of millions of then-children, and for many of us, they’re yet to be dislodged from that spot. And that’s not likely to happen any time soon, as Toy Story 3 is a suitably excellent end to the talking toy trilogy, as well as a bittersweet goodbye to characters we’ve grown up with, played with, known as intimately as one can know figures on a screen.
Toy Story 3’s narrative starts with grown-up college-bound Andy, the boy whose toy collection was always more interesting and expansive than ours, realising that something has to be done with the diminished population of toys. So when the toys, after a set of crazy random happenstances, are donated to the cheery Sunnyside Daycare Centre, they finally think they’ve stumbled upon a goldmine—always to be played with, never developing emotional connections with those playing with them, never getting hurt.
But, as is want to happen, Sunnyside is not all it seems, and the film’s subsequent riffing on prison break movies like The Great Escape and The Shawshank Redemption provides a thrilling step up from the derivative, repetitive storytelling of Toy Story 2. However, where Toy Story 3 really excels is as a character piece, developing the leads and their family dynamic more effectively and realistically than any live-action film released this winter. Toy Story 3 also complements the series’ typical hilarity and pure entertainment value with some surprisingly poignant, daring comments on growing up, moving on and remembering those connections we make along the way—indeed, the final fifteen minutes offer up both riotous laughs and devastating emotion in equal amounts. Toy Story 3 is the perfect way to end the series, and 2010’s best film thus far.
Toy Story 3
Director: Lee Unkrich