“Toy Story 3″ (2010)

The concluding instalment in any movie trilogy has always proved problematic.  The Ewoks sank “Return of the Jedi” as much as the casting of George Hamilton and Sofia Coppola did “The Godfather, Part III”.  The third entry in the “Back to the Future” franchise played like a warmed over “Blazing Saddles”, “Return of the King” had about five endings too many and the less said about “The Marsupials: The Howling III” the better.

The challenge for the Pixar wizards behind the first two “Toy Story” films is the same that faced Coppola, Lucas and Jackson: topping themselves yet again after delivering a sequel that improbably improved upon a ground breaking original.  The situation is complicated further by the fact that “Toy Story 3″ comes a full eleven years after number 2 and 15 years after number 1 established the benchmark by which all CGI animations will be forever judged.

Number 3 starts very well indeed with a fantasy set piece involving almost all of the established characters.  In the expository lull which follows the absence of the balance is explained along with the crisis facing the toy room.  It initially feels overly familiar, Master Andy’s forthcoming departure to college another variation on the themes of neglect, abandonment and jealously extensively mined in the first two films.

As ever the craft, characterisation and vocal performances are excellent. The narrative soon gathers speed with the toys ending up in a play centre that effectively doubles as a prison.  Much humour is found in subverting Ken and Barbie doll cliches.   Ken, a new character, is revealed as a camp clothes horse.  The villainy of a giant, smelly teddy bear - well acted by veteran Ned Beatty - is a noteworthy complement to the Stinky Pete figure from “Toy Story 2″.

The climactic chase through a refuse centre and garbage incinerator is tense and exciting and manages to keep you guessing as to how our heroes can possibly escape a fiery fate.  Better still is a denouement which shifts the focus to Andy’s point of view, giving added bite to his relationship with playthings that he belatedly realises are so much more than metal, material and moulded plastic.

What separates the Toy Story films - and, indeed, most of Pixar’s work - from other CGI wannabes is their warmth and emotional depth.  The titles and the nature of the characters notwithstanding, they are tales of friendship, growth and the bitter-sweetness of maturity that are entirely human.