On paper, it’s a ridiculous notion. Stifling a rising emotive lump in your throat caused by the on screen antics of computer animated toys.

But that’s exactly what happened when Debbie, Luke and I saw Toy Story 3 earlier today.

Before I continue, I must warn you that this blog is likely to contain spoilers. If you haven’t watched the film then you’re probably better off closing this so it doesn’t ruin the plot for you.

Fifteen years have passed since Toy Story was released. Like Woody’s owner, Andy, we’ve grown up with the characters. They’ve become cherished figures as we’ve enjoyed their adventures again and again on TV and DVD. We’ve passed this love for them down to our children. Indeed, from where I’m sitting right now I can spot half a dozen of Luke’s much loved Toy Story figures. He enjoys repeating their catch phrases and playing with them. His maturing mind creating simple but endearing adventures for them.

The original Toy Story created a new genre. The sequel was one of those rare films that surpasses the original. The characters and plot virtually pitch perfect. When news of the threequel was announced, I was a little wary. Could Pixar pull off another masterpiece? Would it stand next to the other two films and be a fitting send off to those much loved characters?

The answer is a very resounding yes. Pixar have never made children’s films. They’ve made films that kids can enjoy but they’ve always had a more contemporary theme. From the strong eco-message from the little robot left behind to clear up our mess, to the grief stricken man who ties a thousand balloons to his house.

Similar adult themes run through Pixar’s latest. A strong sense that all good things must end is present right from the off. Most of the toys have already been sold and only a handful remain. Andy is now a young man going to college and has no time for his old toys who still crave his attention. They resign themselves to a long spell in the attic holding onto the hope that Andy may have children of his own one day.

This loyalty and friendship runs throughout the series and ties together many of the key scenes in this last installment. During the third act, one scene has them trying to escape a rubbish dump’s metal smelter. Despite their efforts they find themselves being pulled towards the white hot fire, all hope seemingly lost. Jesse turns to Buzz and asks “What do we do now?” and Buzz meets her worried gaze with a look that says ‘Nothing. This is it’. The toys reach out and join hands. Terrified at the prospect at dying but finding comfort in their friendship. This beautifully animated moment was responsible for raising a lump in my throat. It is a credit to Pixar that they are able to wrangle such an emotional response from the audience by displaying so much humanity in their animation.

They manage it again right at the end as Andy plays with his toys one last time before donating them to another child. The long look he gives them before getting into his car and driving away from his childhood things is another wonderfully executed and poignant moment.

As the end credits roll to Newman’s “You’ve got a friend in me” you can’t help but to sit there for a moment and allow the concussion from the sentimental grenade to pass before rising from your seat to leave these characters behind.

I watched Luke skip out of the theatre babbling about “Woody” and “Buzz” and “Ye-haw Bulls eye” and I couldn’t help but to consider that he’ll grow up and leave home one bittersweet day. Another reminder to enjoy all the days we have, no matter how many clouds there are in the sky.

I can’t recommend the film enough. It’s hands down one of the finest animated films I’ve ever sat through. It is simply in a league of its own and Pixar’s unblemished record continues.

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As a teen I wasn’t above the odd bout of existential angst. I often wondered what my purpose was as an individual and what our purpose was as a race. Why did we exist? Are we destined for some greater good or are we just organic matter that figured out that the stabby end of a stick would allow us to climb the food chain?

I concluded that we have been given the gift of sentience yet we squander it on daytime TV, mundane “what’s for dinner” choices that wouldn’t bat a butterfly’s wing and working most of our waking days to covet material possessions that we eventually discard with flippant disregard for the process that we used to attain them.

It was all a bit depressing really when you thought about it. Eventually, though, the need for gainful employment gave me less time to think and replaced those thoughts with more pressing issues like paying bills, meeting deadlines and saving up for a shiny iMac.

Becoming a dad a few years ago has begun to reawaken those thoughts. Although my thoughts are more tuned into the future and what it holds. Not mine, of course, but Luke’s future and the general state of the planet and how life will be for him and his children. I find myself momentarily immobilised with the moribund horrors of melting ice-caps, unplugged oil spills, global warming, rising sea levels, droughts, food shortages and an exploding population. Surely these things won’t affect me in my own lifetime but what of our children?

I certainly don’t envy the next generation. They’re already beaten into a guilty pulp over recycling plastic bottles and eating their greens via the media, their schools and well-meaning relatives. You can’t throw a tin-can into a recycling bin without hitting a dozen kids TV shows that preach about the merits of ‘being green”. When I was a kid, the only thing that was green on TV wore ripped purple shorts and went on a bashing spree every Saturday night. Our kids will grow up in a world where the media paints a dark picture for their future and that genuinely worries me.

Even now, movies are pre-occupied with our own fate. You can browse through the many different ways the human race will be wiped out in your local Blockbuster.

“How would you like your end of the world, sir? Aliens? No? How about a natural disaster? Perpetual winter? Ok. How about dying sun? Or would you prefer the ‘population outgrew the planet and set off in a space ship to find a new planet to screw up’ scenario? Oh, I have just the thing for you. How about a dad and his son shuffling through a post-apocalyptic landscape desperately clinging onto the last shred of humanity while baby eating cannibals hunt them?”. Even Pixar couldn’t resist a stab with WALL-E; depicting a future where the human race evolves into soulless blobs while robots unsuccessfully clean up our mess.

Now that’s truly depressing. Happily, the man that found a “cure” for smallpox reckons we’ve got about a hundred years left before we’re all extinct.

Or maybe Gene Roddenberry will be right. We’ll sort out our mess over a nice pint of Romulan ale and a packet of custard creams.

I have been often accused of thinking too much. Which is like saying an ocean is too wet or sand is too sandy. We’re sentient creatures. We’re supposed to think about things. The alternative is to switch off and happily ignore the world around us. Regardless, these fleeting moments of mordant panic pass and I reassure myself that the media is always bleak. Even lovely hot sunny days become stories about how the heat is killing off old people and drying up our rivers and lakes. The media exists to tell a story and they season it with a pinch of salt.

So what of our future? For me, I hope it includes happiness, children, grandchildren and accepting that while we can’t change the world, we can change our outlook. The best you can do is to look after your own family and to try and steer you children in the right direction.

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