Toy Stories

By Inger Fountain

Pixar have another hit on their hands with their latest release for 2010, Toy Story 3. Kids will love the film and will also love to bring a small part of the adventures home with them. Luckily there are a variety of Toy Story 3 toys for kids of all ages from trusted toy companies like Mattel, Fisher Price, Lego and Thinkway. Kids love to explore their own stories and use their favourite characters in new and imaginative ways. We take a look at the Toy Story 3 toys on the market most likely to inspire your child's creativity.

Following on from the critically acclaimed and hugely successful first two films, the third Toy Story film brings the main cast of the films into a different environment. With Andy off to college, the toys are accidentally thrown away, ending up at Sunnyside Daycare center. Woody, Buzz, Jesse and the gang scheme to get back to Andy's house but some of their new friends are reluctant to let them go. The following toys explore scenes from the film but allow your child to create their own stories as well.

Toy Story Lego
Without a doubt the biggest news in Toy Story 3 toys has to be the teaming up of Lego and Pixar to create both Duplo and regular Lego sets based around the Toy Story characters and scenes. If you are unfamiliar with Lego, they are the leader in construction building toys for boys and girls.

While the price point for Lego can be high these toys are made of hard plastic and so will last longer than most other plastic toys. In addition Lego is a creative toy that actively encourages children to imagine their own creations with the pieces at hand. A car can become a house or a spaceship, depending on the child's vision and the pieces can adapt to any number of combinations.

Duplo is their junior line and, with age recommendations from ages 2-6, the Duplo range features larger bricks and fewer pieces per set. The regular Lego sets feature smaller and more varied pieces in larger sets for ages six and above.

Lego has released four Duplo sets to coincide with the release of Toy Story 3 and all feature 2 inch movable figures of some of the cast. Jesse's Round Up (Set 5657 for $19.99) is a small set at 18 pieces and comes with Jesse, Bullseye and a small sheriff house structure. The iconic Pizza Planet Truck (Set 5658 for $19.99) is another small set with 13 pieces and comes with the truck, a fuelling station, Buzz Lightyear and a Little Green Alien.

Larger sets include the Great Train Chase with 39 pieces (set 5659 for $39.50) including a train engine, carriage and tunnel structure and the figures of Buzz, Woody and Jesse. This is a very fun set that recreates an exciting scene from the film and knowing how much kids love trains this is sure to be a popular set. The final Duplo set is Alien Space Crane (set 5691 for $39.99) and includes Woody, Buzz, a Little Green Alien, a crane and a garbage truck.

In the regular Lego range there are a number of highly playable sets for older Toy Story 3 fans. From smallest to largest the sets are:
Set 7789 Lotso's Dump Truck ($19.99): A yellow dump truck, Lotso, Chunk and Stretch
Set 7598 Pizza Planet Truck Rescue ($39.99): Yellow delivery truck with Buzz, Rex, Hamm and a Little Green Alien
Set 7596 Trash Compactor Escape ($49.99): Conveyer Belt, Crane, Compactor, Lotso, Woody, Hamm and two Little Green Aliens
Set 7599 Garbage Truck Getaway ($49.99): A large garbage truck, Buzz, Jesse, Lotso and Twitch
Set 7597 Western Train Chase $79.99: Train Engine with Caboose, Passenger Car and Money car with Woody, Buzz, Rex, Bullseye, Hamm and Jessie.

Lego is one of the best educational toys on the market, encouraging not only the ability to concentrate and follow intricate instructions but also creativity with sets able to be taken apart and made into anything the child can imagine. If your child doesn't have any Lego yet Toy Story 3 sets are a great place to start. You can find the sets at online suppliers like Amazon.

Toy Story 3 Mattel Toys
Mattel have made figures and play sets for all of the Toy Story films and this year they have integrated them into their Action Links series of interactive play sets which come with figures known as Buddy figures.

The small play sets all join together and interact with each other so your child can create a chain reaction of events in the order of their choosing. The small play sets retail for from $10.99 to $14.99 and include scenes such as Buzz Saves The Train, Jessie Saves The Day, Woody's Train and more. There are also larger play sets including Sunnyside Breakout for $24.99 and Junkyard Escape play set which retails at $39.99 both of which can connect to the smaller sets.

The Buddy figures that accompany these sets are also sold in 3 packs for $11.99 so you needn't purchase all the sets to get all the figures. The play sets are fun but may have a limited life for younger kids with a short attention span.

Mattel also make larger figures of Buzz, Woody, Jessie and Bullseye that have various interactive and action elements. The figures are approximately 12 inches tall while their Deluxe range of figures comes in at 7 inches.

Toy Story 3 Fisher Price Toys
Fisher Price have a whole range of Toy Story 3 toys available but some of the most exiting are part of their Imaginext range which incorporates action figures with vehicles and play sets, always fertile ground for imaginative kids. The play sets and vehicles include Tri-City Junkyard (which is cooler than it sounds!), Tri City Garbage Truck, a Buzz Lightyear spaceship and the Evil Dr. Porkchop's Spaceship.

All feature the standard sized imaginext figures so can interact with other sets your child may have and are recommended for ages 3+. Their compatibility with other sets is a major boon, as figures from Toy Story 3 can interact with other Imaginext Fisher price figures like knights, dinosaurs and explorers.

Other Toy Story 3 Toys
Various other manufacturers have produced toys around the Toy Story 3 theme and the variety is endless. From ride on cars to dress up costumes there are is something for every fan. Hopefully though, this article has been able to show you a few of the best toys to let your child's imagination soar.

Inger loves stories and loves to write. As a librarian in a previous life she also has an insatiable thirst for general knowledge. You can visit her latest website which takes a look at the best shawls and wraps to add a touch of warmth and elegance to all occasions including beautiful evening shawl options.

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