Movie Review: Toy Story 3

Indeed, Toy Story 3 continues Pixar's unique tradition of sending grown men out of the theater pretending that they NEVER shed a tear. Ha!

Seriously! If Pixar has any weakness, it is that they have no freaking clue how to make a bad film. I mean, with this movie, they amazingly extended the streak of successes that stretched all the way back to the original Toy Story. Every single year, they come up with delightful animated flicks with not only a superb sense of humor, but a level of storytelling that has set the standard for today's films - animated or otherwise.

To be honest, I actually never expected this film to be at par with, at least, Pixar's cream of the crop, but it blew my expectations away. This was clearly better than Up and surprisingly just as good or even, yes, better than Finding Nemo - my favorite Pixar film.

I thought that the storyline was rich and simple yet emotionally powerful. The story was able to mix comedy, drama and action with impressive skill, except this was beyond skill - this was inspired. The humor was straight up hilarious, which made this, arguably, one of the funniest films the studio has ever made, and the characters were - as usual - lovable, charming and painfully authentic, with of course, the help of the voice talents. And yes, the voice acting cast was once again phenomenal, with popular actors, underrated talent, and great character actors filling the bill. I thought their dynamics in the movie were beyond palpable.

On a technical standpoint, the movie was breathtaking on just about every level. Sure, it was not - in any way - a breakthrough or a technical milestone in terms of how the other Pixar films have been, but it still kept the tradition of looking stunning and leading the curve for computer animated films. It was solid and way above anything Dreamworks has brought to the table. I found the colors to be so vivid that it made the whole experience surreal.

Ultimately, words cannot do justice for how excellent the film was. Tons of superlatives will not suffice, I think. I mean, I can't stress this enough, but I have never felt anything like this before from a movie. The powerful last act just shockingly got me and my emotions went beyond crying as I just sat there during the final act in disbelief and was affected in a way that NEVER existed before.

This was undeniably a sequel done right - a story with a lot of heart and elements that's a fitting farewell and tribute at the same time to the beloved characters that started the computer generated animation back when Pixar started 15 years ago with Toy Story.

Amazing visual effects. Beautifully told story. Hilarious characters. Heart. All those combined equal something special. Easily the best film of the summer - at least in the US - so far.. if not of the entire year!