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Emperor Zurg
Why It's Great: Every child's own toy story needs a villain, and Zurg is a formidable foe.
Although created especially for the films, its 'must have' features - it fires ping pong balls! - highlight Pixar's dedication to the nuts and bolts of playtime.
Though largely overlooked in the Toy Story 3 merchandising stampede, LEGO has developed this Construct-a-Zurg as part of a staggering range of tie-ins.
Fact To Be Toyed With: According to Toy Story 2 , Zurg's gun goes up to 11. The Tap would be proud.
Get It Here: Argos is one of many outlets where the Toy Story 3 LEGO range is available.
Magic 8 Ball
Why It's Great: Because some decisions can only be made with the help of an advice-granting billiard ball.
Simplicity itself, the use of an icosahedral (or twenty-sided, to non-mathematicians) die means hours of fun mixing and matching your call-and-response.
Fact To Be Toyed With: Amongst virtually unlimited spoof variations on the concept, is the Magic Cheezburger, which imparts its knowledge in LOL speak.
Get It Here: Mattel's classic can be ordered via Mail Order Express . For the Cheezburger, head to LOLmart.
Chatter Telephone
Why It's Great: A new addition to Toy Story 3 , this eternal pre-school fave offers toddlers the chance to mimic mummy's gossip with her friends or daddy's increasingly rate calls to ineffectual helplines.
Better still, it does it with boggly eyes and a cute trundling motion.
Fact To Be Toyed With: In 2000, Fisher-Price tried to get modern with a push-button version, but nostalgia won out after consumers demanded the classic - if pretty much outdated - rotary model make a comeback.
Get It Here: Mothercare offers a special Toy Story 3 tie-in allowing you to dial up characters from the movie.
Lots O Hugging Bear
Why It's Great: An affectionate spoof of faddish teddy bear brands, Lots 'o' Hugging Bear is feature-driven enough to earn the cuddles of even the mardiest of kids.
Not only does he respond to the level of your voice, but his plush fur is strawberry-scented.
Fact To Be Toyed With: We're not quite sure how 'Lotso' is being marketed, but let's hope the plan is to sell out of stock before impressionable children actually see the film.
Get It Here: There's Lots O Lotsos all under one roof at Toys R Us
Mr Spell
Why It's Great: Obviously, it educates as well as entertains, making it an impressive multi-tasker when most toys are designed to be thrown at things.
But its chief benefit to naughty kids of all ages is the snigger factor of forcing it to speak dirty words in its pedantic, robo-tones.
Fact To Be Toyed With: Mr Spell's real-life equivalent, Speak 'n' Spell, is widely used by musicians, and not just for its voice simulation. Many avant-garde hepcats have rewired the toy to create atonal "circuit breaking" sound effects.
Get It Here: For a bona fide vintage Speak 'n' Spell, it's going to have to be eBay.
Slinky
Why It's Great: A dog might be man's best friend, but a slinky is hours of fun for a kid.
Combine the two, et voila! A slinky and a dog. What's not to love?
Fact To Be Toyed With: Toy Story's Slinky is based on the classic 1950s pull-toy design by James Industries. With the brand's permission, Pixar tweaked the design to maximise the dog's loveability.
Get It Here: It's slinking off the shelves at Tesco .
Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots
Why It's Great: Childhoods spent watching Rocky movies turned us all into Burgess Meredith's no-nonsense trainer Mickey, and this is the game that allowed us to play those fantasies for real.
Memories of its brutal ballet and abstract purity - fight until your opponent's head comes off - meant even the briefest of cameos in Toy Story 2 raised a smile.
Fact To Be Toyed With: The game was originally sold in the UK under the name Raving Bonkers. Presumably on the grounds that...well, it is , isn't it?
Get It Here: A wise investment for gadget geeks of all ages, the game is helpfully stocked by The Gadget Shop .
Cymbal Banging Monkey
Why It's Great: Along with the Duracell Bunny, this remorseless cymbal-clashing primate is the Terminator of toys. It absolutely will not stop, as Hot Chip's 'Over and Over' recognised.
Endlessly captivating if slightly on the sinister side, Toy Story 3 uses this ambivalence to dramatic effect.
Fact To Be Toyed With: The classic monkey brand is the Japanese Musical Jolly Chimp, a name which makes it sound even creepier.
Get It Here: Dozens of variations exist, but for an authentic Musical Jolly Chimp, head to your nearest antique toy dealer.
Aliens
Why It's Great: In theory, these Pixar originals are all about the aliens' characterisation as a childlike, perpetually awestruck cult.
Their success as an actual toy, though, lies in the effortless, elegant design, a benign distillation of every 'little green man' cliche there's ever been.
Fact To Be Toyed With: The Aliens are a Christian allegory. Wait, come back! It's true. At least according to this (mildly spoilery) piece of rhetoric .
Get It Here: Clearly, for the full effect, you want a decent number of the lil' snot-coloured fellas, so head over to Toys R Us for a three-pack.
Hamm
Why It's Great: Is Hamm technically a toy? Possibly not, but owning a piggy bank is a childhood rite of passage that will outlast any fad.
Again, it's the design's simplicity of style that sells it. Hamm instantly looks like a bona-fide product, and all other piggy banks start to look less piggy in comparison.
Fact To Be Toyed With: The name 'piggy bank' doesn't come from the animal, but from the type of clay (pygg) originally used to make money-jars.
Get It Here: The Disney Store offers a working toy version with fake coins, but use real ones and - hey presto! - it's a piggy bank again.
