It's great, but tries way too hard to be emotional!

Rating: 8/10 (9 August 2019)

With Pixar returning to the toy box for a fourth time this summer, I felt it was worth looking back over the film that many still praise as the perfect end to the original Toy Story trilogy. Like a lot of audiences, I felt some very strong nostalgic vibes when first watching the third instalment in cinemas, and like many, I also got very emotional with the film's final scene. And overall, this film still holds up brilliantly... but it's not as good as the rest of the series.
The original Toy Story was the first film I ever watched as a child, and therefore the first two films hold a special place in my heart. Having already seen the fourth film, I can confirm that it is on par with the original two instalments in my eyes, taking the characters on a journey that many hadn't thought about until seeing the film for themselves. And overall, Toy Story 3 still delivers a heartwarming, thrilling and very entertaining film. The prison escape style narrative fits the drab and unwelcoming environment of Sunny-side Daycare, and the introduction of Lotso (Ned Beatty) is by far the best antagonist in the series to this date. Like the majority of the Toy Story antagonists, Lotso has a sympathetic past, which helps the audience understand what can drive a toy down the path he's on, while still having him be threatening, manipulative and down right barbaric at times.
The chemistry between our ensemble cast continues to grow from strength to strength, with the blossoming chemistry between Buzz (Tim Allen) and Jessie (Joan Cusack) being a primary highlight, thanks to the introduction of El Buzzo, which creates some genuinely funny moments to keep the audience laughing, while still developing the chemistry, without resorting to awkward humour or cheesy dialogue.
I also have to praise the whole animation team at Pixar, who continue to go to infinity and beyond, with the animating skills getting better with every new release. And to have this film still ageing well after 9 years is a great sign of how this film will fare in the future. Some of their best work comes when they can truly go wild with their imagination, such as the opening fantasy sequence, and the climax at the landfill. While there are plenty of animation studios to choose from, I can't think of a better team than those at Pixar. Even when the material is subpar, you know the animators will make the film look so good, you'll cry.
And after all the positives I talked about, it's really hard to say, but Toy Story 3 still remains my least favourite of the series. That's not to say this film is bad, far from it in reality! But since all four instalments of this saga are astoundingly good, something has to be at the bottom. And the reason part three's at the bottom? Simple, it tries hard to provoke an emotional reaction from it's audience. With an 11 year gap between this and Toy Story 2, (Lassetter, 1999) many fans expected the presumed finale would end off on a really emotional note. And at first glance, it does. But sadly, it's become clear to me through occasional re-watches, that the emotional moments are designed in a way that the singular reason some of them are there, is so the audience will have an emotional reaction.
Scenes such as the intense furnace scene aren't bad moments, but the way the scenes play out feel like the emotional response was more of a priority than fitting these moments into the narrative. The biggest flaw is how quickly the toys forget about how close they were to death in the furnace scene, as if it was no big deal. Even though they had literally just held each other's hands ready to face the end. The drama was set up brilliantly, and then quickly undercut before it could get too dark. Although, I'd argue that they couldn't go darker than nearly burning the characters alive.
Another prime example is the ending scene which generally leaves the audiences in floods of tears. And again, I was among that crowd upon first viewing, but 9 years down the line, and I find that scene extremely corny. Not the concept of Andy handing the toys on, the big problem apart from the cheesy nature of the scene, is because Andy's character has done a complete 180 turn in this scene. Andy hardly seems fussed about the toys baring Woody (Tom Hanks) for the majority of the film, then in the last few scenes, he acts like they were always special to him. Which is true from the opening scenes of him as a child. But I don't buy that he still feels like way when he referred to the same toys as "junk" a few days previously. Either establish Andy's connection to the toys as an adult more, or tone back the cheesiness of the final scene.
But in the long run, the over eagerness to provoke an emotional reaction doesn't harm Toy Story 3 a whole lot. It's still one of Pixar's finest films, with everything that makes their work great. And had they ended the series here, I would've been perfectly happy with it. I should reiterate that I do prefer the ending from the recent 4th film, which builds on this film's ending brilliantly, but nevertheless, as an end to Andy's involvement in this narrative, the toys had a brilliant end to their original trilogy.
Scores
Narrative - 4/5
Characters - 5/5
Production - 5/5
Acting - 5/5
Music - 5/5
Total - 4.8/5