How many truly superb trilogies have there been in the history of cinema? From Star Wars to the Godfather to Three Colours, even the best tend to stall at the second or third attempt.
Well Pixar have gone where no animation or live action film has gone before. Toy Story 3 is a fitting conclusion to a wonderful saga.
Technologically, it has pushed the medium forward while proving that commercial properties do not have to be void of emotion.
As Andy heads off to college with Woody, it’s time for Buzz and the gang, to be packed off into the attic for a life of toy retirement. But after mistakenly being donated to a day care centre, it’s up to Woody to convince his friends they were not abandoned and to return home.
First the bad points; the film, plot and characters do not have the freshness they first showed 15 years ago with the basic story a repeat of the toys in peril arc we have seen twice before. Also from an adult point of view it is not as consistently funny as Toy Story 2, although that was a high standard to set.
These are minor quibbles though. I can’t recall the last time I had a smile on my face for an entire movie. Pixar Studios treat their films like children, not commercial products, meaning they are surging with heart.
The toys are all aware that Andy has outgrown them, but that does not make parting any easier. The day care centre, which initially looks like a second chance, turns out to be more like a prison, ruled over by a rejected teddy bear (cuddly yet scary at the same time).
Three films in and the vocal talents of Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are so effortlessly honed that their wonderful performances almost pass you by. That is until Buzz accidentally breaks into his Spanish default, which leads to the movie’s most hilarious moment.
Of the new additions, Michael Keaton has great fun as clothes jockey Ken, who consistently has to deny that he should play second fiddle to Barbie.
From the minute Woody decides to break the gang out of the day centre, the pace never relents. From a Great Escape that John Sturges would have been proud of to a conclusion in a trash dump that had three generations of a cinema audience on the edge of their seats; a £100 million action movie would struggle to compete. Kids and adults can enjoy this in equal measure.
Animation does have an advantage over live action in that the film makers have been able to evolve new stories naturally rather than fighting against a tide of ageing actors and inflated salaries. However that is not giving Pixar enough credit for a momentous achievement in moviemaking. Go see now.
