In the Theatre with Kevin Murphy - Toy Story 3 - Walt Disney Pitcures/Pixar Animation Studios

Before a senior learned to fly, or a robot discovered beauty, or a baby learned to tame a beast and before a little bug started a rebellion, their was a toy who had an evan greater adventure; the story of a Toy. There is only one thing in the world of cinema harder to find than a good performance by Jim Carrey these days. That would be a trilogy were all the movies are fresh and stay true to the themes present in all three. I think I speak for everyone when I say Toy Story 3 is as fresh and sweet as any of my Grandma's date squares. Its by far my favourite film of the summer (which is really no surprise) and has that flavor of imagination in a film I haven't experienced since I was a child. 

Andy is heading off to college in a few days and the toys are worried that their master will dispose of them as they always feared this day would come. Woody (Tom Hanks) tries to keep his optimism and knowing Andy cares about them too much that he would throw them away instead of putting them in the attic. However a mix-up with the trash causes the toys to be relocated to a Day Care where at first it seems to be a haven for toys but after Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) makes an astonishing discovery the day care is revealed to be something much more atrocious.

It really is a rare find to find a trilogy that doesn't have a single bad member but then again this is coming from Pixar who have never made bad film (so far). Before Toy Story 3 came out I had fears that with such a large gab between its predecessor it wouldn't live up to the series reputation and would suffer a fate similar to many Disney sequels of the films made during Walts era, but I was proven wrong because these are films about a boy and his toys and how ageing effects how he will react towards their existence and influence in his life which would make each film more mature and grow in a line that cant get overblown or weakly plotted. The visuals are also pretty good in this film as they stay consistent with Toy Story 2 but go a little better as time has progressed.

I thought Tom Hanks was terrific as Woody as he has been in the past but I think this was his best performance in the Toy Story trilogy because if there is one thing I see Tom Hanks doing good in a series its evolving but still keeping his characters traits and attributes constant. Aside from Tom Hanks most of the other acting in the film was pretty good. Most of the original actors returned for the threequal and like Hanks keep their original character attributes in tack, such as Tim Allan, Joan Cusack and John Ratzenburg (who is in every Pixar film). I thought Ned Beatty made an excellent tragic villain as Lotso Hug Bear as he shows drive in scenes when he's supposed to be kind and later vulnerability in his voice as the pressure of his life gets put on him. Michael Keaton was frikkin hilarious as Ken in so many flamboyant ways I couldn't control my laughter because his performance was so smart and funny, at the end of the film I asked myself; So that guy was Batman?

This was a great film, I thought it was the best film of the summer (which is no surprise since this summer doesn't look so good) I also think it lives up to its predecessors as being smart, funny and heartfelt. The kids are going to love this film and anyone who ever saw the original when I was a kid I say go see it because It will bring back a lot of memories of the good old days. I say a big thumbs up and go and see it I was extremely happy with it.

My Rating: 4/4 Shamrocks