Review: Toy Story 3

It is a testament to the quality of Disney Pixar’s work that with every release people dare to question: is this the year that an animated film gets a best picture nod? Perhaps the suggestion that such a feat is possible is justified.

Since the 1995 release of Toy Story, with its ground breaking hyper-real animation, Pixar’s record is near flawless. They followed their opening release with the solid A Bugs Life then put out Toy Story 2 to universal critical praise (Sight and Sounds Mark Kermode called it “the Godfather 2 of animated movies”). The moving and original Monsters Inc became the third picture put out by the studio and was shadowed by the huge sucess that was Finding Nemo.

The upward trajectory of ambition inherent in all these pictures has continued right through to even their latest releases and is perhaps best shown in the beautiful and hilarious Wall-E (which heavily referenced both Buster Keaton and the 1970′s sci-fi masterpiece Silent Running. Kids stuff right?) and the simply stunning The Incredibles. Cars and Ratatoullie may not have rececived the same praise that has been lavished on their stable mates but perhaps this says something for the quality of these other films rather than their problems.

Given this illustrious (recent) history the anticipation afforded to Toy Story 3 has been huge. It does not dissapoint. Whereas many other animation franchises that have been lucky enough to extend beyond one film have wavered in their quality, namely the incrementally worsening Shrek series, Toy Story has got better with age. Buzz and Woody’s third outing is genuinely brilliant. Funny, clever and moving in equal measure it isn’t hard to see why those who were the supposed demographic for the first film are returning to the cinema to see the end of the trilogy in droves.

As Andy, the toys owner, sets out for college Woody and Co. are left facing the harsh reality that they beolong to someone that is simply to old for them. Faced with the daunting possibilites of going in the bin or the attic the toys opt to escape to the promised land of a day care centre where, when their owners grow old, a new cohort will simply replace them. Their idyllic notion of daycare is rudely interrupted by a dictatorial strawberry smelling bear and soon they are trying to find their way home, back to the owner that they abandoned.

This summary doesn’t do justice to a superbly crafted plot replete with filmic references to classic heist films, One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest and even Lord of the Rings. The performances are spot on as well with Tom Hanks investing the same palpable sincerity into Woody that he has since his first outing.

Toy Story 3 is an instant classic. Just as good, if not better, than it’s predecessors it is a work to savour. It manages to remain immersive and engaging despite the nonsense of being in 3D and will bring a tear to the eye of those that have been there since the start. Maybe, just maybe this will be Pixar’s year to break the glass ceilling of major animations being nominated for major awards.

HAUS DIGITAL