Pixar can do well even with sequels

Rating: 7/10 (24 December 2013)

Usually sequels, especially of children's animated films, fall pretty flat by the third time. Not this one. Pixar's director gives the audience a feeling that the same loving effort in writing and production was invested in number three as in number one.
The plot does not cover much new ground: toys are thrust into a dangerous new environment, don't stick together at first leading to their near-demise, then finally recognize the strength in unity. However, the script is well crafted. I watched the 'adult' film Oblivion the day before TS3, and the former proves that Hollywood is willing to patronize its adult audience with more inconsistent plotting than its child audiences.
The evil mastermind is a teddy bear that smells of strawberries. Pure genius, and he has a good evil mastermind backstory to go with it. As a big plus point in script writing, teddy is not reformed at the end, showing that not all bad people can be reformed, and suffers a suitable terrible fate, but without any violence, indeed a fate driven by a truck driver's LOVE for the bad toy. Pure genius.
I have to confess the director managed to get a lump in my throat by the time the toys say goodbye to their long time owner Andy who is off to college. Perhaps it is because I watched TS1 with my kids when they were little, and now they are off to college. Whatever the reason, and yes, they are playing with your emotions 'the easy way' in this film, nonetheless I can count the animated films that put a lump in my throat easily on the fingers of one hand.