REELGUY'S REEL REVIEW: "Toy Story 3" a strong finish to a much-loved series

You've gotta love it when a beloved film series finishes strong. The first two films of the "Toy Story" franchise were so outstanding that the toys, the voice-actors, and the audience deserved a strong finish. Co-written by the writer-director of the original two pictures, John Lasseter, "Toy Story 3" is under the directorship of Lee Unkrich, co-director of number two. Charming and humorous, with continuingly well-developed characters, "Toy Story 3" is darker and more melancholy than its predecessors. It's been 11 years since the last movie hit the screen. In movie-time several years have passed and the toys' owner, Andy, is going away to college. What is to become of the toys?

Woody the cowboy (voiced as the true blue everyman by Tom Hanks) is confident Andy will take care of the remaining toys, either taking them to college or storing them safely in the attic. The others, including Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Jessie the cowgirl, Rex the T-Rex, Hamm the Piggybank, and Slinky the Dog are less confident and afraid to end up in the trash. Buzz the space ranger (voiced as ever-confident by Tim Allen) is resolute to try and keep the gang together. What ends up happening is that the toys are accidentally donated to a day-care center that is not what it seems. Woody, Buzz, and the others have difficult moral quandaries to juggle in determining where to go and how to get there.

"Toy Story 3" is about change being cyclical and about growing up. It easily makes you laugh and the next moment make you cry. Younger children may be scared by some scenes in the film that are reminiscent of a '50s horror movie and at one point, the final scene on Mount Doom in "Lord of the Rings." More serious and less slap-sticky than the earlier entries, it still has the all-important heart of the series. It is a near-perfect way to end the adventures of Woody the cowboy and Buzz the space ranger. So far, the strongest movie this summer has had to offer. Bravo, Pixar!

Rated G