Review of 'Toy Story 3'

More than with any other Pixar film, there's an edge and sadness that clings to "Toy Story 3," even as it's bouncing from one zany situation to the next or trotting out some impossibly cute toy character.

And it's not simply the horror movie tones throughout, although the terrifying Big Baby with its half-closed eye and brain-dead demeanor could easily front a "Child's Play" revival.

It's the angst and abandonment, the existential pain hanging over the whole darn thing, as well as the film's ugly, over-riding question: Are we all just useless in the end?

Wait -- this is a kids' movie?

Well, sure it is ... sort of. You've got Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and all the other wonderful toys come to life, and as always they're having big adventures and there are close calls and great escapes and big mistakes that lead to even bigger laughs.

And it's both visually and verbally dazzling, make no mistake about that (although the 3-D effects here are nothing special simply because the movie looks so good in the first place). Pixar married the world of modern computer animation and sophisticated storytelling with the original "Toy Story" in 1995, and since then it has been the hands-down leading studio of any kind in Hollywood.

It has never made a film that could be considered close to weak; most have been outright great. "Toy Story 3" continues that tradition.

See it by all means, although if you're bringing a small child be aware that there are indeed scary situations (although a very small child might not even understand what makes them so scary). It is a wonderful film.

But it is by no means a light film. In fact, in many ways, before it opts to dive into a great pool of sentiment at the end, it is a deeply dark film.

Andy (John Morris), owner of our beloved toys, is now 17 and going off to college. The toys have sat abandoned in a chest for many years now waiting for Andy to play with them. He hasn't.

They fear the future. The garbage can? Storage in the attic? It seems unlikely he'll take them to college.

Andy decides to take Woody to college -- brave freshman he is -- and store the rest of the gang in the attic. Unfortunately, he tosses them into a garbage bag and Mom (Laurie Metcalf) thinks that means garbage.

But the toys escape to a box to be donated to a local daycare center. What could be better for a toy? Unlimited access to kids!

Unfortunately, the kids our toys end up with are too young and brutal. And the daycare center turns out to be a house of horrors ruled over by a psychopathic Teddy Bear named Lotso (Ned Beatty). Cue the screaming.

No, don't, it's not all that grisly, and Sheriff Woody comes to the somewhat shaky rescue. But things get crazy. And the crazy makes it all the more rewarding.

The standout newcomers are undoubtedly Barbie (Jodi Benson) and Ken (Michael Keaton), probably making more sense for parents than kids. That's OK, parents will be so shaken by the subtext here they'll need the laughs.

But don't fear. Our toys aren't that much different than useless Carl Fredricksen in "Up" or useless Wall-E in "Wall-E," the two previous Pixar films, both of whom proved pretty useful.

Heart dictates function in a Pixar world; if you have one, you have the other. And really, who would argue?

No one with a heart, obviously.