Review: Toy Story 3

In the miniature world of the Toy Story films, the dreaded Shelf is where toys end up when theyre broken or their young owner has outgrown them. Eleven years ago, creators Pixar put the series itself on the shelf, but for neither of those reasons.

Toy Story 3feels like the satisfying conclusion to a trilogy, but it also leaves the door ajar for another sequel. That would be just fine with me.

The original 1995 movie a computer-animation game-changer and its 1999 sequel were huge critical and box-office successes. We would willingly have embraced a third instalment,but at the time Pixar was sequel-averse. Instead, the trail-blazing studio decided to make new, shiny diversions for us, from Monsters, Inc. and Finding Nemo to WALL*E and last years Up.

It was a wise decision. Now that cowboy doll Woody and his pals have finally been taken down, dusted off and given a new 3-D coat of paint, were more than eager to reacquaint ourselves with them. Toy Story 3 brings back all our favourite playthings from the first two movies. Theres the fiercely loyal Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and his rival-turned-BFF Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), the ever-resourceful space ranger with the longest chin this side of Jay Leno. Theres Jessie (Joan Cusack), the spunky, red-haired cowgirl whos sweet on Buzz. And theres that old scene-stealer, the lovably grouchy Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), as well as his adoring better half (Estelle Harris), a couple of spuds who sound like they were cultivated in the Catskills.

They, along with Slinky Dog (Blake Clark), Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger) and timid dinosaur Rex (Wallace Shawn), are facing an uncertain fate. In the decade since the last movie, their prepubescent owner, Andy (John Morris), has grown into a teenager and is about to head off to college. As he prepares to put away childish things, Andy stuffs all his old toys except the cherished Woody in a garbage bag for storage in the attic. When the bag is mistakenly taken to the curb, Woody, who was college-bound with Andy, risks his wooden neck to go back and rescue his old friends.

Eventually the gang finds refuge with a bunch of other discarded toys including a perky Barbie doll (Jodi Benson) which Andys kid sister is donating to the Sunnyside daycare. At first blush, their new home looks like toy heaven. With wall-to-wall kids, theyre going to be put to good use. Not only that, theyre welcomed warmly by Lotso (Ned Beatty), a.k.a. Lots-O-Huggin Bear, an avuncular purple plush toy who presides over the daycares toy population. He invites the newcomers to take up residence in the toddler-designated Caterpillar Room.

Little do they realize theyre about to be subjected to the careless brutality of energetic three-year-olds. Or that Sunnyside is actually a gloomy toy hierarchy with Lotso as the mean (albeit, strawberry-scented) boss. Quicker than you can say Cool Hand Luke, were in a prison-movie spoof. The recalcitrant Mr. Potato Head ends up spending the night in the box (sandbox, that is), while Woody plots a great escape with help from a battered old-timer in the form of a classic Fisher-Price telephone (Teddy Newton). Needless to say, the Toy Story franchise, Gods gift to toy manufacturers, continues to give new life to old products.

The screenplay is by Michael Arndt, who wrote Little Miss Sunshine. He may be responsible for some of the movies more subversive moments, such as the bitter Lotsos noir-flavoured back-story. Toy Story 3 also revives some of the grotesque humour of the original film, which was missing in the more benign Toy Story 2. In particular, theres Lotsos disturbing henchman, a giant baby doll with a lazy eyelid who looks like an escapee from the Island of Misfit Toys.

These creepy touches, and some intense scenes in a hellish-looking junkyard, are probably too scary for younger children. (The six-year-old sitting beside me ended up in his mothers lap.) Teens, however, will get a kick out of the jokey romantic subplot involving Barbie and the daycares preening Ken doll (Michael Keaton), while theatre geeks will adore the troupe of thespian toys owned by Bonnie (Emily Hahn), the daycare operators hyper-imaginative daughter. They include a classically trained hedgehog named Mr. Pricklepants, who sports a pair of lederhosen and the sonorous tones of Timothy Dalton.

I could spend this whole review just listing the movie's cast of characters. If Toy Story 3 has a fault, its that, like a spoiled child, it has too many toys. The most charming of the new additions, however, is a human that cute little Bonnie, who helps serve up the movies requisite scoop of sentimentality.

Director Lee Unkrich, an editor on the previous two pictures, sees to it that all the successful ingredients are used again. Theres a pinch of throat-tightening pathos, a dash of eye-misting nostalgia. He stirs in those gentle messages about fulfilling your purpose in life and valuing friendships. Then he garnishes it all with Saturday-matinee cliffhangers and more variations on Randy Newmans head-bobbing Toy Story theme including a flamenco version by the Gipsy Kings.

In the end, Toy Story 3 feels like the satisfying conclusion to a trilogy, but it also leaves the door ajar for another sequel. That would be fine with me. As this movie proves, these old toys still have plenty of play left in them.

Toy Story 3 opens June 18.

Martin Morrow writes about the arts for CBC News.