Just when I thought that Toy Story 2 could not be beaten, along comes Toy Story 3 with it’s brand new adventure that brings on the laughter as well as the sadness to create what I consider to be a near perfect experience. In fact, this movie was so amazing that it would be the 2nd time a Pixar movie would be nominated for best picture at the academy awards. From the looks of the movie itself, it clearly shows how far Pixar has come both in their storytelling and their CGI technology.
Andy is all grown up and ready to head to college but is unsure what to do with his old toys that he hasn’t played with for years. The toys well aware of this try to figure out the best thing to do in the situation they are given. Through a misunderstanding they end up in Sunnyside daycare run by a seemingly innocent stuffed bear named Losto (Ned Beatty). The toys including Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz(Tim Allen) Jessie (Joan Cusack) and More think they have found a safe haven where they can be loved and played with forever but quickly discover that the Daycare is not what it seems and try to break out before Andy leaves for college.
The idea for this third instalment is brilliant as many people both younger and older can relate to the themes and ideas of growing up and moving on. The locations we visit keep continuing to explore the life of a toy in many situations from the intriguing but also misleading look of Sunnyside Daycare to the musty polluted look of the landfill. Every scene is perfectly paced with just the right amount of time spent in a certain location. They even manage to dodge a cliche I can't stand in movies and tv where the main character sees one thing but the other characters don’t believe him or her. Somehow Pixar managed to work with that cliche in such a calculated way so that no one feels stupid and the situation is understandable. There are plenty of funny moments that include Micheal Keaton's great performance as Ken and a defective Buzz stuck in spanish mode. Let not forget that this movie knows how to punch you right in the gut with its sad but also uplifting messages that have grown up with the audience as well as with the characters.
Once again Woody and Buzz are just excellent but other returning characters such as Jessie, Mr Potato Head, Bullseye, Hamm and Rex also make their marks with their signature character personalities which are just a joy to witness. There are also a slew of new characters we meet both toy and human including Bonnie a five year old girl with a big imagination, Lotso a seemingly gentle stuffed bear but in actually threatening dictator that runs Sunnyside Daycare and Trixie a lovable triceratops toy who is owned by Bonnie and played by Mabel actress Kristen Schall. The character I think audiences are gonna relate to the most is Andy as he is now all grown up and ready to head for college and I bet so many people who grew up with the first two Toy Story movies will definitely relate to his arc of learning to let go of his childhood and move on.
The animation in each Toy Story has noticeably improved with every movie and the third outing may have some of the best animation yet. The toys themselves still maintain their distinct character designs with some little details added to make them more three dimensional than ever. Little details like the individual fur strands on Losto or the scratches and marks on hard shelled toys create even more realistic textures that may not have been possible in previous installments. The humans look great and are even better looking than they were in Toy Story 2. Some of the standouts for background visuals include the entirety of Sunnyside Daycare, the opening western playtime sequence and the landfill and each have great choices in color palette and detail.
You of course can’t have a Toy Story soundtrack without Randy Newman bringing his nostalgic and dramatic tunes that are just getting better and better. One of my personal favorite bits is the end credit song that Newman himself wrote called “We Belong Together” which is fun, bouncy and lively. There are subtle call backs to Newmans previous tracks from other Toy Story movies but he does so while adding brand new tracks to spruce things up.
It's rare enough for a sequel to even be better than the original but to have a second sequel that may arguably do even better than the last two installments is a major feat that the geniuses at Pixar have pulled off even with a new director at the helm. The lovely but gut punching story, lovable characters, animation that I personally think is the best of the saga and a great score as always by Randy Newman makes this the best Toy Story yet. This is the perfect growing up movie that makes us realize that just because we get older doesn't mean we have to forget everything we leave behind.
(Final Grade: A+)