Woody, Buzz and the rest of the Toy Story gang are back for another adventure and they are just as lovable and hilarious as they were when they first burst onto the big screen in 1999.

In this third instalment, their owner Andy, once a small boy, is now 17-years old and about to go to college. The toys believe it’s the end for them now that Andy’s nearly a grown up but in actual fact, Andy’s become quite attached to his toys over the years, and although he decides to take only Woody with him to college, he wants to store the others in the attic.

Before they are put there, however, his mother mistakes them for rubbish and throws them out. The toys mistakenly believe they have been thrown out by Andy and, dejected, jump into a donation bucket to see where it will take them. Hilarity ensues when they end up at a day care centre, a happy bright place with lots of smiling kids.

Although it seems like toy heaven to them, Woody, who followed them there, tries to warn them that it is a terrible place. But the toys believe they have found happiness there. A teddy bear named Lotso tells them they can be loved by children again and again and Barbie is over the moon when she meets Ken and their dream house. Woody returns to Andy defeated.

Yet, as is so often the case in real life, the things that delight us in the beginning don’t always turn out to be as great as they first seemed. Lotso later betrays the toys and resets Buzz Lightyear so that he thinks he is a patrol officer. What seemed like heaven starts to feel more like a prison.

Woody proves his loyalty as a friend when he returns to help them escape. Cue more laugh-out-loud moments that will have the kids in fits and make the grown-ups in the audience feel like little kids again.

But it’s not only the effects that help to set this film apart from Toy Story 1 and 2. For all the fun, the film is grittier, with more tense moments than the first two. More importantly, there is a sense of conclusion as the question of ‘but what will happen to the toys when Andy grows up’ has been answered – and it’s not the sad ending we all feared it might have been! Touchingly, Andy donates his much loved toys to another child so that the happiness they bring can just keep going.

Toy Story 3 is full of refreshingly innocent fun that is brought to life by the dazzling 3D effects. All in all, a fine family flick that will leave you hoping Disney can find a way to continue the story.