The Case for Part 3 in 2D

Many moons ago, a film came around that revolutionised cinema. It was a great story with mass appeal, using computer generated images to create a magical world of toys and heroes and villains. And now, many moons later, it is back.

While series like Shrek have floundered, the original two Toy Story movies were both excellent and Pixar seemed happy enough to let those movies stand. Well, for a while at least, because now, there is third Toy Story film.

I decided not to go and see the 3D version. Really, 3D for me is a "luxury" rather than a necessity, and considering the price of a 3D session is around $20, and I would rather the story blow me away than the visuals, I was more than happy to go see a 2 dimension only version - though this had to wait until a weekend, the only screenings on week nights were in 3D. And luckily, the third Toy Story film was brilliant on so many levels, I didn't need that 3rd dimensional trickery to keep me entertained.

As the session was at midday and there were few attendees, the film was fairly quiet, but I imagined that, at a fuller session populated with more adults than children, some of the popular culture references and knowing nudges would have been greeted with loud laughter. As it was, Barbie beating the bimbo blonde stereotype and standing up for democracy with a very impassioned and intellectual argument had me smiling to myself, as did some of Ken's more dated wardrobe items.

But then you don't need to have a mild knowledge of history or sociological stereotypes to appreciate what is going on. The main action of the film, and there is a lot of it (2 hours worth), is simple and pleasurable enough for all
to enjoy.

As years have passed since the last film, so have times changed in the world of our heroes. Bo Peep is gone, but the core cast of plastic characters is there (of course) as well as dinosaur, piggy bank Cliff, the cute Martians ("the
Claw!"), the potato heads and slinky. However, these stalwarts are now on the brink of losing their cherished place in Andy's life, as the boy gets ready to go to college and leave his childhood behind. Will they be sent to the attic
(not the Attic of Dollhouse lore, but a far more benign "waiting" room), or given away to charity, or (the hell of the toy world) thrown out?

It's a roller coaster run of thrills and spills that doesn't let up in fun and excitement - until the final few scenes anyway, where decisions are made and things change. The end was quite touching (thankfully though it was nowhere
near as heart-wrenching as the opening montage of Up! which had me bawling like a baby), but the film makers were kind enough to let the film end on a laugh or seven to give me time to wipe the odd tear from my eye.

It was just a pity such a brilliant movie was prefaced by what must be the lamest and unfunny Pixar "short" I think I have ever seen. Possibly it was the addition of some hand-animated aspects that jarred so much, but I liked that
one not at all. So I will ignore it in my verdict.

Verdict: Overall, Toy Story 3 is a very satisfying conclusion to what has been a great run of movies. Good on you Pixar! 9 Toys out of 10.