Toy Story 3

After 11 years and 7 films since “Toy Story 2”, the people at Pixar have given us additional, priceless memories. We have learned from Andrew Stanton how to talk to whales and how robots express love. We have seen a world built for cars from the creative head of Pixar, John Lasseter. From the mind of Brad Bird, we have seen a family of superheroes save their city as well as their love for each other. He also showed us that rats could cook. Because of Pete Docter, people have laughed at monsters and wept as they watched an old man fly up in his own house. Suddenly, the toys are back in town for “Toy Story 3” but why? After Disney acquired Pixar in 2006, Lasseter and the late Steve Jobs were made executives at Disney with the agreement that Pixar would look into making sequels. Pixar came up with a good idea for a sequel and went with it because they adore the Toy Story universe. They lovingly created new characters and a new adventure. They also made technological advancements to inspire them story-wise. The film has a good payoff, a lot of hidden jokes and it revisits much of what we liked about the first two films. I did not expect to cry in “Toy Story 3” but the ending was enough to bring tears. It still can after multiple viewings. The hot streak continued for Pixar and that made me so happy.

I would argue that this ensemble cast deserves more recognition than they already get. Woody and Buzz are back and once again, I tend to forget that Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are the voices of these beloved characters. The rest of the returning cast did well also. The first two "Toy Story" movies were centered around the friendship of Woody and Buzz with the other toys acting as supporting cast members. In "Toy Story 3", all of Andy's toys are central characters and instead of one focal friendship, we have a family relationship at the core of the story. It was delightful to have Jon Morris still playing Andy and I loved that Sid makes a return appearance even though I thought for sure he would be in therapy after his terrible experience in the first film instead of running a garbage truck (Erik Von Detten also reprises his role as Sid). I felt that Slinky could have spoken more but I bet that was an attempt to disguise the fact that Jim Varney had passed away. In my opinon, I couldn't tell that much of a difference thanks to the great work from Blake Clark (he was on "Home Improvement" with Tim Allen when I was growing up). “Toy Story 3” feels like a family reunion for many Pixar acting alumni also. Michael Keaton from “Cars” was funny as Ken. I jumped for joy to hear Bud Lucky’s voice as Chuckles (He is the creator of “Boundin’” and plays Dicker on “The Incredibles”). Richard Kind from “A Bug’s Life” and “Cars” is Bookworm in “Toy Story 3”. Also, Jeff Garlin from "WALL-E" is Buttercup. Bonnie Hunt, who voiced characters in three previous Pixar films, plays Dolly. It is kind of interesting having Hanks and Hunt reunited in a way on this film after acting together in "The Green Mile". New actors to the Pixar family include Ned Beatty, who did a masterful job playing Lots-O’-Huggin’ Bear, and Whoopi Goldberg. All the characters in this film make us laugh but they also make us cry and that is important in a Toy Story movie.

I can tell the filmmakers used the pressure they were under as motivation to recreate a beloved world of theirs and ours in a satisfying way. I am so happy that Lasseter, Stanton, Docter and director Lee Unkrich went to the house where they thought up the first Toy Story and after some sincere brainstorming and reminiscing, they thought up this film. Unkrich, who has been involved with many other Pixar films including the previous Toy Story’s, is a good choice to be the director of “Toy Story 3”. When I saw Lasseter and Stanton’s names as the storywriters for this film, it meant so much to me. They still care about these characters and instead of just supervising the film, they helped make the story. Bud Lucky can not only be heard in this film but he is also doing what he does best: drawing these characters on paper before the computers take over. It is unfortunate that the computer files from the first two Toy Story films could not be used because of how old they were and so characters & sets had to be made from scratch. Before learning of this, I could tell that my favorite characters looked different but I saw a silver lining. When I was 11 years old, there was no such thing as a cowboy doll named Woody or a Buzz Lightyear action figure. Today, these two toys are found in millions of toy boxes around the world. The recreated design of the main characters in “Toy Story 3” reflects these now-common toys and how it would look if they came to life. Woody and Buzz look more like their real life counterparts that I see in my nephew's room. Funny enough, Woody seems to resemble Tom Hanks more than ever. Ken and Barbie look and move so realistically in this film and Lotso looks genuinely soft. The filmmakers replicated plush quite well in the computer. I find it cool that Pixar created a fake viral video on YouTube of a Lotso commercial from the 1980’s that fooled a lot of people. Speaking of him, Lotso's backstory is based on the original draft story of the first Toy Story: two toys are left behind at a truck stop and they find a daycare. The climatic scene at the landfill is this movie's "wow moment" because it is so real and complex. I like the reprise of the golf bag from "Toy Story 2". Not only is there such variety in the trash piles but each piece of trash looks real. Another piece of entertainment for me in this film are the usual hidden cameos and jokes that Pixar always does. For example, Totoro from the Japanese anime film “My Neighbor Totoro” appears in Bonnie’s room. Many of the Pixar films appear to take place in the same world because of the included hidden cameos and jokes that we see. Any allusion to another Pixar film causes us to connect the setting of one Pixar film to another. This has given rise to a theory called the “Pixar Universe”. In “A Bug’s Life” for example, there is a Pizza Planet cup on top of the bug bar. Jessie has a cameo in “Monsters Inc.” as does Buzz in the dentist’s office in “Finding Nemo”. In “WALL-E” and "Ratatouille", we see the Pizza Planet delivery truck and in “Up”, Lotso appears in a little girl’s room. The list goes on and in “Toy Story 3” we have similar hidden jokes. On Andy’s dresser, there is a postcard from Carl and Ellie and silly as it sounds, I am so happy that Andy knows the Fredricksons. Buzz has Buy N’ Large batteries and one of the girls in the butterfly room looks like a slightly older Boo. Her first word is even "Boo". Some fans over think the Pixar Universe theory and try to justify everything into a timeline but I prefer more simple explanations personally. That way, I can still enjoy the essence of the movies.

