Toy Story 3 review

The following is a film review I wrote for a "BBC Films" application....

Toy Story 3 sees Andy, who is now 17, going away to college to move on with his life and so must his toys. Woody, Buzz and the familiar gang are accidentally relocated to Sunnyside nursery, which initially appears to be the perfect retirement home, where toys can once again fulfill their purpose of being enjoyed and played with. The toys soon discover that not all is what it seems as they battle with new dangers and new foes. The toys must now develop a plan to escape Sunnyside, with the help from some new friends, and return to Andy. 

The film was extremely successful due to appealing to a very wide audience. The bright colours, familiar and comforting faces will appeal to the younger audience, as will the quick paced action and the comedy. The themes of abandonment, loss and death show that the film is not afraid to tackle universal resonating themes, which do not alienate or patronise any of its wide age ranging audience. The movie maintains a perfect balance that keeps both sides of the audience riveted and thoroughly entertained. The humour works perfectly well for all, most memorable when Buzz becomes reset into ‘Spanish’ mode. It also works very well as a sequel. The film introduces a lot of new characters, whilst not neglecting the original characters.  Whilst the plot is essentially the same as the previous movies, it isn’t merely a re-hashing of the story. The plot is coherent and smooth, not allowing the audience to loose interest. The animation is outstanding, the new characters are fresh and inclusion of modern references thrusts Toy Story 3 perfectly into a new generation, whilst managing to perfectly wrap up the story for those who first saw the original 15 years ago.