The brave little toys have a welcoming return

Rating: Null/10 (20 June 2010)

Our beloved Pixar really bring out their dark side with the much-anticipated third installment of their "Toy Story" series. I saw a few kids in my theatre with dolls and action figures of the main characters they cherish, but these characters are now faced with an unfortunate and inevitable scenario; their owner Andy has grown up and is leaving for college. That's not the only scenario that they face, too. To be fair, though, this film still has an upbeat tone and has the wit, adventure, and heart of the previous films. I love this one just as much as those and maybe a bit more for the emotional ending.
Woody, Buzz, and several other main toys who are still left spend years in a toy box going unplayed with in Andy's teenage modified room. Days before he heads to college, he decides to bring Woody with him and have the others go in the attic. They're placed in a garbage bag and are mistakenly dropped off at the street curve for the approaching garbage truck. Woody tries to re-enact his rescue scene in the second film by getting Buster the dog to help him, but Buster's now too old for this kind of thing and the scene actually got laughs from the audience, including me. The toys save themselves and think it was done on purpose, so they get in the back of the car to be dropped off at a daycare centre where they'll be played with again. Woody hesitatingly joins them and it's all glorious adventure from here on out.
A group of toys and their Southern accented leader Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear run the daycare for the other toys like a fascist prison. (I'm not kidding.) One room has toys that are treated with care from kids and the other is for toys who are treated poorly from toddlers. It's forbidden for toys to crossover and for them to leave the daycare. Guess which room Woody and his pals get? The latter, but they don't know about it since Lots-o'-Huggin' Bear manipulates them with his friendly personality. Woody wants to be with Andy and as he escapes, he's found by a caring little girl named Bonnie, who takes him to her home. At night, a creepy cymbal-banging monkey toy watches over the daycare via security cameras. I know that toy resembles a real one, but I, myself, was still kind of disturbed by it. Will Woody be able to get back to his friends? Will they be able to escape the daycare and get back to Andy in time? Find out when you watch the film! (Don't worry; you won't be left hanging like "Woody's Roundup" show.)
You may get tired of reading this, but the makers at Pixar have done a commendable job yet again. I cared about Woody and his pals like I did for the previous films. The toys keep their personalities, although Buzz experiences the same disorder from the first film and another disorder that kept the audience and I laughing. As I've mentioned, this film has wit and plenty of it, like the grand escape scene at the daycare, especially what Mr. Potatohead does. Pixar always manages to use the perfect blend of storytelling to get a wide audience. Even with a dark tone, I bet "Toy Story 3" will still be a hit at the box office; maybe even one of the highest grossing films of the year. If you're reading this review in 2011 or beyond and it wasn't a hit, then it strangely didn't work for Pixar this time.
I cannot praise the animation enough. It is *ace*. The opening fantasy scene will show you right away with its texture. Since technology has really improved over the last decade, the animators know how to use it. The detail with the landfill scene probably would've been too difficult to make in the '90s. Of course, the main characters we cherish look the same and not blown out of proportion. The animation is one reason the film will, in all likelihood, be nominated for an Oscar for Best Animated Feature.
The film is rated G by the MPAA and Canada's provincial rating boards, but I think it's somewhere between G and PG. Children under six or seven may be frightened by some scenes. The film's darkness is arguably necessary for the main characters as they metaphorically experience the pains of being unwanted from someone who used to love playing with them. As with "Ratatouille", one moral to the story is that family is more important than anything else. Families stick together, no matter what.
Although the film is not without flaws, they feel very minor. I sort of predicted the ending and there are coincidental moments that are done just to drive the story, like how the garbage truck arrives during two conflicts. Kids aren't likely to notice them and will hopefully be engaged with the film like me. Yes, third time is definitely a charm. Just like the first and second films, when you see this one, you may even want to see it again.