Video: Bring Your Kleenex!

By: Holley Sinn

Verdict: Approved!

15 years ago, a certain spaceman was introduced into a toy community called "Andy's Room", led by a cowboy with a heart of gold and some colorful pals like "Slinky Dog", "Hamm" the piggy bank and "Rex" the neurotic dinosaur. In virtual real time, that cowboy named Woody and the Spaceman known across the galaxy as Buzz Lightyear, raised their beloved Andy, only to find him headed off to college in 2010. With many of their playtime pals already donated or passed down to other children, Andy's toys fear for their fate...will they be headed for the cold, dark attic or will they find themselves the cast-out residents of the local dump?

"Toy Story 3" finds Woody, voiced by Tom Hanks, and Buzz, voiced by Tim Allen, leading a plot to engage the newly graduated Andy in a little playtime. When the plan fails, the toys become aware that they are most likely bound for the confines of the attic, but a mix up involving a trash bag eventually finds them on their way to Sunnyside Daycare where they can only hope to be loved by a new batch of kids.

When it becomes clear that Daycare is not the wonderland they had hoped for, the fearful toys realize that they must find their way back to Andy and the much less frightening attic. Having been accidentally adopted by the Daycare operators little girl, Andy finds a new, welcoming group of toy pals, but quickly learns that his friends are in great danger. At the hands of a mob boss-style teddy bear named Lotso, voiced by Ned Beatty, Cowgirl Jesse, the Potato-Heads and the rest of the gang are certain to be glittered, torn and beaten to death by a group of over-sugared toddlers.

Unable to imagine such a fate for his friends, Woody stages a rescue that almost pans out, but the tortured and angry Lotso intervenes, inadvertently sending the whole lot of them, including himself, to the dump. The toys' only hope is to stick together, trust each other, and wait for a miracle, which only a few tiny green space aliens can provide. Over the course of the past 15 years, Disney has created one of the most beloved franchises in animation history, and with the help of Pixar and screenwriter Michael Arndt, the end is more poignant and endearing than the beginning. With the addition of new characters like "Ken Doll", voiced by Michael Keaton and Barbie, voiced by Jodi Benson, "Toy Story 3" is the swan song of a coming-of-age story as told through the innocent voice of a boy's ageless best friends.

The 3-D aspect is a welcome but fully unnecessary addition to what is already a near perfect film, and my recommendation to you would be to stock up on tissues. "Toy Story 3" is Holley-Approved and it opens today in theaters all over the bay area.