FILM SPOT - Toy Story 3 (2010)

Before any of you ask, yes, I did.

I blubbed helplessly. Not at the much mentioned moment of 'joining hands', though I did feel a twinge in the eye at that point. No, there is a point towards the end that simply made me understand. I got it. It took me back to my childhood, reminded me of the pain of moving on, of letting go. Director Lee Unkrich managed to convey this very simple emotion that anyone who was ever a child knows almost effortlessly. Put simply, by the time the scene was over, I was crying shamelessly. I couldn't take it anymore. There are moments in this film of such pure emotional clarity that they resonate to your very soul. While I can understand if you didn't cry, if you weren't at least moved or touched by this film in some way, then frankly you have a heart made of stone.

Yeah, that's right. Throw them away, traumatize us. You make me sick, Andy.

Toy Story 3 is more than that just stunning animation and brilliant gags. The reason that Toy Story 3 absolutely obliterates Shrek's fourth installment in the quality stakes is because it understands its characters, it evolves them and not only that, makes us love them. How the hell is it possible to love animated toys? It is something that the entire trilogy has nailed every single time. What a trilogy, seriously. Is this the best trilogy of all time? It's not an unfair assertion to make. The story of this final chapter in the Toy Story trilogy is almost heartbreaking. Andy, the child of the first two films, is grown up. He is going to college, and naturally the toys, including Buzz (Tim Allen), Hamm (John Ratzenberger) and Jessie (Joan Cusack) face either being thrown out, put in the attic or donation. Woody (Tom Hanks) is due to be going to college with Andy. Things take a turn for the worse however when the toys are accidentally donated to Sunnyside Daycare, a centre for pre-school children. The place is run by Lotsa Huggin' Bear (Ned Beatty), an initially pleasant bear who it transpires has an extremely dark side.

The other support characters are great fun too. Some of the fantastic new characters are Mr. Pricklepants, a thespian hedgehog voiced to Olivier-esque perfection by Timothy Dalton. Michael Keaton and Jodie Benson (yes, the Little Mermaid!) play Ken and Barbie respectively. More on these two later, but the focus of the story is of course our core cast. The story is ostensibly that of a prison break, albeit one of the best and funniest ever done, but the true beauty of Toy Story 3 lies in its themes. The idea of sacrifice has so much more meaning in this film since we honestly don't know what fate awaits these toys. While the issues of abandonment were touched on mildly in Toy Story, and more heavily in Toy Story 2, these issues take centre stage here. Toy Story 3 is not about the fickleness or occasional cruelty of children, but about what happens when these children cease to be children. Where do you go when your owner doesn't play with you anymore? Where does the love you thrive on come from? Thankfully the dourness of these themes are lightened by the humour, the one-liners and the genuinely brilliant situation-comedy that fills the film, a highlight being 'hispanic' Buzz, something which is just pant-wettingly funny in its execution and in its use of music and sound effects. There's also fajita Mr. Potato Head, something which has to be seen to be believed but cannot be discussed here because...well, it's weird. Still funny, but weird.

'Guys, why are our sequels always so damned perfect?'

Ken and Barbie are a delight too. One of the great things that Toy Story has always done is explore toys and their anxieties, something we have seen explored beautifully over the course of several films. Ken and Barbie are no exception. Ken of course agonizes about the fact that he is a male doll designed for girls, and is constantly teased and bullied about this throughout. Similarly Barbie, a toy who has been abandoned by Andy's sister, finds herself having to become more than what she is in order to help save the day. Michael Keaton was just great as Ken, just egotistical enough and yet incredibly sympathetic when the time was right. Not that this undermines Jodie Benson, who captures Barbie effortlessly. I will also quickly digress about Mr. Pricklepants. Despite having very few lines in the film, I found him hilarious. Anyone who has ever acted or known an actor will love this guy ('You were a natural Woody, are you classically trained?').

Ultimately, this all circles back to the point as to whether or not Toy Story 3 is any good, if it delivers enough of a punch and if it resolves enough for us to leave the franchise for good. Well you know what? It's a resounding yes. You could not ask for a more fitting farewell. It's a classic. It ties up just enough for us to know life goes on but also manages to leave us happy to finally say goodbye to Woody and Co. Their story is essentially over. The film works perfectly for kids, who will love all the action, the comedy and all the wonderful joyful wit for which Toy Story has been famed. Yet Pixar's masterstroke, as with all their other films, was making the film work for adults as well as children. Toy Story 3 doesn't need to resort to tired pop culture jokes, but simply make films that adults understand. There are few films that adults will understand better than Toy Story 3.