Another Pixar masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (18 June 2010)

By now, it's become a cliché to say "Pixar has done it again." But that doesn't make it any less true.
Year after year, Pixar releases movies that leave audience's jaws on the floor. Toy Story 3 is no exception. With 15 years' worth of personal investment in the series, Pixar has crafted their most emotional outing yet. We've grown up with these characters (I was 5 when the first one came out, and as Andy heads off to college, I'm just home from my first year), so there's already a built-in connection. We care what happens to these toys. It's a world we're all familiar with: not just because the films have been around for a decade and a half, but because everyone has had toys and (probably) grown out of them. It's an interesting reflection of our reality, because as we flinch when Andy calls his toys "junk," we know that we've done the same.
I cried. A lot. On the way home, I cried some more. Pixar has done a simply beautiful job of finishing this series. It's always been fun to see the way the toys handle different aspects of life that are stressful for them: birthday parties, Christmas, yard sales. But having their owner grow up and leave them is something totally different. While many of the toys resign to their fate or even embrace the possibility of going to daycare, Woody's unflinching loyalty reminds us of why we love these characters so much in the first place. And these reasons are reiterated to great effect in the final, amazingly written and executed scene.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Toy Story 3 is the way all the different elements are blended so seamlessly. There's heart to spare, hilarious comedy, clever writing, and intense action sequences. In fact, I can't remember the last time I was so stressed out watching a movie. These toys have to run the gauntlet on their adventure, and it makes the "no toy left behind" policy even more affecting.
Genre lines are blurred, as well. The opening is an appropriate western/sci-fi mix that hearkens back to the first film. A large portion of the film takes on the characteristics of a prison break film to thrilling effect. Each generic evolution feels natural, making the movie increasingly complex and thus, the perfection with which it's pulled off that much more impressive.
As with all of Pixar's films, the technical aspects are dazzling. The animation is simply beautiful, especially the texturing that's achieved on some of the softer characters, like Lotso. The 3-D is well-implemented and utterly unintrusive. There are no gimmicks here; Pixar doesn't make things pop out of the screen to justify the heightened ticket prices. The film itself is worth the money, and the 3-D just makes everything look that much crisper and more gorgeous.
The voice cast is phenomenal as always. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are still the perfect leading pair, and all their support is hilarious. The new additions to the cast are fantastic, as well. Michael Keaton as Ken gets a lot of the films biggest laughs. He captures just the right blend of sinister and clueless, with a healthy dollop of vanity to coat it all. Other new highlights include the wonderful Kristen Schaal and Timothy Dalton in small supporting parts.
The series also continues its tradition of great villains in the vein of Sid (who makes a subtle cameo as a garbage man) and the Prospector. This time, we get a terrifying pair in the form of the cute and cuddly Lotso and the horrific, droopy-eyed Big Baby, who recalls the claw- bodied doll head from the first film. The pair make an interesting team and are given a backstory that makes them more sympathetic than most film villains. Their flashback is reminiscent of Jessie's in the second film (although there's no heart-breaking song accompanying it).
Randy Newman is back in the music department and delivers an appropriately flexible and exciting score. He also provides a great new song to the Toy Story canon: "We Belong Together" (can you think of a better title?), which plays over the credits as fun extra scenes help relieve the emotional load.
Simply put, Toy Story goes above and infinitely beyond my highest hopes and expectations. It tugs at the heartstrings in a genuine way. In typical Pixar fashion, there's no emotional trickery being pulled here. Pixar's focus has always been on story, and with their latest masterpiece, they've brought their first story to a beautiful, fitting close. I couldn't be happier.