"Toy Story 3" Review

In 1995, a group of weirdos with big dreams- consisting largely of just-out-of-college animators, along with a few old-timers from the group's 1986 founding- went out and changed film history. They called themselves "Pixar", and they were an animation studio who had previously produced only commercials (plus a few animated shorts used to promote their RenderMan animation software). Their first major work was a movie called Toy Story. It was a great film- featuring a talented voice cast featuring stars such as Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, smart and clever writing, and financial backing from cartoon powerhouse, Disney.

But along with all of that promise, Toy Story had one other thing going for it- it was the first film ever animated entirely with computers. Audiences and critics alike were wowed by this incredibly lifelike new medium, and it wasn't long before other film studios began producing their own computer-animated films. Just fifteen years later, traditional animation had been almost completely eclipsed by its little brother.

Pixar, meanwhile, kept on making movies. They knew, from the very beginning, that no amount of technology could turn a bad story into a good one. In fact, that's their motto- those words are etched onto a plaque at the front of the company's Emeryville, CA headquarters. Their follow-up works all received the same warm reception that Toy Story did, and received numerous awards.

Flash-forward to 2010. Pixar has won the biggest acclaim of their entire careers from their previous two films, Wall-E and Up- with the former being the best-reviewed movie of 2008, and the latter being nominated for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' greatest honor, the Best Picture Oscar. They were hits with audiences, too, grossing over $600,000,000 worldwide. After all of this success and adoration, where could Pixar possibly go next?

Well, that's an easy one: back to the beginning. Toy Story 3 brings back the heroes from Pixar's first and arguably most treasured work, and you know what? It's better than anything I or you could have hoped for.

The film opens the same way that the previous films did- with young Andy playing with his toys. This time, however, we get to see things from the toy's perspective, with Woody, Buzz and Jessie's adventures played out as Andy imagines it. I won't spoil anything else, but know that long-time fans (like me!) will have a lot to love.

But as we all know, all good things must come to an end. Flash-forward to 8 years later, and Andy is now 17 years old and heading off to college. The toys haven't been played with in years, and are faced with the prospect of being thrown away and never being played with again. Feeling that they have nothing to lose, the group stows away in a donation box, and are sent to Sunnyside daycare, where they'll never be outgrown or lost, and will always be happy.

Or so they think. The kids at Sunnyside are young toddlers who have yet to learn the meaning of "gentle", and the poor toys end their first day badly beaten up. What's worse, the daycare' toy community is run by Lots-o Huggin' Bear, a tough and grumpy old teddy bear who treats the place like a prison.

To make matters complicated even more, the toys discover that Andy does want them after all, and is looking for them. The only option is clear: they've got to escape. But it's not going to be easy, as the halls are guarded by toy trucks, the facility is surrounded by an 8-foot-high wall, and everything is watched over by The Monkey.

Toy Story 3 could have gone completely wrong, and it almost did (the original concept was to be produced-gasp!-without Pixar), but instead it is easily the best of the trilogy. Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack return as protagonists Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and Jessie, respectively, as does the entire supporting cast (save for Jim Varney, due to him being dead). None of the cast members miss a note, playing their parts just as we remember them; the eleven-year gap is completely forgotten. And the multitude of new cast members are fantastic, too- Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Timothy Dalton, and Jeff Garlin are highlights as a group of toys belonging to a young girl, who treat their job as if it were an acting troupe. And easily the best new character is Ken (yes, that Ken), voiced by Batman- er, Michael Keaton. Ken's enthusiastic behavior, incredibly corny romance with a Barbie doll, and strange obsession with clothes make him instantly memorable.

The screenplay is penned by none other than Mr. Little Miss Sunshine himself, Michael Arndt. Though he had no involvement in the first two Toy Stories, you wouldn't guess that from the dialogue, which fits the tone of the film, it's characters, and its predecessors perfectly. The drama, adventure, excitement, and humor of all of Pixar's films remains in 3, and it will likely be considered one of their best works.

Toy Story 3 gets an

Awesome!