Pixar Always Delivers the Best of Its Kind

Rating: 9/10 (5 July 2010)

If there is one animation studio we can always rely on and so far, has not let us down, it is the Pixar Disney Studios. Their movies are always played for laughter mixed with substance, sometimes we'll shed a sentimental tear or two, and while their movies rake in the money, this studio has more consideration for its audience. I'm saying this against the recent trend of Dreamworks movies where it looks for pop culture references out of nowhere and star power, and while they look for bucks, they are more in for themselves. Right now, I'm hearing that Dreamworks has run into financial trouble. Pixar has not.
"Toy Story 3" is the latest of the "Toy Story" trilogy and Pixar flicks, and it never disappoints. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are back on hand as Cowboy Woody and E. Buzz Lightyear, and apparently, these actors work so well they enjoy working together. The other reliable cast members are Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head, Wallace Shawn as the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Pixar Good Luck Charm John Ratzenberger as Hamm the Piggybank, Joan Cusack as Jessie the Cowgirl, and Laurie Metcalf as Andy's mother. New faces include Ned Beatty as the evil pink teddy bear Lotso, Michael Keaton as the dashing Ken doll, and Jodi Benson (Who more than twenty years ago, did the voice of Ariel in "The Little Mermaid. Time flies.) as Ken's girlfriend Barbie.
This story takes place many years later. Andy is grown up and is getting ready for college. He doesn't know what to do with the toys and thinks about putting them into the attic box. However, the toys end up in a trash bag, and his mother accidentally sends them to the Sunnyside Day Care Center, where other toys have been donated. All the toys feel that Andy is getting older and he doesn't need them anymore. Woody is still most attached to Andy and cannot separate from him. There the toys bond with Barbie and Ken, and at first they befriend the tricky organizer of the donated toys, Lotso, but soon realize that he is in just for self profit. Once again, as in the other "Toy Story" movies, the toys all encounter peril, here going from one garbage compactor to the next, but they always make it home to Andy.
This movie has the most adult themes - separation anxiety, scary toys (in the first movie, a rotten kid named Sid had very scary toys) that may frighten the most impressionable young children, and an ending that tugs at the heartstrings more so than in the other two movies. You wouldn't mind getting out a handkerchief for this one, but the rest of the movie is still funny and sometimes frightening, but not to give nightmares. I'm always looking forward to see the next Pixar movie, but at this point, I'm thinking twice before I throw out my precious money for another bombastic Dreamworks movie.