I especially find it special that the toys chosen for this series are of the timeless nature, unfettered by over-technological gadgetry, too may losable parts or just too restricted in their own pre-determined world. All of the toys are designed to participate in a vast world of unlimited scope - the imagination of a child.
I find it more than a bit troubling that today's children spend an enormous amount of time tunneling their minds into a narrow rectangle with little to no room for imagination and far too much violence. And with no human interaction to offer other than a voice or an iconic representation of someone who may or may not be real on the other end, I can't help but wonder what the result will be when these children grow to become adults. The employment of the type of toys in Toy Story have been used since man has been in existence, building imaginations and character where the cold, unimaginative world of computer gaming has yet to reveal it's long term influence on the youth of today.
Spoiler Alert! You're done unless you've already seen the movie.
The story takes a very human turn when Andy is grown and goes off to college leaving his toys to a little girl down the street, where it's obvious that they will all continue to be played with and cherished by a loving child. Of course it's heart breaking when Andy drives off leaving his toys behind, but one can't help imagine if these two could possibly get together in the future and provide yet another imaginative play mate for his old friends. Something tells me that Toy Story III is indeed the final installment of this wonderful series, but then again - who knows.
In closing, I can't help but mention that in the ending credits, we were pleasantly surprised to find out the likelihood that Ken is gay... and that for a brief time, he had his only Woody.
Good review Chris. I saw this recently and pleasantly surprised at good it was for a 3rd go-round. Very well done technically, and interesting and engaging storyline. You might want to add a "spoiler alert" near the top of your post though - you don't want to get any nastygrams.
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