Entertainment : From the Front Row of the Balcony: 'Toy Story 3' has all a movie can offer

Toy Story 3 combines action, drama suspense, all with a family-friendly G-rating.

Bo Peep is long gone, thanks to a garage sale sometime since 1999.

Andy is about to leave for college.

All that's left for Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the Toy Story crew is a trip to the attic, where they may live until Andy has children.

Or worse perhaps, they fear, a worse fate awaits them — the landfill.

Sarge is not about to take his chances, so he and the toy soldiers decide to parachute away instead of leaving their future in the hands of fate.

A mix-up between Andy and his mom as he is packing for then must decide whether to go to college with Andy, or take the risks that come with staying with the rest of the toys.

That is how "Toy Story 3" in 3D begins. What follows is an asorbing, inspiring wild ride that makes you forget the characters are merely toys, and not humans.

Along the way, Woody and his friends encounter many of the toys you may remember from your childhood (I did; especially that pull-along phone).

They even meet Ken and Barbie. Barbie has been studying American history; she can eloquently use the phrase "the consent of the governed" in a sentence. But Ken is still as vain as ever. And, alas, he still acts, and looks, as much like — to use the words of one of the other character — "a girl toy" as ever.

Somehow, this group of toys soon learn they must work together to overcome a villain that smells like strawberries, a wild journey in the modern American solid waste system, and the perils of being played with by the youngest of children at Andy's old day care center.

This movie includes action, drama, suspense and even a little romance -- all while maintaining the innocence of a G-rating. Many of us (I do anyway) wish Hollywood writer and producers would realize they they could do that with movies for grown-ups, too.

My favorite part: The ending scene, with Andy and Bonnie (the young daughter of the woman who ran the day care Andy attended as a child). To say why it's my favorite part would give away an important secret. But I will tell you this: You may want to make sure you have a Kleenex with you, just in case, of course, you have allergies.

What you should know before you go: "Toy Story 3" may be the best movie of them all this year. You should go. And with it lasting two weeks on the Palace screen, there should be plenty of opportunities for you to see it.

(This is the part of my column where I would warn you about things you may not like about the movie, or caution you about age-appropriate content, but none of that applies in a G-rated movie like this.)

While the movie is in 3-D, even those effects are significantly more timid than those used in Shrek.

Why you should go: The best movie of the year, at the best price in the world. Also, there are some amazing previews of movies coming soon to the Palace. You will want to come back, long before it's time to leave.