1012. Toy Story 3 (2010)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack

Director: Lee Unkrich

Running Time: 103 mins

Toy Story 3 is an American film and the third in the Toy Story franchise. After years of neglect by their owner Andy as he was growing up, the toys discover that he is moving on to college, landing them in a daycare centre ruled by an evil, human-hating teddy bear.

This rounds off the saga of Andy and the toys in excellent style, with a thrilling main plot that’s much more desperate and dark than the first two films, and a touching sub plot about returning home, neglect of love, and letting go.

For the most part, this third film isn’t as entertaining as the previous two, due to the fact that its main story is much simpler than Toy Story 2, and not as fun as the original Toy Story.

Having said that, however, there’s no doubting that the darkness of the plot set at the daycare centre is still thrilling, as it’s a properly desperate and intense escape story that will have you on the edge of your seat, and although you probably won’t be laughing that much, it’s a good bit of excitement.

Despite that, the most impressive thing about this film is not its principal plot, it’s the incredibly emotional secondary story about the relationship between Andy and the toys coming to a heartbreaking end.

From the initial shock of learning they’re unlikely to be ever played with again to the threat of being thrown out, the toys’ story is intensely dramatic and sad throughout, with various scenes being particularly moving, more so than many of the more emotional parts of the first two films.

However, it’s the final scene of this film that takes the cake as one of the most emotionally powerful and heartbreaking you’ll ever see. It’s an appropriate end to the story, and one that is bittersweet, but just thinking about moving on and letting go at the end of this trilogy with characters that you’ve come to know and love so much will easily have you in buckets of tears.

Overall, this gets an 8.2, because although its principal adventure plot isn’t as impressive as Pixar’s best, this is an intensely moving and dramatic story, which will likely have more power over those who saw the first two films as kids, and then end up in tears here due to the nostalgia and emotional impact, than younger viewers who may only want a simple, fun movie, because this is anything but.