Toy Story 3: A Cinematic Slamdunk

Finally, the summer film season is picking up a head of steam with the arrival of a sure-fire Best Picture Nominee,” Toy Story 3″. This G-rated delight has something for all ages and temperaments, from the kids who have always used toys to fire their imaginations to jaded film goers who fuss over cinematic minutia. “Toy Story 3” from Pixar, distributed by Disney, and in the sure hands of director Lee Unkrich, never fails to disappoint the fans of the first two films in the franchise; all the favorite voices are back, Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, et al, and some great new voices Ned Beatty as Lotso the not so lovable Bear and Micheal Keaton as the Ken Doll, his fashion conscious henchman. A masterly action prelude to the story turns out to be Andy using his active imagination during playtime, but now we see Andy preparing to leave for college. He chooses to take Woody (Tom Hanks) with him, but what will become of the rest of his toys? They don’t end up in the attic but are mistakenly sent to the Sunnyside Daycare, at first a seemingly  perfect choice for any toy, with it’s constantly renewable resource, kids. But not all kids treat toys with care and the new arrivals are shunted to the  rougher hands of the toddlers. Woody has had his own adventures in following the other toys, but it’s only after he journeys to the home of little Bonnie (Emily Hahn) that he learns of the unfortunate dark side of Sunnyside.Thus begins a sequence of harrowing escapes as Woody tries to help his friends escape from Lotso and eventually the garbage shredder. The amazing 3-D only adds to the action as director Unkrich and his wonderful Pixar animation team capture the tension of every prison escape film ever made. The final 30 minutes will engage your emotions much like the famous 4 minute life-long love and loss segment of “Up” did. I dare you to not weep as you dredge up memories of the innocence of childhood and the joys of sharing your imagination with your sometimes best friends, your toys. This is your summer blockbuster, thank you Pixar!

GPA 4.0