Enchanting, loving, and emotional. Toy Story 3 lives up to high expectations and more.

Rating: 10/10 (22 June 2010)

I've been watching Toy Story as long as I can remember and now its hard to imagine this great trilogy come to an end. Toy Story 3 delivers beyond what we were expecting. It has great comedy, wonderful performances by its all-star cast, probably one of the most emotional stories made by Pixar, and a climax so suspenseful it makes the ending all the more emotional.
Toy Story comes from an older generation of films. By now everyone who saw the films when they were younger is grown or just about grown. But it doesn't stop Pixar. Toy Story was one of the first animated films I had ever seen. Then Toy Story 2 came out and that film helped keep me fixated on Toy Story for a long time. Now I'm older, but it doesn't stop me from loving Toy Story and its great sequels. In a way I think its the filmmakers saying goodbye to the older generation of kids who first saw Toy Story and the other great Pixar films and welcoming a new generation. However you look at it there is still an obvious message in the film. And the message is simple but like all Pixar movie messages are they are also smart (especially the way its executed), but I think I'll let you find out what it is on your own.
The film is about Andy leaving for college and now the toys are worried about their future. Then one thing leads to another and they end up at Sunnyside (a daycare) where they meet some new toys like the leader Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear and at first they think its great until they learn that they were put in the toddlers playroom. After being tortured by the kids they learn Andy is looking for them so they decide to break out of there. However they learn that Lotso isn't as nice as he seems. So now with time running short before Andy leaves they have to break out and learn what it truly means to be a toy.
I found this film to being darker than the previous Toy Story films. In the first film Woody and Buzz are afraid of being alone on the side of the road or being trapped in an evil kids house. In the second one Woody's afraid of being sent to Japan. But in this film the toys are afraid that they're going to die. And the darker element I have to say is great. It helps build for a more suspenseful climax and shows that Lotso is probably one of the most evil and insane villains created by Pixar. Especially since at first he seems nice and lovable but when he shows how cruel he is you know the toys are in trouble. And the darker element got me thinking about Up and Wall-e. Both of those movies were Pixar's move out of their comfort zone. Wall-e being a post-apocalyptic film with a message about the future of the world if people don't change and Up taking on serious elements like marriage, life, death, and learning to let go. And now Toy Story 3 does something different as well, it has a much darker tone for a Pixar film which really works. There might be a couple scenes where younger kids might be scared but nothing that should terrify them beyond the point of seeing this film.
And a little warning, this film is a tearjerker. The end practically had me tearing up and a couple times I felt a tear run down my cheek and I could see it in the faces of the rest of the audience as well. The film is meant to be bitter sweet. Because of that tears are pretty much guaranteed.
This film brings back some of the most beloved characters in film-making history and even brings back its audience from more than a decade ago. There are so many memories in the Toy Story films anyone who loved them when they were a kid can't help but see this film and shed a few tears for their old childhood friends. And who can blame them (including me) for doing so, Pixar has proved time and time again that animated films are for more than just children and that the emotional aspects of the films can even be better than some of the best live action dramas that have ensured tears from their audience.
My love for animation has proved to live on again in the new Toy Story film. Ladies and gentlemen what we have here is sure to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Film this year. I thought it wasn't possible but my high expectations were met when I saw Toy Story 3. It has beautiful animation, loving characters, a great and emotional story, and a finale fit for the toys who have enchanted our lives for more than a decade. Toy Story 3 is the best Toy Story from the trilogy and is yet another Pixar masterpiece.