Hail all,

Category: Movies

WARNING - SMALL SPOILERS FOR THE FILM!

Well - I went and saw Toy Story 3. If that's the last we see of Buzz, Woody and all the rest of the gang - than it was certainly a great way to bow out. Toy Story 3 is at least equal that of Toy Story 2, though the original still holds that little perfect place inside where it just can't be beaten.

15 years since the original came out and the original can still pip the third even with all the technical breakthroughs isn't so much about the fact that the film was a landmark in animation. It was about the story.

I should mention that I am a 27 year old male. The original came out when I was just 13. I was more than impressed by it's technical breakthroughs - the wizardry behind creating a CG character that was lifelike. And the film was entertaining and heartwarming in equal measure as well. And I wasn't the only one who enjoyed the film. It rightly ushered in a new animation age - though it helped kill 2D animation on the big screen.

The movie starts off innocently enough - and entertainingly shows our heroes from the perspective of that inner child - using the imagination of the innocent to create a show-stopping scene of grandeur. Yet again, Woody saves the day against the evil Mr Potato Head (with help from Mrs. Potato Head) and Hamm. This world of make-believe is quickly changed for the older Andy, now on his way to college, having to part with his lifelong friends.

Mistakenly, the toys, through a series of mishaps, wind up in Sunnydale Daycare. The bright exterior masks an inner prison where the toys are quickly tortured by the minors and then more so by the prison's warden. The expanded cast includes new toys like a Huggable Bear, a Ken doll and some unusual toys like a squeezie octopus. Though there are also some missing characters, RC car and Bo Peep being the biggest losses to the film.

The films last 15 minutes may actually bring you to tears. I know it did to me. With death being all but certain, the toys hold one another, comfort in their held hands knowing that they are family and can't be parted.

Whatever the wisdom of Pixar in creating plastic playthings that exert more emotion and pack more energy than your average blockbuster and you understand why they are the masters at putting bums on cinema seats. I too can look at the films and walk away and remember a innocent childhood of playing with toys and imagining them fighting one another, or creating roles for them.

And while I may never again spin around so many times on the spot to fall over on my butt or pick up a Ninja Turtle and imagine it's taking on Shredder, Toy Story 3, (like 2, and 1) helps bridge the connection we all have to our childhoods and entertains in and of itself. To Infinity and Beyond, or something like that.

Cheers all,

Saga.

P.S This blog leads into something else that is happening at the moment in my life. It's exciting, but I'm getting more experience with it before I start to talk about it.