The only Disney movie I cried in was Lion King. The other Disney film that came close was Pixar's WALL E. I did not cry during Toy Story 3. I went home walked into my room a realized that my Optimus Prime is not at the foot of my door, my Sylvester the Cat stuffed toy was not on my bed, and my McDonald's Sonic the Hedgehog toy was not on my shelf. My conner only housed my stack of video games. I asked myself why did my mother give away my toys without my permission? At THAT moment is when I thought about the last 30 minutes of Toy Story 3 I started to cry. This film was a carelessly thoughtful stoke of genius! It keeps both children and adults entertained. Lots of drama, lots suspense, and lots of toys! Disney and Pixar outdid themselves with this one. Toy Story was a smash hit when it first hit the screens. Toy Story 2, in my opinion, was not as good as its first installment but it was a film that almost never hit theaters so I'll give them the benefit of doubt. But Toy Story 3 set the bar "to infinity and beyond!" The VA cast was pheNOMenal. The visuals were stunning! The script was enjoyable! This movie reached all corners of film greatness (and its a kid's movie). I have no idea how Disney and Pixar knock out great movies like this (they make it look easy). I related to Andy in this film just as I did in Toy Story 3. The ending was so tough to watch without sniffling because if you watched Toy Story at around Andy's age during the time and you watch Toy Story 3 around Andy's age now (he was 17 and I am 22 and went through roughly the same hassle as he did when he was moving out for college), you would feel a wallop of emotion. Toy Story 3 is a MUST SEE. If you don't have children to take to go see this film then take friends who saw the first two films.

Is there Life after playtime? Can you handle a film in which the toys are playing with us, the audience? The third chapter of the Toy Story saga asks some tough questions of viewers, but the rewards of seeing this remarkable film outweigh the emotional toll.

It's the last week of summer before Andy heads off to college, and Woody (Tom Hanks) and the other remaining toys in Andy's bedroom find themselves in fear of what's to become of them. It looks like the attic, but events conspire to throw them a day-care center called Sunnyside. It looks swell enough, at first...

"You'll never be outgrown, or neglected," the toys are informed by the chuckily plush play bear Lots-O (Ned Beatty). "Never abandoned or forgotten. No owners means - no heartbreak!"

It's odd to see a film series that started out as an animated lark turn into "Watership Down", but there's always been some existential angst at the heart of the enterprise, c.f. the fragile buddy system employed in the first "Toy Story", Sid's hapless victims, and talk of rummage sales. The second film pushed these buttons a bit harder, to the point of losing the humor.

This time the drama is stronger than ever, yet the film amazingly manages to stay refreshingly clever and hilarious. We meet Ken (Michael Keaton), who introduces himself to Barbie saying "We were made for each other". Ken must deal with wisecracks about being a girl's toy, or as Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles) puts it, "an accessory, a purse with legs." The daycare center is also fabulously realized, a cacophony of misfit toys all showing signs of wear from constant play. Every now and again we break away to see Woody in his new situation, being played with by a girl named Bonnie who is very nice but has a left-field imagination. "We do a lot of improv here," another toy tells him.

All this is very funny, and director Lee Unkrich and the Pixar writers and artists find brilliant ways to keep humor close to the center of things throughout. Yet this movie is no lark. One of the funniest scenes the first time I saw this movie three weeks ago, involving a cutaway to a clown staring at a window, got hardly a laugh when I saw it again tonight. I think it was because the rest of the audience, like me, knew what was coming; a sad story about cosmic indifference and cold-hearted abandonment which sets in motion the real emotional undertow of the film.

Set against this is Woody's firm if shaken resolution to "be there for Andy", even when it seems he and the other toys are no longer wanted by their owner. It's a message of faith you relate to, yet it also brings out another point, the notion of change, even painful change, as needful. The toys know they'll be neglected, perhaps forever, if exiled to the attic, but prefer it to the unknown. This actually makes sense. What can happen out there isn't very nice, but even in the face of extinction the film suggests a certain nobility through acceptance can be still possible. It's a pretty heavy message to take away from watching a G-rated comedy.

The film doesn't leave you on a down note, but it's a funny thing. In the past, I always looked forward to the post-credit goof scenes as something to laugh at on my way out of the theater. This time, I appreciated it just as much as a chance to wipe my eyes before I got out of my chair. It still felt good, though.

I've said this before, but I'll say it again: Pixar has shown with their initial ten films that they haven't the faintest clue how to make a bad movie. And yet, somehow, I always find myself feeling doubtful whenever a trailer for one of their new films is released. With Toy Story 3, I got the impression that it would be just another adventure with Woody and the gang for the sake of having one. So, with this, and a movie year that has been relatively lacking so far, would Toy Story 3 disappoint? The answer: absolutely not.

Probably the most surprising aspect about this film is that, even after eleven years since the release of Toy Story 2, the material that has made this series so damn enjoyable hasn't been lost one bit here. All of the old characters are just endearing as ever, if not more so, and all of the new ones feel right at home here. Ken (voiced by Michael Keaton) is especially hilarious, to the point where even the mention of him got me laughing.

To touch briefly on the visual front, the characters themselves are just as expressive as they've always been. However, like Wall-E, the world that they inhabit looks much more photorealistic this time around. Also, this is one of the few instances when the 3D aspect actually enhances the film. It's by no means as crucial to the experience in the same way that it was for Avatar, but it gives the film a little extra something.

The action sequences, too, are spectacular. These are toys that we're talking about, and somehow, Pixar's managed to provide these scenes with one hell of a punch. Not much else to say about 'em other than that the climax in particular feels as epic as anything from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

What really puts Toy Story 3 above most films out there, though, is how it deals with the themes of loss and growing up. Even after getting to know these characters over the course of two films, I was still surprised by just how much I got sucked into their despair. Without giving anything away, there were two scenes that caused me to tear up, and even more that had me on the verge of doing so.

Toy Story 3 is not only a worthy conclusion to a fantastic trilogy, but also the one third installment (other than Return of the King) that I feel is better than its predecessors. For all of the reasons already mentioned and more, it's one of the studio's best entries. Sorry for doubting you, Pixar, even if it was just for a bit.