The year was 1995 when we were first introduced to cowboy toy Woody, and his human owner Andy. Reviews for this first feature film from Pixar Animation Studies excited children and adults the world over as the animated characters held us captive in cinemas and, later, in our own homes. The saga continued with Toy Story 2, another highly recommended movie released in 1999, but then it seemed that we were finished with these particular animated friends as we didn’t hear anything more for ten long years.

With such an impressive pedigree it’s not surprising that the world was incredibly excited at the release of the third Toy Story movie, to be shown in 3D! And the excitement was perfectly justified as Toy Story 3 is, arguably, the best animated film in the Toy Story series. The star cast including Tom Hanks as Woody and Tim Allen as Buzz returned to bring life to their respective characters once more, 15 years after our original foray into the world of toys was released.

We don’t want to give too much away in terms of plot, but suffice to say this movie tells the tale of what happens to the toys when the boy becomes a man. Finding themselves in a day care centre as owner Andy prepares for his trip to college, the intrepid gang look forward to the perfect life filled with children to play with, only to discover that all is not as it seems. The resulting story is action packed, filled to the brim with laughs and, perhaps most surprisingly, pretty emotional. Don’t be surprised if you find yourself brushing the smallest tear from your eye as the story unfolds before you.

A few of the favourite characters from the previous two films don’t show their faces in this outing, however there are a vast amount of new loveable (or not in some cases) characters to earn a place within your heart. Some excellent screenwriting really will pull you into the story, and with the extra immersion created through the use of some excellent three dimensional sequences, you might just start wondering exactly what experiences your own toys went through when you were a child.

Graphically Toy Story 3 is a marvel. The animation expertise from developer Pixar has obviously been enhanced in the last ten years, making this new outing into the world of Andy’s toys a marvellous spectacle. Keep your eyes open for incredible fur textures on some of the toys, and flawless movements even in the busiest of action sequences. The inventiveness of Pixar has only continued to increase in the last few years, obvious even through the little opening sequence to Toy Story 3 which features two 2D characters who can see beautiful 3D worlds through their bodies. It’s not easy to explain but make sure you watch it before or after getting stuck in to Toy Story 3; ‘Day and Night’ as it’s entitled is an incredible display of Pixar’s creativity.

Whether animated films are normally your thing or not, it’s hard to imagine that anyone could sit through Toy Story 3 and not be taken in by the lovable characters and stirring plot. Children will adore this movie, but you will be pleasantly surprised at how stirring it is for adults as well. This is definitely one to watch.