Moviegoers likely have Toy Story hype coming out of their ears, but in all honesty, this is one movie that outstrips the hype and leaves it trailing in the dust.

With Pixar’s recent run of hits (everything since Cars has been increasingly good), I was probably one of the few people going into this film with any apprehensions at all. It’s been years since I saw Toy Story 1 or 2, and when I did see them I was pretty young, so I was mostly concerned with my memories building up the previous films, and Randy Newman.

Luckily, Randy Newman is kept on a tight rein, and apart from that, Toy Story 3 rocked. As much of an emotional rollercoaster as Up, it is perfectly paced, both funny and terrifying, and had me me hooked from start to finish. Lee Unkrich knows when to lay it on and also when to hold back, so the funny moments stay funny and the tender moments stay tender.

The movie starts with Andy all grown up and heading off to college, so the toys (Buzz, Woody, Jesse and co.) are packed off to Sunnyside Day Care Centre, which holds promises of constant playtime without the awfulness of having your owner grow up and leave you. Things seem peachy at first, but the toys soon learn that all is not as it seems, and so plan to escape.

New additions include Ken (Michael Keaton), Trixie the dinosaur (Kristen Schaal) and fantastic turn from Timothy Dalton as Mr. Pricklepants.

I’m not going to say any more, except that this one is worth getting worked up for, and you will totally cry.