| ‘TOY STORY 3’ - review |
| Written by Sian Rafferty |
| Wednesday, 07 July 2010 08:53 |
 If there is one thing which can be said about the lives of all kids, it’s that at one stage or another, we all have to grow up. And with that growth, we leave behind the scattered remains of our childhood: from the Barbies you decided to give a haircut, which ended up looking like a very leggy Sonic the Hedgehogs; to the Furbies which gradually ran out of batteries and would spurt gibberish at random hours of the night. We put everything in a box and don’t open it again until we have kids of our own. In a way, I have come to see animated films in an increasingly similar light. The greats of the golden age of animation, like ‘Finding Nemo' and ‘The Incredibles’, plus my personal favourite - ‘Monsters Inc.’ - have been shelved, and it seems like today, for every groundbreaking blockbuster... there are a score of mediocre and unremarkable attempts flooding the cinemas. It seems like it is finally time to leave the world of children’s films behind and resign myself to a world of endless Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio thrillers. So when Pixar announced it was bringing back one of the classics - ‘TOY STORY 3’ - I experienced pure childlike hope mixed with rational adult apprehension. Could another sequel ever live up to the misty golden glory of youth?  I am entirely happy to say that in this case, Pixar are very capable of reopening the toy box one last time, giving this story an ending it deserves. Buzz (Tim Allen), Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang are back for one last hurrah, as Andy (now 18), has to decide what to do with his dusty friends. Woody, with his increasingly irrelevant place in Andy’s life, clings to any shred of hope that Andy may one day turn around and play with him again. However, eventually the gang end up at a kindergarten, which for the other toys - including Buzz and Jessie - seems like toy heaven. With a whole host of new characters, including Lots-o-Huggin Bear (Ned Beatty), a big cuddly bear with a dark past, and Barbie’s hilarious other half Ken (Michael Keaton), this is a thought-out and relevant story which never feels tired and rushed. I think that the magic which has tied all the best animated films together is the fact that they all operate in worlds which normal people never get to explore. This leaves endless opportunities for ingenuity, and truly means anything can happen. Together with Pixar’s seemingly perfected balance between gauging the attention of both child and adult, this beyond doubt is a recipe for the fantastic. Believe me, one sequence in particular involving Mr Potato Head and a tortilla, left not a single straight face in the cinema, young and old included.  In this case, the use of 3D totally enhanced the shiny plastic characters, so much that I had to restrain my hands from reaching out for a play. This combined with the flawless story line, and characters like familiar childhood friends, it all made for a nearly perfect cinema experience, and the fitting farewell to a flawless family treasure. THINGS YOU MOST NEED TO KNOW: This film boasts the ultimate wooing scene as Buzz gets his (hilarious) Casanova on. But who is the lucky lady? HEARTOMETER: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 [ out of 10 ] YOU WILL LIKE, IF YOU LIKE: The Classics: ‘Wall-E', ‘Finding Nemo', the first ‘Shrek', and of course the legendary classics which started it all off... ‘Toy Story’ 1 and 2. GET IN EARLY: To catch the prerequisite short film at the start - ‘Day and Night'. Another cracking stand-out short from Pixar.  |
