Though I owned many of them throughout my childhood, I never really had much emotional attachment to my toys. Sure, in my younger days I couldn't separate myself from them, but they went through so much rotation over the years (thanks to whatever commercial fad was en vogue at the time) that any attachment was fleeting at best.
But despite going through all those Transformers, Ninja Turtles, and Power Rangers from my toddler years to elementary school, I can certainly understand why a child might have such a connection to certain playthings, and why it'd be especially difficult to let those toys go when adolescence and, eventually, adulthood comes knocking.
After all, all good things must come to an end, and the same can be said for Pixar Studios' venerable and beloved Toy Story film franchise. Having revolutionized the world of film animation in 1995 with the first of the series (and Pixar's first feature-length overall), and followed by a superb sequel in 1999, our journey with the now-iconic Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Rex, et al. has finally concluded, with the terrific, funny, gripping, and emotionally-gratifying Toy Story 3.
In the eleven years since we last saw the plastic and sentient gang, their human owner Andy (voice of John Morris) has grown up. Naturally, he became too old to play with his toys, ultimately keeping them stored in a chest in his room. Now Andy is headed for college, leaving his toys distressed and worried. Cowboy Woody (voice of Tom Hanks), space ranger Buzz (voice of Tim Allen), Slinky Dog (voice of Blake Clark), nervous dinosaur Rex (voice of Wallace Shawn), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (voices of Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), cowgirl Jessie (voice of Joan Cusack), and piggy bank Hamm (voice of John Ratzenberger) fear that they'll be thrown out and abandoned, but their fears are allayed when Andy decides to take Woody with him to college while the rest are put in the attic.
However, a mishap places all of the toys-- as well as Andy's baby sister's Barbie doll (voice of Jodi Benson)-- in a donation box for the Sunnyside daycare center. Though Woody doesn't want to spend his days in such a place, the others prefer it, believing that Andy doesn't want them anymore. Introduced to the kindly Lotso-Hugging-Bear (voice of Ned Beatty), the toys are delighted at the prospect of being played with by young children. A disgusted Woody leaves, and ends up in the home and possession of toddler Bonnie (voice of Emily Hahn).
However, the other toys realize that Sunnyside isn't the paradise they envisioned, as they've been placed in the Caterpillar room, where they're manhandled and vandalized by uninhibited young toddlers rather than being gently taken care of by older children. Lotso and his gang, including the mute Big Baby and fashionable doll Ken (voice of Michael Keaton), also turn out to be cruel thugs holding the toys prisoner, and Lotso ends up resetting Buzz to his original, seriously dramatic space ranger mode, making Buzz his new enforcer. Woody must now race against time to return to Sunnyside and rescue his companions, all before Andy leaves for college.
Now usually, whenever I see the third film in a trilogy that's had two good or great installments, I tend to lower my standards, as very few trilogies have scored three for three as far as overall quality and freshness go. But at the same time, my expectations heightened merely because Toy Story 3 was produced by the creative and visionary geniuses at Pixar, who in this reviewer's opinion has yet to create a movie that was any less than fantastic. Such a track record quelled my fears for "threequelitis", and justifiably so.
Despite the previous film in the series being released over a decade ago, we still haven't lost our connection to Woody and Co., their distinctive and colorful personalities still fresh as ever. It also helps that the general storyline (Andy reconnecting with his childhood toys before ultimately saying goodbye) parallels the experiences of the audience, especially those who grew up with the first two films. To say that Toy Story 3 is an emotional experience is a severe understatement. It still boggles the mind that computer-generated toys and anthropomorphic objects can be made to elicit more warmth and emotion than many flesh-and-blood film characters in other pictures.
It certainly helps that animation technology has advanced considerably in the intervening years between 2 and 3. The visual effects on display are absolutely gorgeous to behold, best personified at the very start by a terrific, imaginary Wild West-style chase opener. The clever and rapid-fire humor and sight gags are still at their best, providing as much laughs for adults as there are for children (my personal favorite involving Mr. Potato Head being forced to temporarily replace his potato with an unusual and less-than-productive foodstuff). And once again (per usual for Pixar), there are plenty of delicious pop culture references and homages, especially the obvious nods to Cool Hand Luke and The Great Escape.
Also pulling a hat trick are the fabulous vocal work by the cast. Hanks and Allen once again are solid as Woody and Buzz, and it's a pleasure to hear the great Don Rickles and Wallace Shawn again (as well as Blake Clark ably replacing the late Jim Varney as Slinky). But the show is stolen by the addition of an almost unrecognizable Michael Keaton as the flamboyant and fashionable Ken doll. With a seemingly endless array of snazzy outifts (be they disco-themed or an astronaut suit), the male doll who frets over merely being a "girl's toy" is lovestruck by the arrival of (who else?) the equally flighty Barbie, providing for a hysterical subplot.
Despite some scarier scenes than those of the first two films (including a very intense and heartpounding action climax), this film is one for all ages: those who are still young enough to enjoy their toys, and those old enough to possibly look back and cherish such childhood memories. I'll admit that by the end, it was tough to say goodbye to the characters I first grew to love when I was nine years old, and though bittersweet, the franchise that made Pixar a cinematic powerhouse couldn't have ended on a finer note. Not Pixar's best (WALL-E takes that crown) but still ranking quite high, Toy Story 3 is a beautiful, hilarious, intelligent, heartbreaking, and ultimately satisfying coda to a brilliant film trilogy.
Letter Grade: "A"
