Toy Story 3: Finally, the Third Time's a Charm

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2010)

Pixar has never failed to deliver a worthwhile movie-going experience. Everything Pixar has done is better than anything Dreamworks has done, and that includes Shrek, because Pixar movies have story, and heart, and a respect for the audience. All this said, I was afraid to see Toy Story 3, because it is a sequel to a sequel, something Hollywood has never done well. Take the Godfather saga—Godfathers 1 and 2 are the iconic American story; Godfather 3 is mess made long after the others and starring the director's daughter. Or take the blatant case of "I have no ideas left, but can still make some money"—Back to the Future 3. Like Godfather 2, Back to the Future 2 worked hard to explain the cause and effect behind the original. In Back to the Future 3, they had Michael J. Fox for a couple extra months, so they put a cowboy hat on him and waited for the money to roll in. To their great credit, Pixar has created a Toy Story 3 that is true to the original, but that has its own story, one that expands on the earlier films with a new message of not living in the past. I knew Pixar had not failed when the opening scene—a spectacular action sequence reminiscent of Back to the Future 3—was quickly left behind and supplanted with a real human story.