But where derivative notes could fall flat, Unkrich keeps everything taut and snappy, throwing in visual and verbal gags that consistently make you laugh out loud: Timothy Dalton’s thespy hedgehog, Mr Pricklepants an overly metro-sexual Michael Keaton as Ken Buzz Lightyear entering Spanish mode. We see Lots-O’s sad backstory, just as we did Jessie’s. Pink, fuzzy, old and nasty, he’s essentially the Prospector Pete of the sequel, which soon becomes a Great Escape-style adventure. The seemingly lovely Lots-O’ Huggin’ Bear (Beatty) is one of several new additions to the cast (spot the Ghibli reference). Several sessions of rough-and-tumble later and the toys begin to realise that Sunnyside is far from their perfect home: it’s a horrible place, run by an evil teddy bear who smells of strawberries.
And that plays to all levels of the audience.Īndy’s playthings soon end up at Sunnyside daycare centre – a place where they’re told they’ll be loved and played with forever. Will the toys end up boxed in the attic? It’s a theme that kids and adults alike can identify with, which is why Toy Story worked in the first place: it has heart. After a decade of dealing with neurotic Rex (Shawn) and that needy lead cowboy, it’s hard not to feel the pain as the toys face rejection once again: Andy’s all grown up now and heading off to college. That’s certainly a big part of the Toy Story appeal – the emotional investment that everyone has in the now-familiar cast of characters. It’s as good as anything Pixar have ever done, and that’s without mentioning the back-references already at work from the first shot of that blue sky with those cute painted clouds. It’s clear enough from the start that Pixar are playing their solid A-Game: an exciting rush down a Western railroad, complete with Sheriff Woody (Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Allen) fighting to stop evil Dr Porkchops (Ratzenberger’s Hamm). Is 11 years enough time to give Woody and Buzz a proper final outing? You bet it is. In 2010, Lee Unkrich faced the challenge of continuing that warmth and humour into the third entry of the trilogy. Toy Story established an entirely new form back in 1995, its technical innovation easily matched by the excellent Toy Story 2. It took Pixar four years to come up with a flawless sequel to an instant classic.
Watch Toy Story 3 online in the UK: Disney+ / Apple TV (iTunes) / Prime Video (Buy/Rent) / Rakuten TV / Google Play / Sky Store Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Don Rickles, John Ratzenberger, Ned Beatty