The best movie of the year thus far with the biggest tear-jerker ending, Toy Story 3 in 3D will delight and entertain children, but guess what? Its theme and jokes are really for us softy grownups. The toys are our toys from Mr. Potato Head, to Barbie, to that eye-lash-batting-white-pulley-telephone circa 1960s. I had one. Did you? Beyond that, for any parent who’s about to send their child off to college, it gets even more emotional. When the story opens, it’s been fifteen years since Andy played with his toys. About to go off to a university, he debates whether his playthings should be thrown out or just tossed into a hefty bag in the attic. Worried sick about being forgotten, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jesse (Joan Cusack), Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) and the rest of the gang fear for their futures, yet they also rationalize that so far they’ve avoided yard sales and eBay. The toys end up in a day care center called Sunnyside, whose very name indicates a place for senior citizens like themselves. The end of the road, so to speak….Sunnyside turns out to be a plaything prison camp run by a Satanic Care-Bear-knockoff named Lotso (Ned Beatty). Like a Halloween party for humans where we all stay in character, that’s where the films’ charm lies, especially when they’re joined by the new Safari Ken doll (Michael Keaton) and the love of his life – “Come live in my dreamhouse” – Barbie (Jodi Benson.). The film grows richer and deeper with every passing moment, finally metamorphosing into a touching tale of loss and departure, aging and death, loyalty and self-interest – all wrapped up in, of all things, a prison escape picture. These toys are just like loyal pets to their owners, and we struggle to remember what we did with our own long-gone toys. Were they sold, broken, handed down, tossed…?” This film will be a classic “To Infinity and Beyond.” Four tiaras
