FILM REVIEW Toy Story 3

Third time’s a charm

U * 103 mins *  19 July 2010
Director: Lee Unkrich
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, John Ratzenberger, Ned Beatty, Michael Keaton

Never mind the difficult second album. It’s the third film in a series that can prove really tricky. Just ask Francis Ford Coppola and the Godfather trilogy. But this is Pixar we’re dealing with, and if anyone can pull it off, it’s the wizards of Emeryville.

And with this latest Toy Story, the company’s 11th film in a decade, they’ve managed it. It’s reached the point where it’s nearly impossible to judge Pixar films against competitors’ animated releases and instead necessary to measure them against the studio’s own output. The new adventures of Buzz, Woody, Jessie and co do not disappoint. Digging back down into the usual deep well of emotion, the filmmakers tap into the fears and bonhomie that made the first two movies such satisfying entertainment. Allowing real time to pass in the toys’ lives is one of many genius moves, forcing our heroes to confront what was only a lingering, distant worry in Toy Story 2: Andy, their owner, has grown up, and he’s off to college without them. Faced with life either in the attic or the trash, the majority of the group end up donated to a local daycare centre. Sunnyside seems like paradise, with an ever-renewing supply of kids to enjoy the playthings, but it has a serious dark side.

As does the film itself. While one or two moments might be too scary for very small children, this is a grown-up exploration of separation anxiety and ageing worries that will still play as a wildly fun watch for everyone in that now clichéd demographic of eight to 80. The entire ensemble is well used, with all the remaining regulars (as Woody acknowledges, they’ve lost a few friends over the years) getting solid comedy lines and truthful emotional moments. Not a minute is wasted, and the newcomers, particularly Ned Beatty’s Lotso bear and Michael Keaton’s Ken, flow naturally into the story.

A warning to those wishing to appear tough in public: bring something to shield your face with. Because even the hardest of hearts will have melted by the time the lights come back up.

James White