One would think after 15 years, Pixar would eventually turn out a film of less-than-stellar quality. Many have praised the studio for not playing the sequel card outside of 1999’s Toy Story 2, instead favoring original features with characters kids love and stories that warm even the hearts of adults. Now, after 11 years, Pixar returns to its roots for its second sequel and by no coincidence to the same franchise that gave us their first. Woody, Buzz and the entire gang are at long last back on the big screen.
As Toy Story 3 begins, we learn that Pixar has not ignored the passage of time. Instead, they’ve used it to their advantage. Andy is preparing to move out of the house for college when his mom asks him to store in the attic anything he doesn’t want donated. Confusion and mix-ups ensue as our beloved toys find themselves facing the ambiguous fate of spending the rest of their lives in a daycare. Not only is the band of toys now faced with the challenge of getting back home again, but along the way we are introduced to plenty of new characters . . . several of which leave more than a lasting impression.
DreamWorks should take note: this sequel does what so few can and relishes in what made its predecessors so memorable by upping the emotional ante and never taking the audience for granted. There are, of course, plenty of clever gags and one-liners that kids and adults alike will remember for years to come, but the incredibly heartfelt, even tear-inducing, denouement will tug at your heart. This film is designed to be the end of a milestone trilogy and though you will certainly walk out of the theater with a huge smile on your face, it won’t come without the price of your inner child peacefully coming to terms with what it means to truly, literally, grow up. Definitely bring a tissue.
Not known to be a studio that sacrifices script and storytelling for a mere cash-grab sequel, Pixar takes the opportunity in Toy Story 3 to remind us why we fell in love with the first film in 1995 and simultaneously bring the story and these characters to a flawless closure. In that regard, Toy Story 3 cements this franchise’s spot alongside the likes of The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, and even The Bourne Trilogy as a series that continuously outdid itself; a perfectly-rounded trilogy that never lost its step and stands the tests of both age and time. Whether you fell in love with the first two films as kid or as an adult, do yourself the pleasure this summer of seeing Pixar’s valentine ending to perhaps the most relevant and transcendent animated series to ever grace the silver screen.
