you've got a friend in me

After weeks of hesitation I finally decided to give Toy Story 3 a go. At first I thought adding another Toy Story film to the franchise was entirely superfluous. Toy Story 1 was brilliant, its sequel even more so, but was a third really necessary? Sequels are dangerous. Trilogies are even more risky. An example of the ever-mounting failures of trilogies can be vividly seen in Spiderman, Shrek and not to mention Pirates of the Carribean (WHY OH WHY?). Thus with these disconcerting thoughts in mind I was a little antsy during the opening scene of the film. Toy Story was, after all, one of the major films of my childhood and if its numero tres failed, it would fail me as well as my inner child. However after the build up of all this anxiety I am more than happy to proclaim that Toy Story 3 not only exceeded my expectations but was better than the previous 2 films.

Watching Toy Story 3, I was dragged back into the world of Woody and Buzz - their trials and tribulations, ups and downs, fights and loves, and their (in particular Woody's) undying loyalty to his kid, Andy. I laughed, I gasped, and almost shed a tear. It was like meeting old friends you never knew you missed until you met them again. Andy, now grown up was a character I identified with. Having first encountered Woody and Buzz's charming characters at a young age I understood and experienced the distance growing between toy and child in the transition to adulthood. Andy, getting ready for college has to decide what to do with his toys. This heart-wrenching story made me think of my favourite toys back in the day and what I had decided to do with them. Did I store them in the attic to pass on to others down the family or did I sell them, or even donate them? The film made me look back at how I used to be and what I am now, highlighting the inevitable abandonment of childhood. All I can say is that this may be the best film of the year, at least for me. Lighthearted and all-around beautiful, I hope this snags an Oscar. After all I think we've had enough brooding males, death and parent-child complexes in award-winning movies to last us a life time.