Film review: The toys are back in town

LET'S take a trip back to 1995. Pixar revolutionised the film industry as we know it with Toy Story, the first completely computer generated animated film in history. Cue four Academy Awards.

Fifteen years later, the trilogy is complete, and to say Pixar have outdone themselves, this time, would be a massive understatement.

Toy Story 3 is the new benchmark. With an amazing cast, fantastic story and exceptional animation, it's about as close to perfection as a film gets.

Trying to find a flaw in this film would be a greater waste of time than trying to prove that the Earth is actually a flat piece of land that rests on the back of two elephants.

Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are back as Woody the Cowboy and Buzz Lightyear with the rest of Andy's wacky toys as they try to figure out what will happen to them now that Andy's off to university.

With this scenario in place, adventures ensue, bringing us a host of new, interesting characters lots of uncertainty and lots of fun.

After almost being thrown out as rubbish, the toys escape into a donations box and head to Sunnyside daycare centre where they meet a host of new faces and what they think are new friends. But things aren't really as they first seemed at Sunnyside and after learnin the truth the toys band together and create a escape plan that even James Bond would envy.

The scriptwriters got it spot on. Any attempts at praising them would simply fall short. They crafted the story so beautifully that it takes you on a captivating emotional roller coaster. There's laughter, tears and many a moment spent on the edge of your seat. The risk is always real in this film and even when you think you know, you really don't know.

What's most impressive, though, is that they finally created a movie where the phrase “something for everyone” actually applies completely. In a mixed group watching it, everyone is sharing a collective cinema experience but relating to the film on a different level.

For those like me who had Toy Story as part of their childhood and tried to sneak up on their toys to see if they were really alive after watching the first film, it really feels like it's all come full circle. There is no disappointment just the joyous feeling of your heart being melted.

The concept of toys coming alive is something that children dream about and can therefore understand and enjoy. And for the grown-ups, themes of getting older and ending childhood combined with some adult humour, unnoticeable to the younger ones, make the film a great viewing experience.

Missing out on this film would be missing out a piece of movie history. Simply put, it's Pixar's best work to date.

10/10

*Toy Story 3 is on general release in 2D, 3D now (U)