Toy Story 3 (a look back)

For a summer movie I went to see three times in theaters, Toy Story 3 was a film that hits home. As I have mentioned before, Toy Story is and always has been my all-time favorite Disney animated movie. This series was very entertaining to follow, it opened my imagination, and when I heard that a third movie was being made, I went nuts. I had the dignity to walk into that theater three times buying my ticket for the next showing. As long as I saw Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Slink, Rex, Bullseye, Ham and the Potato Heads on the big screen again, my summer was complete.

When this movie came out, my cousin was just graduating high school, and I was just entering my senior year. It was interesting to see how some kids around that age group could grow up with the series, how they’ve grown old with Andy, and how they’re ready to put the toys in the chest one last time. Even as we enter a new generation of kids who haven’t seen the other 2 films in their prime, it still grabs the attention of the kids. You get so many people dressing up as cowboys, spacemen, or even slinky dogs for that matter. I saw a kid dress up as Buzz Lightyear this Halloween. Considering it was 16 years ago when I was Buzz for Halloween, that made me smile.I remember sometime after Finding Nemo, some studio was going to create the original idea for Toy Story 3. It involved some plot where Buzz was being recalled to Taiwan and the toys were going to save him AGAIN before he malfunctions. While thinking about another Toy Story was being released, I thought it was too soon. I would have lost faith in Pixar. I couldn’t bear to see Pixar screw up a film like this and make it a slap-in-the-face like…again stick around next post. But I’m glad that Pixar waited it out long enough. It actually allowed the team to release new and very interesting material. And the final setup for Toy Story 3 was perfectly executed.

So the toys are at a daycare center, oblivious to the grown up Andy who left all the toys, but Woody, in a garbage bag to be taken up to the attic. The toys are welcomed to Sunnyside by a secretly power-hungry bear, Lotso, and a very flamboyant Ken doll, played by Pixar veteran Michael Keaton. Everyone is excited to be played with again and make children happy. All except, again, for Woody. He feels that Andy still needs him and leaves his friends behind. The toys try to move on and embrace the cute and adorable children that abuse and torture toys as much as Sid. Buzz goes to Lotso to have his friends be with more mature toddlers (If that makes sense). Lotso doesn’t take his warm-heart story light, so he has his henchmen reconfigure his settings, ultimately manipulating himself as the annoying space ranger from the first movie. As Woody goes to find Andy, he ends up being picked up by a little girl named Bonnie, who share the same love and imagination Andy had when he was little and you can see where this all leads. He encounters Bonnie’s toys and even discovers the backstory of Lotso, who has a reason to be a greedy tyrant at a daycare center, so of course, Woody goes back. And from there, so many things happen that reconcile with my joy and appreciation for the other two movies.

I like how they got the same kid who voiced Andy in the other two movies to voice Andy one last time (instead of some popular Disney star to fill in. that would’ve sucked). I am sad that few of the secondary toys are gone. Wheezy’s gone, Bo Peep is gone, and the last of the green army men abandon the gang as they venture to new battlefronts (What dicks). They do introduce Barbie though! Okay, that doesn’t help. I also like how big this movie is. It’s really broad and open. It took risks, it got dark, serious, it did leave some comical moments, and some moments were dramatic. I like the nods from the other two movies. Like when Andy has to choose if he should take Woody or Buzz to college, similar to when he had to choose who’s the favorite toy of the first movie. How about the opening play sequence? Both a tribute to the first and second play sequences, I knew what the toys would say because it’s drawn from the first movie (the Death By Monkeys button made me laugh hard).

I was for the drama in this film. There were times I thought the movie would just end, but it kept going into darker routes, and that made it interesting. I’m glad to see the toys and Andy finally develop as characters. You see the emotional struggles they’re going through to get to this conclusion and that’s what makes a well-created story arc. I’m sure the biggest tearjerker was at the very end. I remember my mother crying when Andy and his mom were looking at his room, being all empty. My room’s not empty but any parent could feel emotional watching this scene. I can’t seem to recall if I did make a decision like Andy did. But seeing how awesome my childhood was, I bet I would have one last play day if I were to give my toys to my 4-year-old neighbor. See what Toy Story 3 has done to me?

I hear rumors and people saying they want to see a Toy Story 4 be made. As huge of a Toy Story fan that I am, as much as I love what this series has brought me, I do not want to see that happen. Seeing how Toy Story 3 delivered the series to a close in the most emotional way, there’s no reason to have another one. How can you continue a story after you finished it, without directly copying the original product (I’m talking to you Sandlots 2 and 3!)? It’s kind of like how I feel about the upcoming Star Wars 7, it’s nothing I’d bother to go see despite the hype. I honestly can’t see something groundbreaking like Toy Story continue to milk itself like most Dreamworks movies have (feel free to prove me wrong), or even the people who made Ice Age. I do enjoy the 5 minute Toy Story Toons that come at the beginning of every other Disney movie recently. I’ll stick to watching those over another theatrical film. Don’t get me wrong, it’s nice to see Andy’s toys interact with Bonnie’s toys. It gets some laughs here and there. Again, I can take a 5-minute short over an hour and a half movie.So I’ve rambled enough about this movie. I’m glad I saw the Toy Story trilogy. It completed my childhood, it was an amazing experience, and it closed itself just right.