Film Review: Toy Story 3 - The Perfect Goodbye

From the way people had been talking about the long awaited third and final Toy Story movie, I was expecting something pretty epic. Perhaps a high speed chase and daring escape with a dastardly villain and a hero that saves the day. Well, that’s exactly what you get in the opening sequence that lets us delve into toy owner Andy’s imagination. It also serves as a brilliant way to reintroduce the main characters who, for someone who grew up believing that toys really did come to life when the bedroom door was closed, now feel like old friends. And what follows truly is an emotional rollercoaster that will have you genuinely laughing, crying and, at times, gripping the edge of your seat.

Now you may think that an animated film featuring toys would be for primary school kids - the sort of film that parents and older siblings are dragged along against their will. However - much like other recent Pixar smash hit Up – people of all ages are likely to draw something from Toy Story 3. The film deals with a now grown up Andy moving away to college, something that the fans of the original film that are now all grown up themselves will recognise. And during the emotional moment when Andy’s mother walks into her son’s now empty bedroom, many parents of adolescents will find it hard to hold back the tears. In fact, the film sometimes feels like it was made solely for the older generations. I find it hard to believe that young children will be able to keep up with subtitles during Buzz’s Spanish episode and the new dodgy eyed baby doll character is sure to pop up in many a nightmare.

But for us die-hard fans, the story of Woody and the gang is kept fresh and alive with a whole toy box of new characters as well as the use of modern technology – those oh-so-21^st century toys make use of a mobile phone and, it seems, Google Maps now. New toy on the block ‘Ken’ is very much the jester of the film and an unexpected romance serves as a brilliant plot twist.

There is no doubt that Pixar had a tough job coming up with a fitting ending to the much loved series that saw children all over the world opening their bedroom door’s extra quick in an attempt to catch their toys having a ‘team meeting’. But thankfully, they couldn’t have done it any better. I won’t give it away but I will say that I recommend seeing this film in 3D, simply for the fact that the glasses will mask the unavoidable floods of tears.