For the most part it’s light on themes and heavy on almost Carl Stalling-esque textures, which roots the music in the classic animation sound, but still seems a little old fashioned. As was the case with the previous films, quite a lot of the rest of the score has a light jazzy flavor through the use of saxophones, harmonicas, guitars, and plucked stand-up bass alongside a traditional orchestral setup. The score starts off with “Cowboy!”, which underscores a fantasy play sequence in Andy’s head, and sees Randy channeling his uncle Alfred, Elmer Bernstein, Ennio Morricone and his own score for Maverick in a superb western pastiche that features some surprisingly robust, if a little haphazard, action material. I was singing “Hay Un Amigo En Mí” to myself as I left the theater, which is always a good sign. The other song is an absolutely hilarious Spanish-language version of “You Got A Friend In Me” by the wonderful Gypsy Kings, in which lead singer Nicolas Reyes is clearly channeling Zorro and every other big-screen amorous Latino from the history of cinema, complete with flamenco-style guitar flourishes.

It’s a great song for anyone who, like me, appreciates Newman’s songs as much as his score, and is likely to pick up an Oscar nomination next spring. I guess we’ll just have to trust that Toy Story plays it straight.Īs usual, Newman’s central effort is a song, this time the sunny and uplifting “We Belong Together”, with features his idiosyncratic vocal delivery and sardonic lyrics to excellent effect, as well as an unexpectedly toe-tapping chorus. Despite his wholesome and well-respected work on films like The Natural, Newman often pokes fun at the conventions of the American Dream, to such an extent that even when he is being sincere you can never tell if he has his tongue in his cheek or not. Returning for his third trip to Toyland is composer Randy Newman, whose witty and ironic music is always a welcome addition to the film despite his penchant for subversive sarcasm. At first happy to be played with again, the toys quickly find out that life in the day care is not quite as rosy as it seems, and hatch a plan to escape. The majority of the original voice cast – Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn – return to join up with newcomers Ned Beatty and Michael Keaton in a brand new story where the toys are accidentally delivered to a day care facility when their beloved owner Andy goes away to college. As well as being an excellent (and very funny) diversion for children, it’s also an imaginative, nostalgic, pathos-filled treat for adults, dealing with such mature themes as obsolescence and loss. The second sequel to the groundbreaking Pixar animation comes 15 years after the original, but despite the passage of time has not lost any of its magic or charm.

Toy story 3 soundtracks