'Toy Story' in Concert

Overview

You've got a friend in this: the latest excuse to watch a beloved movie on a big screen, and also listen to live tunes played by the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra at the same time. As it has previously done with everything from Harry Potter flicks to Studio Ghibli's delights, the MSO is giving the OG Pixar gem that is Toy Story the orchestral treatment, all on the big screen at Hamer Hall this April.

If the 1995 classic about talking playthings already takes your heart to infinity and beyond, prepare for your emotions to soar even little higher at Toy Story in Concert. There's never a bad time or way to watch the animated hit, of course, but there's always something extra special about the live movie-and-music combo — which draws you further into the soundtrack, obviously, and also in the picture itself.

Running across three shows on Friday, April 29 and Saturday, April 30, with tickets on sale from 10am AEDT on Monday, March 21,these gigs will play Randy Newman's Oscar-nominated melodic compositions — 'You've Got a Friend in Me', 'Strange Things' and 'I Will Go Sailing No More' all included. They're not just the tunes that first helped bring Toy Story's heartwarming tale to life, but tracks that helped launch a franchise. Indeed, Toy Story in Concert hits Melbourne just over a month before Lightyear, Pixar's animated Buzz Lightyear origin story flick, reaches cinemas in June.

After working with Newman on his 2011 orchestral tour, conductor Guy Noble will lead the concerts — adding to a resume that's included gigs with everyone from Ben Folds and The Beach Boys to The Pointer Sisters and Olivia Newton-John.

And, if you're somehow new to Toy Story — because you're the one person whose childhood wasn't defined by it — then get ready for the tale of cowboy toy Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), new space ranger plaything Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) and a rivalry that threatens to upset the toybox.