You've Got a Friend in Muffin

Pixar, you are king. Even after an eleven year gap, you still manage to hit on everything that made Toy Story and Toy Story 2 excellent, as well as bring enough nostalgia back from the first two movies to make it not only a worthy third movie, but finish the series off fantastically.

Now, if you haven't seen Toy Story or Toy Story 2, you'll be missing out if you go to see the final installment. In fact, it shouldn't be legal to see this movie without seeing the other two.

The original Toy Story put Pixar on the map fifteen years ago. I remember seeing it in theaters, and like most, I was instantly mesmerized. Four years later, the next movie once again captured my imagination, at least for a little while.

Funnily enough, until I revisited them in my late teens what I really remember about Toy Story, was the Toy Story 2 video game for the Playstation. The game was brilliant, there was nothing my brother and I enjoyed more than getting to the top of that tree in the backyard level and seeing if we could hit the pool.

When I finally watched the movies again, I realized Pixar had done something much greater than a kids movie. They had created a duo of movies designed to bring the joy and emotion of every human being who saw them out from their soft, squishy centers. Pixar has since stuck with this formula, producing the funniest, most emotionally satisfying animated movies of all time.

Getting back to the third and final installment (there's no second guessing here, it's over, but Pixar's sending it out strapped to an explosive rocket full of comedy, tears, and childhood nostalgia), Toy Story 3 is a great movie for those who grew up with the series and newcomers alike. It's obvious those who were born and raised with Woody and Buzz are the target audience however. References are abundant and clever, and it's evident the movie wasn't intended to stand alone. Before you go see this movie (yes, yes you will) you definitely need to take the time to watch what made the newest movie possible (this isn't Shrek people). In fact, Toy Story 1 and 2 are both available on YouTube, so if you're able to read this you should have no excuse...unless you have dial-up, and to you, you poor soul, my sympathies.

As for the plot, the toy's owner Andy is leaving for college and the toys haven't been played with in years. They end up in a daycare center, which has been taken over by the most tragic villain of the series, and the movie molds into a perfect prison escape epic. As in the previous two movies, time is catching up to the toys, and they're faced with their own mortality; in this case experiencing a version of purgatory, hell, and heaven along the way. The balance of emotions is played flawlessly, the comedy, action and drama all building up to the most satisfying and rewarding end to a series of movies I've ever watched.

Way to go Pixar...and thank you, thank you for tortilla Potato Head.

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