Toy Story 3 Review

I can still clearly remember the day I saw the first Toy Story movie. It was my birthday and as I walked out of the school gate, my dad and brothers were waiting for me in our old blue car whose door fell off not long after that date. I never got picked up from school so I was very confused, my brothers screamed that I was in for a treat and off we went to see Toy Story. The thing that stuck with me most about the film was how much my dad loved it; just as much as us kids. Years later, it’s still a film we’ll all re-watch when it comes on at Christmas. It has a timeless quality and a universal appeal. No matter how old you are, you always remember fondly what your favourite toys were and the boundless imagination you had when you were young. It is this deep connection with childhood nostalgia that proves that Toy Story was never supposed to be exclusively a children’s film, it has a perfect balance that is very difficult to attain. There has even been a very popular Facebook group entitled “Move out of the way children I’ve been waiting 11 years to see Toy Story 3.” Nobody can argue that these characters are just for kids.

I’m sure that cast and crew of Toy Story are just as attached to the movies as we are. In fact, all of the original actors have returned even the voice of Andy and his mother. As far as I’m aware, the only voice that has changed is that of Slinky Dog as Jim Varney has since passed away. Blake Clark stepped in and channelled his old friend Varney perfectly. With a lot of pressure on their shoulders from many now adults that have grown up with these characters, Pixar acknowledges the passing of time with Andy, now 17 going to college. Clearing out his room, there is a mishap and the toys end up being donated to a local daycare centre. With new characters and a new world for them, the toys find themselves on an entirely new adventure. The writing is extremely heartwarming and hilarious all at the same time.

Toy Story 3 joins the ranks of other contemporary animation movies by coming to our screens in 3D. Although always planned to be in 3D, the filmmakers felt it was more important to let the story be told first and to add 3D after, rather than being constrained in what they wanted to do, or have a sequence purely for the sake of it being in 3D. 3D in TS3 is mainly used to draw your eye to certain aspects. They use a very shallow depth of field for these shots in order to make the 3D more effective. They did not want the 3D to detract from the emotions in the film and as it is a very emotional film overall, I think the 3D is just right. If you’re looking for a purely engrossing 3D romp, then this isn’t it.

It has been revealed that Tim Allen has Toy Story 4 in his contract should the opportunity arise but director Lee Unkrich and producer Darla K. Anderson seem sure that this is the end of Toy Story. With a very weepy close that will affect adults much more than children, I personally think that Toy Story 3 is the perfect wrap up for the franchise. The writing, acting and animation is pitch perfect. It is completely worth the wait and I don’t think TS fans will be at all disappointed.

Toy Story 3 hits cinemas in Ireland this Monday (19th July) and if you can only get to one film this summer, this should be it.

Rating: 9/10 I can’t find many faults with this at all, but anyone that reads these reviews knows that I’m a very tough rater.

Recommended for: Everybody.

Let me know what you think. Would you like to see a Toy Story 4 in the works or do you think this is a perfect ending to an epic tale?