Thematically Dense, yet Hilarious at the Same Time

Rating: 10/10 (20 June 2010)

For those of us who grew up with the Toy Story films, we, like Andy, have left behind our toys to venture out into adulthood, but we all still hold that fondness for the things from when we were children. Toy Story 3 is the full summation of fifteen years of growing up, from childhood to adulthood. I was five when the first Toy Story hit theaters, now I am twenty and Toy Story 3 is here.
In between that time, Andy has grown to be seventeen and leaving for college, and he is faced with the dilemma as to what to do with his old toys, Woody, Buzz, and the whole gang. All these once cheerful toys want is to be played with, but now their in the doldrums from not having any playtime in years. One thing leads to another and the toys accidentally wind up at a Daycare Center. At first it seems like a magical resort for toys, but it in fact winds up being a prison. The Center is enforced by a big teddy bear named Lotso who utilizes his crazy cymbal, clanking monkey for security to keep toys in line. The film really takes off though with the the toys' determination to return to Andy's house before Andy leaves for college. This is where the movie has it's real fun as the toys try to escape the almost impenetrable Daycare Center.
In a way, Toy Story 3's ending has all the more emotional resonance because I have grown up with these characters and it is hard to leave them behind. I think that is why Toy Story 3 is such a fascinating film. The film is about life, and one's contemplations, albeit it's about a bunch of hunks of plastic. You feel for these characters, you even feel for Andy and his conflictions as to what to do with these toys that he still loves so much. But what the film is all about, is about not trying to hold onto one's past, but learning how to move on. This is, thematically, Pixar's heaviest film that they've ever done, and I don't think that there is any dispute about that. You walk out of the theater at the end, both wanting to cry and smile.
Director Lee Unkrich's directorial debut is well done, channeling John Lasseter's fascinating work on the first two installments, while layering the film with a very appetizing visual flare, but Unkrich's direction soars thanks to Academy Award-winner Michael Arndt's funny, yet increasingly moving screenplay that has surprises around every turn. All of the voice cast returns and delivers pitch perfect performances, I mean, you can't really beat Tom Hanks as Woody, but Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear comes close. Michael Keaton's Ken is the most fun new addition to the cast, but Kristen Schaal (Mel from Flight of the Conchords) makes the most of her limited time as Trixie the Triceratops.
Like every third installment, the film feels as if it has thirty climaxes, but each one is played to maximum perfection. Like the first two films, Toy Story 3 is filled with pint-sized adventure and much hilarity, but it's the heart that ultimately wins you over, and it's the heart that makes one remember.
I give Toy Story 3 a 10 out of 10!