Film Review | Toy Story 3

Growing up is hard... 

It may be a bit facetious to say that Pixar can do no wrong, but the truth is that they have latched onto a formula that not only works, but appears with all the fragile-but-perfect innocence of a fairy tale at each incarnation, be it a superhero family sit-com setup (The Incredibles) a heartwarming odyssey across South America on baloons (Up) or a seabound quest (Finding Nemo) – they seem to hit all the right spots, for all ages. So much so, that you almost forgive them for dethroning Disney’s hand-drawn animation tradition… something which will hopefully change in the wake of The Princess and the Frog.

It all started in 1995 with the original Toy Story, a success that practically launched a 3D animation sub-industry, not to mention a 1999 sequel. It’s not often that a third act in the franchise takes so long to materialise. But then, neither Disney nor Pixar were ever about that kind of empire-building (Toy Story was the one gaping exception: Walt’s studio usually relegates any sequels straight to DVD/VHS). What made both films great was the fact that they were made because the stories felt like they could be told. And the 11-year gap between the second Toy Story and the third only makes the closing chapter all the more poignant.

Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) had accepted that their owner Andy would grow up someday, but what happens when that day finally arrives? As Andy is preparing to depart for college, his loyal toys are troubled about their uncertain future. In the end, Andy decides to keep Woody and consign the other toys to the attic… however, a misunderstanding leads them all to be shipped off to the Sunnyside Day Care Centre, where they are fooled into the toddlers’ room and routinely abused. The toy team get to formulating an escape plan… but what happens when and if they manage to break out is uncertain.

Really, the fact that it works should be a no-brainer: even the fact that it’s an excellent, heart-warming near classic, a more than worthy addition to the already lustrous Pixar Pantheaon should scarcely come as a surprise. What is in fact surprising, however, is just how emotionally true and mature Toy Story 3 is, at its core. There are definitely moments of comedy gold: Ken’s insistence that he is not a girl’s toy, Buzz being accidentially switched onto a Latino lover setting… not to mention the many mishaps and misadventures of Mr Potato Head.

And as is standard for Pixar, the plotting is arranged in such a way as to make boredom an impossible intrusion, laying out little set pieces strategically, never getting in the way of the (classicaly simple) plot. The toy minefield that is Sunnyside, particularly at night, adds a delicious sense of danger to the proceedings, with the gangster-like possee, led by the embittered Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear (Ned Beatty), enslaving the our protagonists when they show the slightest subordiation. 

But its main idea, which remains articulated throughout as strongly as that of any adult live action film, comes across with so much emotional poignancy that it’s no wonder both Bret Easton Ellis (author of American Psycho) and Eli Roth (director of the Hostel films, The Bear Jew in Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds) apparently cried when they watched it. At it’s core, the film is about letting go of childhood and, after an 11 year gap between the second instalment and this one, Andy’s plight may just intersect with that of many an audience member. 

RATING: FOUR STARS