First Look At Toy Story 3


Coming into 2010 there was one animated movie that was on everybody’s mind, no matter their age. Toy Story 3, a computer generated animated film featuring Buzz Lightyear , Woody and the gang will be released on June 18 of this year, being Pixar’s annual release for this year. It will be released both in regular cinema format and in 3D.

How times change! Pixar once said that they only produced Toy Story 2 as a way of fulfilling a contractual obligation to Disney as part of a three film deal. Now well and truly a part of the Disney legacy they obviously feel that the Toy Story franchise is worth committing to. And I don’t hear anyone complaining. Toy Story 3 was one of those rare films that was as good as or better than the original and the 4 years of improvements in computer technology wasn’t the only thing that helped.

Pixar have consistently shown not that they are adept at both the art of the animation process and the physics of computer technology, but they also show a great respect for the strength of a simple story told well with real (albeit computer generated) characters. Toy Story 2 built on the premise established in the first film and managed to make viewers care about toys that came to life and missed their owners. Few films can match the kind of emotion generated when Jessie told her story of abandonment against a stirring Sarah McLachlan soundtrack. True to this theme the tagline for Toy Story 3 reads, “No Toy Gets Left Behind”.

The third film stars Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton, Jodi Benson and more and is set approximately 10 years after the original. Andy, the toys’ beloved owner is off to college and his toys are accidently donated to the Sunnyside Daycare Center. Once at the center, the toys become aware that Andy is looking for them and set out to escape. But things are never as easy as they seem and the toys must deal with a gang of other toys who don’t want them to leave and a damaged Buzz Lightyear whose electronic chip reverts to the original Buzz, but now in Spanish!

The film is directed by Lee Unkrich, who you can follow on Twitter for regular updates. Lee edited the last two Toy Story films and co-directed the second. Pixar is on track to continue their incredible record of successful films with heart this June.

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