Andy (John Morris) has grown up and is about to head off to college.  With this reality desperately looming over Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and the rest of Andy’s toys they try to deal with their lack of being played with and the idea that they are probably going to be thrown away soon enough.  After some drama they get donated to the Sunnyside Day-Care Center where they soon discover that this ‘paradise’ isn’t really a paradise.

To say that I have a soft spot for Toy Story and Pixar is an understatement to say the least.  Toy Story’s franchise has definitely always been a way for me to remember the days when I was playing with my toys and making my own fantastical adventures where the evil Dr. Pork Chop won the day and all that madness.  Here I see Andy as myself and ask myself what would I do when I’m heading off to college and have finally been forced to make a decision about the handful of toys that I’ve been able to hold onto for the last eighteen years of my life.  So every time I actually sit down to watch any of the Toy Story films I feel a lot more than I know is on screen.

This time around Lee Unkrich is directing the final chapter of the story that John Lasseter started.  Unkrich has the difficult task of giving the audience an ending that will satisfy them in such a way that they won’t be asking for more.  I’m here to say that he made that mark perfectly.   I’ve always been known for somewhat over-glorifying Pixar’s work and complete fanboy-ism, however I do not believe that Toy Story or Toy Story 2 were perfect films or even Pixar’s best.

This time around Woody spends the massive runtime of the movie trying to convince Buzz as well as the rest of the gang that they just need to remain loyal to Andy.  The life of a toy is to be loyal to their ‘kid’ and they cannot give up on that duty.  Here however with resolve dwindling in all the other toys and the idea of having to live the rest of their lifetime without ever being played with they find this accidental change to the day-care center as something positive.  Soon enough we find out that Lotso (Ned Beatty), the seemingly loveable bear that smells like strawberries, is running a scam at the play house where he makes all the new toys live through the hell of being in the toddlers room where they are mistreated and put through enough torture to make any soldier crack.  So eventually Woody comes to the rescue of Andy’s toys and so begins the escape plot from the prison that is Sunnyside Day-Care.

What I think works best in this film isn’t the great adventure story set-up that is the plot I’ve described above but how Ulkrich decided to handle to ending.  It’s easy for someone to take this franchise and create, more or less, another episode in the story of Woody and Buzz adventuring around the place, but the maturity that Pixar was able put into this story of how Woody finally came to the realisation that it was time to move on.  I guess like Woody we are going to have to move on from this wonderful franchise.  To think that it was fifteen years ago that the first Toy Story movie (and Pixar film) was released in theatres.  Pixar in recent years, with films like Up and WALL-E, have gotten a reputation for bringing the older members of the crowd to tears, and they definitely do their best to bring the eye-water from my eyes.  I felt almost that if they had remained on the sad note that they almost follow through on towards the end they would’ve finally earned my tears.  However, I’m sure the more emotional spectators in the theatre will definitely tear up towards the end of the film.

Before I end this review I want to take a moment to talk about the short film: Day & Night that appeared in front of this feature.  The short film is directed by Teddy Newton and is about these two characters, Day and Night, that happen to meet up and find themselves learning about each other.  Pixar has been keeping the art of the short film alive with these wonderful shorts that remind me of the kinds of shorts we would see by Hanna-Barbera and all.  This definitely isn’t my favourite Pixar short, but it is one of the most interesting of them.  Here we see the sounds coming from each character only when you see the creator of that sound in their purview.  It’s a brilliantly sweet short film that makes you laugh and smile all through its six-minute runtime.  It’s a great precursor the fabulous movie to come.

In the end Toy Story 3 is definitely the movie to see this weekend.  It isn’t my favourite of the Toy Story films but it definitely keeps the essence of the franchise alive and ends it on a high note.  The new characters, that we actually get to meet, are fun and great additions.  I’ll be quoting Ken (Michael Keaton) and Mr. Pricklepants (Timothy Dalton) for years to come.

IMDB says 9.5/10

Rotten Tomatoes says 99%

I say 8.5/10