Perfect. I'm tempted to finish the review there. It might be possible to find fault with this film but its unmatched humour, poignancy, intelligence and charm render any attempt to do so entirely ungracious.
Pixar have found a way of pouring more humanity into their animation than the vast majority of filmakers achieve with even the greatest of 'live' actors.
Whereas previous installments focused on the symbolism of toys as the joy of our youth, this 3rd episode reflects the sometimes harsh reality of our transistion from child to adult. Woody, Buzz and the rest of the toys, having not been played with for years but lying dormant in a toy trunk, fear being sent to the rubbish tip as owner Andy, now 17, prepares to leave home for college.
What follows is the toys attempt at making a new life for themselves, hopefully in the attic, loyally awaiting the prospect of Andy's children of the future, or, alternatively, at the seemingly utopian 'Sunnyside' daycare centre.
As the tale unfolds we are presented with elements of horror, in particular the truly freaky child doll, and humour, the best example of which being Mr Potato Head's scene stealing turn as a tortilla (just go see the movie)!
The best of the 'new' characters though, is undoubtedly 'Ken'. His first encounter with 'Barbie' is handled wonderfully and his insistence that he is "...not a girls toy" only adds humour to his overtly camp portrayal.
It's the films finalé though, that pushes Toy Story 3 into the highest echelons of cinema. Fraught as it is with danger, drama and sadness, the characters, now having been with us some 15 years since Pixar's original 'Toy Story', face up to the end in a manner that can't help leaving you very moved.
The underlying theme, so deftly pulling on heartstrings, is that of the emotive burden of parents adjusting to the knowledge their child is no longer truly 'a child', and as with toys being passed on to a new generation, so too the parent must accept that they will no longer be called upon to be their child's favourite play mate.
Toy Story 3 is the very culmination of cinema.
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