Simon Dillon reviews the film

One of the truly remarkable things about Pixar's output is the way their films appeal to absolutely everyone. I have yet to meet a single person who doesn't like Pixar. In fact, if you don't, can I suggest you seek urgent medical attention? There might actually be something seriously wrong with you.

Let's get right down to business: Toy Story 3 is brilliant. This review is almost pointless because I doubt that anyone in their right mind is going to miss it. Toy Story 3 is one of those rare, family treats that will no doubt be remembered as a classic in years to come, alongside the first two Toy Story films, the very best of Disney and ET, not to mention the rest of Pixar's back catalogue. In fact, reviews of Pixar's material are less to assess whether or not the film in question should be seen, but more an excuse to pore over its sheer brilliance. Toy Story 3 is no exception.

The story picks up as Andy is about to go to college and is deciding what to do with his remaining toys. Most of the usual gang are present and correct, with Buzz, Woody, Jessie, Ham, Potato Head, Rex et al anxiously awaiting their fate. As for the missing characters, several of these have disappeared over the years. The toy soldiers "go AWOL" because they consider their mission complete, and rather more poignantly, Woody has lost his long term girlfriend Bo Peep. Paring down the cast to essential characters is a brave but necessary move, and sets the scene for what follows.

As the result of a mix up, Buzz, Woody and co get donated to Sunnyside, a children's day-care centre. At first they are welcomed by the other toys, including the seemingly benign Lotso Huggin' Bear and Ken (whom Barbie is immediately smitten with in a particularly hilarious sequence). However, it soon becomes clear that all is not what it seems, and before long our heroes are cooking up a scheme to try and break out Great Escape style, much to the chagrin of the other toys.

Quite simply, director Lee Unkrich and writers John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton have excelled themselves with this movie. The vocal cast regulars - Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Wallace Shawn, Ken Ratzenberger, Don Rickles etc - are as brilliant as ever, and are given great support from newcomers Michael Keaton (Ken), Ned Beatty (Lotso) and even Timothy Dalton (as a luvvie Hedgehog toy called Mr Pricklepants).

The quality of the animation is staggering as usual, though that hardly needs saying, and the film is outstanding on every technical level. Like all the best stories of this kind, Toy Story 3 is hysterically funny, thrillingly exciting, occasionally frightening and at times almost unbearably moving. Although entirely appropriate for children, I suspect only adults will appreciate the full spectrum of emotions that are on offer and many will leave the cinema complaining of something in their eye. For those who have grown up with Toy Story, it also brings the saga to an unforgettable, powerfully emotional close.

Though children will simply enjoy the toys coming to life (as with the previous two installments), adults will draw a myriad of parallels with their own lives. The Toy Story films could be taken as a workplace allegory, with this film dealing with retirement (the very name Sunnyside sounds like an old people's home). This one could also be looked at as a film dealing with empty nest syndrome, as children grow up and leave home. Certainly the pain of being no longer wanted for play will resonate with parents of teenagers who want to be left alone. There are also powerful themes of friendship, loyalty, sacrifice and redemption inherent throughout, especially in a particularly intense sequence set in a trash processing facility. Said sequence deserves comparison to the darkest classic Disney moments, including the forest in Snow White and the death of Bambi's mother. In fact, Empire magazine rightly described it as the Toy Story trilogy's equivalent of the Mount Doom scene in The Lord of the Rings.

Just how much Toy Story 3 will stand up to repeated viewings has yet to be seen, but I feel almost certain that it will, especially as the first two I must have seen about fifty times each at least and if anything they just get better. Certainly based on one viewing it seems at least as good as the second one, which I would argue is even better than the first. But trying to find hyperbole to convey how wonderful all three are has long since proved redundant.

To summarise, I am issuing exactly the same advice as I did with my Inception review. There really are two genuine, bona-fide, must-see movies in the cinema at present: Toy Story 3 and Inception. See them both. Then see them both again.