Pixar delivers a fresh, funny finale to a franchise which has captured the imagination of adults and children alike since its inception in 1995.

Toy Story 3: Andy, Woody and Buzz

The action picks up with Andy heading off to college. Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang, in need of a new home, find a fresh start in the Sunnyside daycare centre. It quickly becomes apparent that the seemingly idyllic nursery isn’t all that its cracked up to be.

Director Lee Unkrich handles the obligatory setup well, filling in the years gone by and setting up the action which follows.

Things really get underway though, when we enter the Sunnyside daycare centre. Perfect pacing follows thereafter, with a prison-break theme providing genuinely funny, moving and scary moments.

Elements of film-noir also break through the screen, adding an occasionally sinister tinge.

Toy Story 3: Boy Meets World

Toy Story 3 is the most mature in the series. That’s not to say it isn’t funny. It’ll leave you with more stitches than a drunken doctor. What really impressed me though was Unkrich’s ability to seamlessly blend humour with darker adult themes.

Cut in the mould of traditional children’s literature, Toy Story 3 touches on issues of abandonment, death and the circle of life.

An additional layer of poignancy is added by way of the fact that many of the viewers who started watching the franchise back in 1995 are now grown up themselves. It’s a kind of existential parallel between audience and film which really drives the key messages home.

Toy Story 3: The Final Curtain

Toy Story 3 cements the series as one of the greatest movie franchises of all time. The perfect trilogy is a rare, if non-existent thing.

Pixar insists this is the gang’s final adventure, but as the saying goes: in Hollywood, money talks.

So don’t be surprised if Woody and co spring forth from the toy box in the future. Let’s hope not though – some things are just perfect as they are.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – available on Blu-ray and DVD

In the case of Pixar’s latest offering Up, all the above catchphrases apply.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying Pixar is infallible. Cars proved to be little more that a formula driven vehicle and while the opening of Wall-E was sensational, things went downhill from there.

Yet with its latest film, Pixar reaches new heights and taps into the charm and beauty of golden-era Disney animation.

So what’s it all about….?

Up opens with a stunning dialogue-free sequence that traces the progression of Carl and Ellie from childhood to old age.

Laughter, sorrow, and moments of breathtaking beauty ensue as we see the trappings of life thwart the couple’s dream of exploring the legendary Paradise Falls.

After the passing of his wife, Carl resolves to honour her memory by tying thousands of multi-coloured balloons to the roof of their ramshackle house and floating off on an expedition of epic proportions.

Universal appeal…?

The film, of course, is not without its problems. Much like Wall-E the second half becomes more formulaic than the first, relying on convention rather than invention.

Unlike its predecessor though, Up maintains a humanistic backbone that never wavers in the face of ensuing action. This is largely down to the complexity with which director Pete Docter draws his characters.

Sure they are cute and goofy, but like real people they have problems, obsessions, needs and desires; some of which are never fully resolved.

Up also veers away from the two-tier custom of delivering laughs for kids and laughs for adults. The film instead spins on a universal axis which appeals to young and old alike simply because it deals in the currency of life.

That’s not to say the film is unfunny. There are plentiful sight-gags, one-liners, and amusing scenarios. But Up’s real genius resides in its ability to seamlessly mesh this sophisticated and intelligent humour with a storyline everybody can relate to.

Blown away or over inflated…?

Up leaves little doubt that Pixar is leading the charge when it comes to animation.

The studio’s tenth and best movie to date packs more emotional punch than the majority of Hollywood films combined.

Beautiful, stirring, and sorrowful all rolled into one, I can’t recommend this film enough.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars – available on Blu-ray and DVD