This film should be called 'Cure for Depression'.

Rating: 10/10 (18 August 2010)

Pixar is without doubt the most talented film studio ever. Not the past few years or since their debut in 1995, I mean EVER. Usually after this many string of commercial and (certainly) critical successes, you would expect the inevitable dip in quality will begin to surface as it does with most creative geniuses. But Pixar continues to defy the odds and the laws of the universe, by getting better and better with each new release. And I think now with 'Toy Story 3' this could well be the peak of their golden filmography. How does Pixar do it?! There must be a sorcerer locked away deep in their studio.
If this is the peak of their career (although I certainly hope not) then it is a fitting one, by returning to the films that started all of this. It has certainly been a rainbow coloured road for Pixar since the first 'Toy Story' 15 years ago, and now they exuberant such confidence and skill with each new film they make it seem easy. 'Toy Story 3' as you should know by now, is fittingly set 15 years after the first, and Andy the child that owns the ever lovable and loyal Woody and his gang, is now 17 and ready to move on from his play things and go onto college, much to the dismay of the toys. Woody is the only one that gets to go with Andy to college while the others are to be banished to the attic. I won't go too much into detail but there is a major fiasco, and the toys and Woody manage to wind themselves up at the Sunnyside daycare centre where another brilliant adventure awaits.
If you thought the previous 2 films had so many great characters, then this one is positively bursting the seams with them. There are too many to mention, but the stand-outs have to be Ken the hilariously shallow and fashion obsessive accessory to Barbie (a great return from Michael Keaton), and Lotso huggin bear the sweet on the outside but stone cold bitter on the inside bear, who runs the sinister events behind Sunnyside which is more like a prison from hell for Toys. This has to be the most fun out of the 3 films, there are so many hilarious moments in this film from Ken's fashion display to Barbie to Mr Potatoe Head sticking his body parts to a cucumber. The funniest bit had to be Buzz going into Spanish mode, which actually had me (and my family!) on the floor of the cinema in tears. The film just fires one brilliant moment after another at you, it never gets dull for a second, and it always reeks of charm and cleverness but somehow never appears pretentious. However while the majority of the film is ingenious fun, the climax is a whole different story. Taking place in a garbage disposal unit, there are no laughs here as the Toys become incredibly close to their ultimate destruction. There is such a sense of finality and desperation about it, it almost holds its own against the finale of 'The Lord of the Rings' trilogy.
To me this was the best of the trilogy, and the best of Pixar's streak of fantastic films. The film manages to balance the fun and sentimentality perfectly, and the pace never lets up. It creates a world of such charm and fun through the eyes of the toys, you will never want to leave. In a world of constant suffering and darkness, these films are like rays of light that shine every now and then, and let you (for a short while) come out of the real world and take you to a special place in your mind where you feel happy and young again. These films are not products, they are gifts, and I doubt that they unlike the toys will ever be forgotten or cast away. Thank you Pixar, simply thank you.