Review of Toy Story 3 (2010) by Jacob M — 21 Aug 2013

In 1995, Pixar was introduced and was known as the animation studio about toys who come to life, in glorious CG. Toy Story 2 was released a couple years later to even more acclaim. Throughout the 2000s, the studio released loads of acclaimed hits, including Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Cars, Monsters Inc., WALL-E, and Up. At the start of the current decade, Pixar decided to return to the toybox with Toy Story 3, continuing the story of Andy's toys who come to life and giving them a proper finale. But was it really worth it? Well, for an animation sequel, which generally is a massive failure, Toy Story 3 is not only the best animation sequel of all-time, but it's also the best of the three Toy Story films.

Many years have passed since the events of Toy Story 2, and Andy has grown up and is about to head off to college. Before leaving, he has to decide what to do with his old toys; Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, Rex, Hamm, Mr./Mrs. Potato Head, the Pizza Planet aliens, and Slinky. He decides to take Woody to college and the others to the attic, but a mistake sends the toys donated and off to Sunnyside Daycare. Woody, who couldn't convince the others that it was a mistake, leaves the daycare, but ends up in the hands of a girl named Bonnie. When he discovers that the daycare is run by an evil bear who treats the facility like a prison, Woody leads back to save his friends before it's too late, and before Andy heads off to college.

Toy Story 3 features many of new toys, both good and bad. Besides the evil bear, Lotso, there's a very creepy Big Baby, Ken, who falls for Andy's sisters Barbie, and there's the funny Mr. Pricklepants, the grouchy clown Chuckles, and a suspicious bookworm.

When I first heard that Pixar was making a third Toy Story, I was excited, but very skeptical at the same time. While I was confident Pixar could pull it off, I feared that the many years since Toy Story 2 would make the return feel outdated. I also believed the film would fail miserably. But with exciting trailers and the majority of the voice cast returning, I highly anticipated the release of this movie. Not only did Toy Story 3 meet my expectations; it exceeded them. Even after three years of release, I'm still stunned by this film.

Why does Toy Story 3 work so well? Well, it manages to perfectly combine action (in style of prison escape films as The Great Escape), comedy that made the first two films great (this time, a hilarious romance between Barbie and Ken, plus Buzz in a Spanish mode), heartfelt drama (practically every scene with Andy and a climatic scene in a landfill), and a wonderful Randy Newman score. Everything in my list clicked, and Toy Story 3 was a fantastic experience.

The voice casting is a pleasure to experience. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return as Woody and Buzz, and still delight in their wonderful characters. Joan Cusack returns as Jessie, and still remains the tough cowgirl she always was. Wallace Shawn is still hilarious as Rex, Don Rickles shines as Mr. Potato Head (especially when he takes off his parts in a dire situation and becomes a tortilla), Estelle Harris cracked me up as Mrs. Potato Head, and Blake Clark, taking over for the late Jim Varney, plays Slinky like there was no voice change. Honestly, I wouldn't tell a change in actors if I watched all three films back to back. Jodie "Little Mermaid" Benson plays Barbie, and delights. Michael Keaton plays Ken, and his flat-out hilarious. And last but not least, Ned Beatty voices the villainous Lotso, and just like the Stinky Pete character in Toy Story 2, he will stop at nothing in order to get what he wants.

Randy Newman really delivers in his score, even returning to sing the classic "You've Got a Friend in Me." There's also a very memorable Spanish version of it by The Gypsy Kings. Also, Newman delights in the Oscar-winning song "We Belong Together", which really sums up the whole message of the film. As for the score, it's Newman at his all-time best, hitting it on the adventurous spirit of the toys and delivering in the emotions of the characters.

You can't review an animation film, especially a Pixar film, without talking about the CG animation, especially considering that Pixar paved the way in it, and I was completely stunned by it. It's hard to imagine how improved the CG looks during the 15 years between Toy Story and Toy Story 3. It's incredible. Colors pop, the humans look like real humans, and the toys continue to look like real toys. This is CG at its best here.

Toy Story 3 is the greatest animation sequel of all-time, a film that surpasses the other two Toy Story films and delivering in the animation, the score, the adventure, the comedy, and the emotions (though I must admit, I nearly cried during the incinerator scene). It ended the franchise perfectly on a high note, and I hope that the huge box-office success will not cause Pixar to make a Toy Story 4, even if it is in the rumored stages. As Woody says in the end of the film, "So long, partner.".