Bravos, tears and peeing in the pants?

Rating: 9/10 (25 October 2010)

"Toy Story 3" has the most touching ending of a movie in recent memory, delivered with such tenderness and sincerity that bring even big guys to tears.
Up until that moment, the story's toy heroes had gone through hell in order to belong, to find a home and fulfill their destiny, and now they've done it. But the scene belongs to their owner, Andy, who is at the crossroads of his life, ready to say goodbye not only to the comforts of home but also to the joys of childhood. Nostalgia, letting go, a rite of passage – for the boy as well as the audience, the blend is bittersweet.
Between "Toy Story 2" and "Toy Story 3", a number of good things happened. Animation master hatched the idea for the final sequel, Lee Unkrich honed his directorial gifts with three Pixar studio hits, and Michael Arndt found fame writing "Little Miss Sunshine." But negative things happened too, such as America's descent into a period of recession, making it a receptive ground for this movie's theme of usefulness and obsolescence. Until today, there are legions of employed people out there living in fear of the red slip or the rude jolt of restructuring. The plight of Andy's endangered toys is not much different from their own.
Once loved and appreciated, the toys (job description: give joy), find themselves literally being sacked. After a series of fateful errors, they end up under two new managements: Sunnyside day care center's destructive horde of 2-year-olds during the day, and at night, a strawberry-colored stuffed bear and his sinister band of thugs.
Lasseter, Unkrich, Arndt and their teams of animators then weave their magic, crafting a thrilling adventure story of the toys' escape from their prison which is as engrossing as the best action movies from any major studio. The difference is that these plastic and polyester stuffs have more heart than, say, Rambo (make no mistake, Rambo's full of it), and can act and ham it better than, say, Arnold – they're far more . . . animated.
It starts with the clear sketches of the toy characters, each one assigned its own dossier, quirks and emotional baggage. The mainstays such as Cowboy Woody, Buzz Lightyear, Jessie the Cowgirl and the Potato Heads are joined by new ones such as godfather Lotso and, surprise, Barbie and Ken. The inclusion of Barbie is not an unlikely choice because after all, she is the collectible of collectibles. Every toy gets its turn to shine -- to be endearing, witty, plain silly or even menacing -- and when it does, so does the actor who lends the voice, with special mention to Ned Beatty as sadistic Lotso.
As "Toy Story 3" hurtles to its rousing finale, one can understand why in some movie theaters, audiences cheer and give it a standing ovation at the end. Pixar rules. Once again, it has won the hearts of viewers 10 years and above.
I really can't speak for those 10 and under. One possible pitfall of making animation feature films is the imperative to entertain both the kids and their parents. This multi-tasking can result in clever double entendres, humor that works on different levels and wonderful messages that can be grasped by either young or old or both.
But when it comes to imagery of the frightening kind, the studios may be treading on sensitive ground, because one need not be a psychologist to know that there are certain images that terrify children and haunt them even in their sleep.
One prototype of animation movie villains is the witch from "The Wizard of Oz." Some kids found her so frightening that they peed in their pants. Those were the 1940s, long before the villains of TV cartoons and computer games became regular household guests. Have preteen children evolved so much in seven decades that they now have very high tolerance for the abnormal and the grotesque?
"Toy Story 3" contains a few images that could be terrifying for the youngest kids: an overgrown baby doll in diapers who is one of the thugs; a ghostly cymbal-clapping monkey straight from "Phantom of the Opera"; and visions of hell in the form of gigantic toy shredders and seething incinerators. All in bigger-than-life 3D. Combine them with super- realistic effects and hard-edged storytelling and one wonders if the young 'un is really having fun.
Perhaps there should be a new rating system for the benefit of those under 10, or perhaps movie makers should remember a little girl's complaint to her dad one day at a theme park: "Don't walk too fast, Daddy. I got small feet."