Toy Story 3

Release Date: June 18th, 2010

Click here for the Tory Story 3 Trailer.

Andy has grown up and is on his way to the big, adult world of college, a place that doesn't really have a place for fond childhood toys. Knowing that Andy is leaving, Woody(Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear(Tim Allen) and the rest of the toys are worried that they might be put in the attic or worse, thrown in the garbage. Andy intends to take only Woody with him to college and begins to put the rest of the toys in a trash bag bound for the attic. But when Andy's mom mistakes the bag for trash, she pitches it to the curb. Thankfully the toys escape the garbage truck and make their way into a box of donated toys bound for Sunnyside Daycare. Woody joins the toys only in an attempt to draw them back to Andy with no luck as the toys believe Andy pitched them to the curb intentionally.

As the toys arrive at Sunnyside they are warmly greeted with open arms by the multitude of toys already at the daycare, including the "leader" of the toys Lots-o-Huggin' Bear(Ned Beatty) who goes by Lotso. All the toys are content on starting a new life at Sunnyside except for Woody, who is intent on remaining Andy's toy. Woody tries to persuade the toys to return to Andy's with him to no avail and begins the trek back home alone. Lotso tells Andy's toys that they will be a part of the "caterpillar room". Everything seems great until the children return. The children in the caterpillar room are ruthless toddlers whose knowledge of playing with toys extends as far as how many pieces they can stick up their nose.

Woody, in the meantime, made it as far as the street until he was picked up by a sweet little girl named Bonnie from Sunnyside who took Woody home to be with her toys Chuckles the Clown(Bud Luckey), Mr. Pricklepants(Timothy Dalton), Trixie(Kristen Schaal), Buttercup(Jeff Garlin), Dolly(Bonnie Hunt), the Peas-in-a-Pod and Totoro. Woody explains that he just came from Sunnyside to which Bonnie's toys tell him that the daycare is a deathtrap for toys. Woody returns to Sunnyside to find that his friends are being imprisoned by Lotso and Buzz, who has been reset to demo mode by Lotso.

Time is running out for Woody and the rest of the toys. Andy will be leaving at any moment for college and the toys will be left behind. Woody stages a desperate escape with the help of all the toys in the hopes that they can escape the perils of Sunnyside Daycare and the evil grip of Lotso and his posse of toys and make it back to Andy before they are lost forever.

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So it isn't a new statement to say that the people at Pixar are the undeniable leaders in animated film and Toy Story is the title that put them on top of the game. It has been nearly 11 years since Toy Story 2 graced our cinemas and a staggering 15 years since the original Toy Story was created. Now many people are hesitant when seeing the third installment of a movie and most third pieces are just a quick cash in on a name or character (need a remind you all of Spiderman 3?). However, Toy Story 3 stays true to everything that made the original two films incredible and captivating and truly brings back what it was like to be a kid and live life through imagination.

One of the best thing about this film is that the creators managed to bring back nearly every one of the characters from the previous films as well as the original voice actors. The list of stars in this film is anything but short. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen return as our favorite Sheriff and Space Ranger duo Woody and Buzz Lightyear along with Joan Cusack as Jesse, Don Rickles as Mr. Potato Head, Estelle Harris as Mrs. Potato Head, Wallace Shawn as Rex, John Ratzenberg as Hamm, R. Lee Ermey as Sarge and even John Morris, who has played the voice of Andy in all three films. Pixar also brings in a ton of new characters voiced by some popular actors like Ned Beatty as Lotso, Michael Keaton as Ken, Jeff Garlin as Buttercup, Bonnie Hunt as Dolly, Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants and even Whoopie Goldberg as Stretch. The voice acting is incredible in this film and all the actors managed to bring their characters to life and give them all a unique persona.

The great thing about the past two Toy Story movies is that the stories have been so amazing and magical that you can not help but fall in love with them no matter your age. These films have a unique way of taking you back to your childhood and reminding you what it was like to be a kid. Thankfully Toy Story 3 doesn't stray from the fantastic story telling that made the first films great. Some sequels and threequels (as I like to call them) have stories that become stale. But that is definitely not the case with this film. Pixar manages to give us fresh new characters as well as a fresh new plot and struggle for our toys to face.

I'm not going to lie, this film was definitely more stressful and dark than the other two. Sure we all found Sid from the first Toy Story to be creepy and in desperate need of a hug but this film had giant mongo baby dolls with a tendency to twist their heads around, clapping monkeys with terrifying eyes and horrific screams, giant trash slicing blades and an incinerator that slightly resembled the flaming eye of Mordor. There were times when I literally thought it was the end of Woody and the gang and just when the stress would almost become to much to bear, a lighthearted silly scene would burst in to save the day. It might sound odd but there is just something about sitting in a packed theater with nobody under the age of 13 and hearing people gasp, scream, shout for joy and clap at a movie about toys.

There is not an age group on this planet that can not like this film. It takes you back to a simpler time when instead of engaging in realistic, computerized entertainment, we used toys that could do nothing more than lay there and were brought to life by our imaginations. Toy Story 3 is an incredible, fantastic, imaginative and beautiful story that channels the inner child of every single person that watches it. The long wait was well worth it and did not disappoint in the slightest. Incredible voice acting, an amazing story and a visually beautiful world culminate into a film that is nothing short of magnificent. If you loved the first two Toy Story films (how could you not) then Toy Story 3 is something that you HAVE to see.

I give Toy Story 3 10 Ken's Dream Homes out of 10.