Almost
15-year since the original Toy Story was released, Pixar have once again
come back to their original "toy" universe in Toy Story 3 which is a coming of
age story for not only our heroes but also Andy as well, the owner of
these toys. Best of all, quite a few people from the original movies have
returned to create a movie as equally good as the first two.
Directed by
Lee Unkrich, Toy Story 3 stars Tom
Hanks as Woody the Cowboy and Tim Allen as Buzz Lightyear as they get
involved in another frantic adventure that sees them breaking out of a
daycare centre. The story begins with a great "fake" action scene but is
soon dragged to reality as their own Andy is off to college. As he packs his room up, some of
the toys believe that they will be thrown out but in actual fact Andy
wants to keep these memories safe and puts the toys up in the attic.
Unfortunately Andy's mother accidentally picks up the wrong bag and sends
them to a daycare centre. With the majority of Andy's toys happy that
they will find a new life with children, they soon learn that this
daycare centre is actually run by the Totalitarian Lotso Huggin Bear
(Ned Beatty).
For the new toys, they are sent to the room with the
younger children who have no respect for these toys and are treated
quite rough. With a few toys escaping their prison, Woody manages to
come to the rescue as he attempts to breakout his friends and from here,
it's good toy versus bad toy.
There's also
some great cameos from various toy companies, including a slick Ken from
Barbie and a one-eyed baby that is extremely creepy. Without spoiling
the movie too much, Buzz is returned to his factory settings and plays
the loyal guard for Lotso Huggin Bear and his lackeys. With a stellar
cast that include Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Michael Keaton and John
Ratzenberger, it's easy to fall in love with these characters thanks to
the passionate voices of these actors.
Toy Story is
also
backed with some great action scenes, a romance, drama and some
hilarious one-liners from all involved. The ending of Toy Story 3 is a little
dark but of course, you could pretty much guess the ending from the
beginning and dare I
say... Toy Story 4? Nonetheless, Toy Story is a well crafted story from
start to finish that looks amazing on Blu-ray
Apart from
the clever and witty story, another highlight of Toy Story 3 is the
animation which is beautifully brought together and looks wonderful on
Blu-ray. Add in high definition sound and a plethora of great Disney
extras and you have the perfect addition to your Blu-ray collection. It
should also be noted that the Blu-ray version comes with the DVD movie
as well! Personally, I hope Disney release a 3D version of this movie
because it will be the best thing since sliced cheese!
At the end of the day, I cannot fault Toy
Story 3 and if you loved the original or love computer animated movies,
this is as good as they come. From a storyline that can be watched by
everyone and some wonderful characterisations, Toy Story 3 returns you
to a world of wonder and amazement with older viewers being transported
back to their childhoods. Recommended!