Time to get animated

In a movie season where almost everything has a number in the title, it might seem curious to get excited about a couple of flicks which are third and fourth in their respective franchises and which just happen to be opening within a week of each other.

But this is Toy Story and Shrek.

They're both series which reinvented how we looked and laughed at big-screen cartoons - they're about to do that again as the new instalments are their first in 3D.

Sure, both of the cartoon companies behind each film Pixar and Dreamworks have already delivered 3D flicks. But, having seen new flicks at screenings earlier this week, how both new films use 3D makes it look like those previous goggles-required movies were just practice.

The original Toy Story in 1995 was Pixar's first feature, starting off a remarkable run of films, which made the studio Hollywood's most consistent and most critically acclaimed hit-maker.

Just as beloved has-been Shrek, a series we're connected to via Aucklander Andrew Adamson who became world famous in New Zealand after bringing the big green guy to life.

We liked him so much, we named a mad hermit sheep after him - Shrek that is, not Adamson. But it's time he got put out to pasture with Shrek Forever After, the final outing bar a spin-off for Puss in Boots.

If Toy Story 3 turns out to be the final - it offers a tidy and poignant ending to do just that - it would make it among the greatest movie trilogies of all time, cartoon or not.

So, yes, a double feature that's worth getting highly animated about.

LOWDOWN

What: Shrek Forever After, the 3D final instalment in the Shrek series
When: Opens at Cinemas on June 24 with advance previews this weekend
What: Toy Story 3, the long awaited 3D sequel to Toy Story 2
When: Opens at cinemas on July 1