Certainly Lives Up to Everything You've Heard

Rating: Null/10 (24 December 2010)

Toy Story 3 (2010)
**** (out of 4)
Andy is about to go to college so he must start cleaning out his room and packing up what he wants to take with him while everything else goes to the attic. His toys accidentally get put in the trash pile and soon wind up in a daycare where they think Andy has thrown them away but it's up to Woody to convince them that Andy still loves them. Hearing too much hype about a film can often lead a viewer to walk away disappointed as the hype usually gets in the way of one actually enjoying a film to its fullest level. I had heard so many great things about TOY STORY 3 that I was rather skeptical even though I enjoyed the first two movies. I'm glad to say this is one example where the film certainly lived up to the hype and actually managed to be better than everything I had heard. While I still think UP is a better movie this one here has a terrific story, a wonderful imagination and some truly great moments including the final twenty-minutes, which contain just about every type of emotion that you could hope for. At the same time I'd add that this movie is certainly more for adults than it is kids because I can imagine that the ending would have many young kids traumatized due to the suspenseful scene where the toys end up in the garbage and are about to fall into a burning pit of fire. The sequence is beautifully done and heartfelt but at the same time I had to remind myself that this was a kids movie but then again Spielberg's E.T. had this same type of drama and I viewed it as a child just like so many kids will be viewing this film. The final twenty-minutes, which I won't ruin, are downright brilliantly directed and you can't help but smile at how the film ends. The film is a beautiful tribute to the impact toys can have on a kids life and how one feels when they must finally give them up. I thought the screenplay did a terrific job at highlighting this but it also made the wise decision to have all the toys in the action. Woody, Buzz, the Potato Heads, Slinky Dog and the rest of the gang are back but we have several new toys including the bad bear with the voice of Ned Beatty. Hanks, Tim Allen and the rest of the gang do their typical great work but Beatty really does a marvelous job and nearly steals the film as one second he can be lovable but the next second downright evil. The visual effects keep getting better and better and the ones here are certainly the best I've seen to date. The opening sequence really puts you in the middle of the action and the gauntlet known as the day care was so perfectly done that you can't help but look at it in amazement. TOY STORY 3 has just about everything going for it and every simple thing is done with great detail and imagination. The movie is certainly the best of the trilogy and it ends the series in a perfect way.