In the 10 years since the last instalment of Toy Story hit the big screen, Pixar has transformed itself from an admittedly gifted outfit with the ability to spot timeless kid-friendly stories into something far more impressive. I wonder quite how Toy Story 3 will compare to the animation studio's more recent films when it arrives in cinemas here next summer, for watching the first film at the cinema a few weeks back, I felt it rather paled in comparison with modern classics such as The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Wall-E and the new Up.
With its slightly starry cast, simplistic conceit and a comedic dynamic built mainly on one-liners, it seemed more than a little generic. Pixar's later films, by contrast, have been marvels of unfettered imagination, so unorthodox in their conception alone that they would never have got past the drawing board stage in 1995.
A retired family of superheroes? A cordon bleu rat? The voiceless last robot inhabitant of a deserted Earth? A pensioner who floats off in a house tied to thousands of multi-coloured balloons in search of adventure? These are conceipts that seem to emanate from the swirling depths of the imagination, in the places where the strangest, most wonderful dreams reside.
Still, there are more than a few choice moments in this, the first trailer proper for Toy Story 3, also set 10 years on from the last film. With Andy about to set off for college and leave his old playmates behind, will Woody, Buzz and the gang ever see him again? Could they even - heaven forbid! - be sold on eBay?
Pixar has managed to bring back almost all the voice cast from the first two films, including Tom Hanks and Tim Allen, although the late Jim Varney has been replaced by his friend and fellow comic Blake Clark as Slinky the extendable toy dachsund. Toy Story 3 even sees the return of the now all grown up John Morris as Andy, a nice touch. New arrivals include Kristen Schaal, who played the amusingly unhinged groupie in Flight of the Conchords.
This is just a trailer of course, but what do you reckon? Will Toy Story 3 scale the heights that Pixar's more recent films have achieved? Or is this one destined for a place on the shelf alongside rare Pixar duds such as Cars?
