Movie: Toy Story 3
Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Ned Betty
It's been over 10 years since the last installment of Pixar's “Toy Story” series came out and the wait for this one has been well worth it. “Toy Story 3” maybe an animated film but don't be surprised to find tears in your eyes towards the end of the movie. This is one of those rare films which manage to engage the viewer while also managing to tickle your funny bone and touch your heart.
There are a number of thrilling moments like the amazing sequence at the city dump which would engage the viewer in sheer moments of anxiety, and there's Barbie whose diva like ways would make Katrina Kaif seem like vanilla. This movie lives up to expectation and does not disappoint anyway, there's not one dull moment in it although through the movie you'll find yourself either laughing, chewing your nails or crying your heart out, this one is for everyone from 1-100 although it will touch each group in different ways. For most of us who have surpassed our childhood it's a trip back down memory lane to some nostalgic moments and believe me many scenes are truly ephemeral leaving a mark in your heart.
Plot
Andy's toy chest is a rather a glum place at the moment. Andy is about to go to college. His treasured favourites like cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks), spaceman Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), pessimistic Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles), cowgirl Jesse (Joan Cusack), sweet dino Rex (Wallace Shawn), and lovable Hamm (John Ratzenberger) have longed to be played with for a long time. Ever the optimist, the loyal Woody explains that a trip to the attic isn't such a bad thing. The rest of the gang suggest that this is a less than satisfying possibility. However, the alternative, winding up on the trash heap, is too horrible to contemplate.
However, before you know it, the gang is looking at death by trash truck compactor. However, in a typically ingenious action sequence the toys wind up on their way to a daycare centre instead. It's the perfect solution until they find out that the toys there have a pecking order with Lotso Huggin Bear (Ned Beatty) at the top. This is a toy jail, and it will take a brilliantly designed great escape by Woody and his cohorts — in particular the plan to neutralise the clanging monkey alarm system — to outsmart Lotso.
The screenplay is solid at no point could your ever know what was coming. With a plot that never transgresses or bores you at any point, it neatly packs the laughs and the thrills with optimum spontaneity finally culminating in a spectacular and emotionally draining climax.
Performances
Tom Hanks lends not just his voice but his complete soul to the character of Woody who is his usual pragmatic and optimistic self. Tim Allen brings back Buzz Light Year the ever confident astronaut with true effect and there's Jessie the cowgirl voiced by Joan Cusack who is her usual self from the previous two installments and finally in the top there's John Rickles as the ever pessimistic worrying Mr. Potato Head.
The character of Ken (Barbie's Boyfriend) voiced by Michael Keatonis that of the modern meterosexual male with perfect panache and his romantic scenes with Barbie are hilarious. Then there's our scheming and evil Lotso voiced by Ned Betty who could give Heath Ledger's Joker a run for his money.
All in all, each character is portrayed distinctively with a form of uniqueness that would set each one apart from the other and each is essayed so effortlessly and introspectively that not one character is found inane; each one has his share of limelight.
Conclusion
At many points you almost believe that Pixar treads on Disney's mantra of “one tear for a laugh” and follows it with perfect introspection At the heart of “Toy Story 3” is a moving meditation on loyalty, letting go and love. The gentle resolve of the final sequence has to be contender for the most touching and bittersweet scene that you will see in the cinema for sometime to come. At the end of it you may just wonder what happened to those little toys you played with once upon a time.
Bottomline: Entertaining, funny, touching, nostalgic and ephemeral. Truly one of the greatest animated flicks ever.
ROSHAN JAYAKUMAR, III Year, BA BL (hons), School of Excellence in Law
