Cinema

For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

BUZZ LIGHTYEAR, YOU AND I ARE BFFLS: Reunited once again, the dauntless duo of Woody the cowboy (voiced by Tom Hanks, left) and astronaut Buzz Lightyear (voiced by Tim Allen) combine forces to save the members of Andy’s toybox escape Sunnyside where they were on the brink of being exterminated.

Toy Story 3: Toys Reunite in Third Episode of Animated Film Series

Kam Williams

Toy Story 1 and Toy Story 2 are such huge screen classics that fans of the series were wondering whether the third picture could be as good as, or perhaps even better, than the first two movies. Fans can breathe a collective sigh of relief, for this anticipated sequel is every bit as enchanting as the earlier films. The movie is the result of another inspired collaboration between Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, and it is well worth the additional price to view the CGI (computer generated images) movie in 3-D.

Directed by Lee Unkrich (Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc.), the film’s storyline takes into account the ten years that have passed since the second sequel. Andy Davis (John Morris) is now 17-years-old and is preparing to leave for college. As he packs, his mother (Laurie Metcalf) asks him to choose which of his personal belongings he wants to keep and which can be thrown out.

This news generates considerable anxiety in Andy’s menagerie of toys, because he hasn’t played with them in years. Among the collection are astronaut Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack), Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris), Slinky Dog (Blake Clark), Rex the dinosaur (Wallace Shawn), Hamm the piggy bank (John Ratzenberger), the Squeeze Toy Aliens (Jeff Pidgeon), and cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks).

Andy decides to take Woody with him to school and puts the rest in a plastic bag that he intends to store in the attic. However, after a series of errors on the part of his mother and his sister Molly (Beatrice Miller), the toys end up being donated to the Sunnyside Daycare Center, an outwardly benign institution which secretly shreds and incinerates old unwanted toys.

Luckily, Woody becomes aware of what has happened, and he manages to sneak into Sunnyside to inform his friends of their plight and to help them escape before they’re exterminated. However, in a hilarious interlude before the escape, Barbie (Jodie Benson) and Ken (Michael Keaton) become romantically involved, and Jessie the cowgirl is serenaded by Buzz who’s accidentally been switched to his Spanish speaking mode.

Toy Story 3 is an edge-of-your-seat roller coaster ride which gradually ratchets up the tension by racing headlong from one crisis to the next. The resolution of the heartwarming tale delivers a sentimental lesson about the value of true friendship, loyalty, and cooperation.

This is third in the Disney trilogy of movies, all of which are guaranteed to resonate with audiences of any age for generations to come.

Excellent (4 stars). Rated G. In English and Spanish with subtitles. Running time: 103 minutes. Studio: Walt Disney Pictures.

For more movie summaries, see Kam’s Kapsules.

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