Toy Story 3

Overview

It's nigh impossible to convey the stupendous delight that is Toy Story 3 without stoking the irrepressible hype that now surrounds the film. So while we're in for a penny …

Toy Story 3 is the shiny, superb, three-dimensional (in all senses of the term) cap on what has got to be as close to a perfect trilogy as exists in cinema. Which is not to say the film is without imperfection, it's just that you don't care. Sure, some scenes are too long and the end is a tad schmaltzy, but you're too engrossed in Pixar's fantastical world and too invested in the fate of Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen) and their motley crew of erstwhile playtime friends to really notice.

From the brilliantly crafted spaghetti-western opening to its touching coda, Toy Story 3 never loses sight of the series' core tenant: that unique, timeless-yet-all-too-brief relationship between toys and their owners. So now that it's time for Andy to go to college, the drama is inbuilt and the stakes are sky high. Woody's fierce loyalty to Andy is tested by the devastating reality of his looming redundancy, wherein he and the rest of the toys face three options: will they be taken to college, to the attic or be cast aside completely? It's not spoiling the fun to reveal they initially end up in daycare, wherein the Pixar crew positively revels in introducing a whole new gamut of old favourites (including a cameo from Hayao Miyazaki's Totoro!).

The ensuing hilarity beggars belief. Audiences would be sitting slack jawed in the face of the film's staggering cinematic reflexivity* but for all the consistently high-quality, family-friendly laughs that keep you smiling. It's this trademark brand of beautiful and savvy writing that engenders such consistent appeal across the generations and confirms, yet again, that the creative minds of John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 3's director) and their Pixar team are true masters of their craft. Their stellar cinematic efforts do indeed go to infinity and beyond.

*Click here for a list of the film's easter eggs — though that covers only Pixar film references, not the encyclopedia of others!