...How many babies born will never reach their dreams?

Toy Story 3 - Lee Unkrich

The biggest animated franchise is back with the third instalment and I’ve been waiting for 11 years for this, and let’s hope it doesn’t disappoint. Instead of my normal 500 word review, I’ll probably gonna spew a lot about this film because it’s a mixture of pure love for the series, love for the animation studio behind it Pixar and the fact that i want to write about every detail i possibly can and try to explain how amazing this film really is. And yes, this film is fucking amazing. It truly brings you back to a world which your familiar with and have missed for a long time, but sorta feels refreshed and older, where you’ve grown into an adult and so has the characters in the film. And i love that about it. How we’ve all grown up with these characters and seeing them in positions which we are at, it’s something very special and touching. Now I’ve reviews tons of films this year so far and maybe a handful have really astounded me in how it’s made, and the way it looks and how it affects me, with only Kick-Ass the top of the list, Toy Story 3 is very close to stealing the crown away of being the best film of 2010. I wish i could give it a ten overall, but sadly i can’t compare to Kick-Ass and possibly the upcoming Inception. Let me explain later why i won’t be giving it a ten. But back to Toy Story 3 and the plot.

It follows somewhat a few years other the first and second instalment where Andy, the kid who owns all the toys is moving to college. It’s defiantly a sad moment for the toys and the family, but before we get into that we start with an amazing scene involving all the main characters in a scene that shows the kind of adventures Andy used to imagine involving Woody and Buzz as the main heroes and Ham and Mr & Mrs Potato Head as the villains. This whole scene in a cavernous desert with the train and the chase is truly spectacular and here in 3D is used well, much better than most films converted into 3D have done (I’m looking at you Clash of the Titans!). It’s very funny and i loved the inclusion of the troll dolls which i had as a kid. So back to reality, the toys that are now living in a massive toy box and not being played that much due to Andy being older. With the decision of Andy moving to college, the toys are unsure where they will end up and most likely being in the attic. After a whole situation where the toys are moved by mistake to the trash, Woody helping them survive and the whole team working together to get back into the house, the toys are sent to Sunnyside, a local day-care. But without Woody who is placed inside Andy’s college box. Luckily Woody helps them by breaking in and seeing the toys being played by youngsters. When they arrive at Sunnyside they meet various amounts of new toys such as Ken, Lot’s-O-Huggin’ Bear and a strange looking baby, all have different qualities and quarks which make them very funny, especially Ken who almost steals the show with his campiness. So after meeting the new toys they are tricked into being played with by much younger kids, causing them to be broken, painted on, thrown, drawn on, it’s horrible to watch. The divide between the new toys and old ones form and the villain is shown. I won’t reveal much further but the film is amazing as it picks up the pace with scenes of espionage, escape thrown in with comedy which I’ll shine some light on, here are some scenes i found the funniest. This might be the part with many spoilers, so don’t look if you haven’t seen the film!

Spanish Buzz is the film’s best thing, the first time he changes, the way he dances and the hand and head movements are ridiculously funny and you’ll want to see the film again and again just for that part. Also a scene which nearly takes that away is when Mr Potato head uses a different body for his parts; this includes a pancake and a cucumber, which is insanely funny, especially the movement with the pancake body. Thrown in hilarious scenes with Ken and trying on new clothes, and the phone which is a gangster type figure, the film can switch from making you laugh to making you cry. Two scenes that made me physically cry, which i won’t talk too much about but the end scene with the cutest little girl and the scene in the dumpster fire area thing lol. So yeah, the film is fucking amazing, and deserves all the credit it gets. But sadly, the ten isn’t what I’m gonna give it. It’s an amazing film, but in parts it drags a little and i found the use of 3D wasn’t as good as I’d hoped so it also puts the score down. But still the film is truly spectacular and for me on the same level as Wall E as the best Pixar film of all time.

9.5/10

Simon Childs