Toy Story 3
Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Written by: Michael Arndt (screenplay)
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, and Don Rickles

Pixar’s only franchise thus far gets a new installment this summer, and it looks to carry the tradition of animation excellence that they remain unrivaled for.  Though the Toy Story movies are by no means their best work, without their existance Pixar wouldn’t exist.  Plus, they probably need a break from lonely robots and cranky old man.  An established storyline and characters would be much easier to work with after creating their masterpieces of the last two years.

The trailer only sets up the basic plot, hopefully not giving away all of the funny moments like so many trailers are prone to do.  I have faith that what we see on the surface is really just the surface and not the whole picture.

What a surface it is, too.  They take the aging toy motif to the next level, moving Woody, Buzz and the gang to a preschool hell while their owner Andy moves on to college.  The moment when the young children enter and begin thrashing the toys around  and the aftermath where the toys recover is the high-point.  This looks to be a cartoon prison breakout movie, something Pixar will surely be able to put a creative take on.

The company has long been the only thing keeping Disney afloat in the quality department.  Sure they put out a crappy Hannah Montana cash-in every once and awhile, but the films coming out of Pixar will be examined years down the road.  Toy Story 3 looks to add to that legacy, if not raise the bar of it.

Highs: The preschoolers beseeching the playroom and tearing the toys apart and the idea of a big pink teddy bear as a villain

Lows: Why do these toys insist on returning to an owner who gives them up?

Trailer Grade: A-