Toy Story 3 (2010)

Directed by: Lee Unkrich | 109 minutes | animation, comedy, adventure, family | Original voice cast: Tom Hanks, Michael Keaton, Tim Allen, Whoopi Goldberg, John Ratzenberger, Joan Cusack, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, R. Lee Ermey, Wallace Shawn, Cheech Marin, Frank Welker, Jodi Benson, Laurie Metcalf, Kristen Schaal, Don Rickles, Ned Beatty, Jeff Garlin, Eden Riegel, Gilbert Gottfried, John Morris, Blake Clark, Lee Unkrich, Estelle Harris, Charles Adler, Lou Romano, Elissa Knight, Beatrice Miller, Jeff Pidgeon, Teddy Newton

Movie fans around the world have been looking forward to it for months: the new Pixar. The animation studio has had an impressive reputation for fifteen years, but doesn’t seem to care about that enormous pressure. In fact, Pixar’s films have only gotten better over the years—perhaps with the exception of ‘Cars’ (2006). More inventive, more original and even richer in emotions. While John Lasseter and associates had already set the bar so high with ‘Toy Story’ (1995). That must go wrong sometime, you would say. Isn’t it inevitable that Pixar also produces a goof? It doesn’t seem like it so far. When a second sequel to the film that ushered in a revolution in the animation world was announced after ‘Toy Story 2’ (which was possibly even better rated than its predecessor), not everyone was equally confident in a happy ending. Did Pixar want to cash out some quick cash? Was the concept of success for the last time well milked? None of that! ‘Toy Story 3’ is of the same superb quality as its predecessors and a more than worthy conclusion to one of the best film trilogies ever made. Hollywood, eat your heart out! Pixar is giving away yet another masterclass, this time with the theme ‘how do I make a successful sequel?’

While time often seems to stand still in animated films, and toys and other fantasy figures never seem to age, ‘Toy Story 3’ (2010) breaks the spell here. It’s been ten years since we last saw Woody, Buzz and their friends and we are now ten years later. Andy is now a young man of seventeen who is about to leave his parental home and leave for university. He no longer needs his toys. His mother gives him the choice: either he throws away everything he no longer uses, or he donates his things to the local nursery, or he puts his things in boxes that disappear in the attic for so long. Only Woody is allowed to go to college. Although Andy chooses the latter option, Buzz, Jessie and the others still end up in the box intended for Sunnyside daycare. At first it seems like the ideal ‘old age provision’ for toys that have been discarded, but Buzz and co soon come home from a cold fair. It turns out that a despotic pink teddy bear named Lots-O’-Huggin’ rules here with an iron hand. Flanked by a terrifying Baby Born doll and the slippery Ken, he keeps the other toys quite under his thumb. It’s up to Woody to rescue his friends from this bleak prison camp.

Like its predecessors, ‘Toy Story 3’ also offers a very sophisticated mix of action, adventure, humor, romance and drama. What Pixar really knows how to trump the competition with is the emotional depth that makes their stories so strong. Not only do they know how to give the characters an emotional spectrum that many creators of ‘live action’ can still suck at, their films are also supported by universal themes that will appeal to every generation, such as jealousy, friendship, love. and loneliness. In ‘Toy Story 3’ the toy figures are terrified because they are uncertain about their future. They have become obsolete and are being shipped to a nursery. The comparison with our elderly, who are dropped into a care home, after which they are hardly looked after, is obvious. Saying goodbye is therefore an important theme. The serious undertone is never far away. Towards the end of the film, our heroes even find themselves in a life-threatening situation. However, director Lee Unkrich and screenwriter Michael Arndt also make their audience laugh often enough. Puns and visual gimmicks (and Pixar injokes) alternate at breakneck speed. Just like in ‘Up’ (2009), Pixar once again manages to move its audience to the depths of its soul with a stunning final scene, where even the coolest frog will not be able to keep it dry.

In ‘Toy Story 3′ many old acquaintances return, although reference is also made to figures who are no longer with them (again a reference to saying goodbye). Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Jessie the Cowgirl (Joan Cusack), Hamm (Pixar veteran John Ratzenberger), Don Rickles (Mr. Potatoe Head, who is particularly flexible this time around), are all back to the party. This time around, the geniuses of Pixar come up with no fewer than fourteen new characters, most of which are again a bull’s eye. The tragic Big Baby, for example, or the bruised Lots-O’-Huggin’ (voiced by character actor Ned Beatty), are remarkably layered, especially for antagonists. And what about Ken, who steals the show with his walk-in closet full of glittery clothes and scarves. It’s a genius move by Pixar to let Michael Keaton do his voice. Halfway through the film, Woody meets a special group of toy figures who engage in improv theater! Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal and Bonnie Hunt, among others, provide the voices and Whoopi Goldberg can also be heard. With all that voice violence you would almost forget that the animations are also of an insanely high level. While there have been tremendous advances in computer animation technologies since the first ‘Toy Story’, and Pixar has applied the latest techniques with gusto, this third film fits in perfectly with its predecessors in terms of style. In 3D, the whole thing becomes even more lively. Randy Newman’s music is also of inestimable added value.

Pixar has done it again! With the extremely entertaining ‘Toy Story 3’, all critics are rigorously silenced. Travel with Woody, Buzz and friends on this emotional rollercoaster that will take you from laughter to tears and back again. Pixar’s films are made with immeasurable love and that love for the profession really drips into the audience from every nook and cranny. It already gives the films a big advantage over the competition. Pixar showed earlier with ‘Toy Story 2’ and now with ‘Toy Story 3′ that a sequel doesn’t have to be a weak imitation of its predecessor and that sequels can also excel in originality. Of course the novelty has worn off a little, but the quality has not lost anything yet. This holds great promise for ‘Cars 2’ and ‘Monsters & Co 2’, the sequels that Pixar has planned for 2012.

Patricia Smagge

Rating: 4.5

Cinema release: June 23, 2010
DVD and Blu-ray Release: October 27, 2010