The story is meant to speak to those young adults who watched Woody and Buzz as children. I like how the film starts. Just as "Toy Story 2" started off with a big Buzz Lightyear adventure, this third film begins with a western adventure. The themes in the Toy Story trilogy become more powerful with each film. “Toy Story 2” foretold two certainties about the future of the Andy’s toys: Andy would grow up and stop playing with them. Also, Woody and Buzz would still be together when that day came. That was enough for me back in 1999 to let go of Woody and Buzz but it is nice to know for sure that Andy’s toys have a happy ending. The second film taught kids that change will always come but instead of losing interest in things that won’t last, we should cherish life and make the most of it in a responsible way. “Toy Story 3” teaches those now young adults and even a new generation of children how to deal with change and also that letting go of things is part of life. Children also learn through this film that change can bring new joys and new happy experiences. “Toy Story” is about getting home and the sequel is that as well as a rescue mission. This third film encompasses both those story motifs plus it is an escape film. Woody appears to have spent the last 10 years with the assumption that he would always be with Andy even if he never got to be played with again. Because of his adventure in the second film, he acknowledges the fact that being with Andy could mean anything from going to college to being put in the attic to being played with by Andy’s future kids. Once Andy puts him in the college box, Woody accepts that future even if it means that he won’t see his friends again. Woody still has to deal with his selfish side. He rationalizes his decision based on the fact that he is still a part of Andy’s life. At one point, he ironically calls the other toys selfish for wanting to live in the daycare instead of being a part of Andy’s life with him, even if that means the attic for them. The other toys are unfortunately under the false assumption that Andy doesn’t want them anymore. They want Woody to stay with them and thus we have the required drama of Woody and Buzz’s friendship in jeopardy. Woody’s initial impression of the daycare and his time in Bonnie’s room do affect him. He starts to feel a little torn between Andy with the possibility of another life. This tiny inner conflict is set aside once Woody knows that his friends need his help. The moment when the toys are about to be burned is very dramatic for me. They realize that dying together is better than being separated from each other. One could argue that their rescue by the aliens was a deus ex machina plot device in which a problem is solved unpredictably by something new. That tends not to work very well story-wise but in this case, the toys' rescue did not come completely out of the blue. The aliens have experience with cranes as we know from the first film and they owe a debt to Mr. Potato Head from the second film. Once back in Andy’s room, Woody and Andy start a learning path together. Andy indirectly helps Woody learn that saying good-bye doesn’t mean that the memories of the past will be forgotten. Just because you love someone doesn’t mean you stop loving upon separation. This is portrayed by what Andy says to his mom and by the fact that he is taking to college a childhood picture of him playing with his toys. This is where Woody for the third time does something completely selfless: he gets Andy to donate him and the other toys to Bonnie. However, it isn’t until Andy is showing Bonnie her new toys that he finds that Woody is in the box too. Andy is very reluctant to let Woody go but this is where Woody indirectly teaches Andy the importance of making a child happy. After being with these toys for 15 years, we as a public find this scene extremely hard to watch without crying. The scene creates feelings of joy and sadness at the same time (no pun intended). This is an event in the movie that had to happen for the sake of the film’s moral and for the sake of resolution. When Bonnie takes Woody’s hand and waves it good-bye to Andy, Andy’s reaction is the best-animated performance in the whole movie. He remembers how much these toys come to life for him even though they aren’t moving by themselves. Sometimes, irony can make you shed a tear. A very good example of how behind-the-scenes stories add to my entertainment experience is the final shot of this movie. When Woody says "So long, partner", he is animated by Rich Quade who was one of the first animators to animate Woody on the first "Toy Story". As weird as it sounds, that makes me cry as I watch the final shot. A thought came to me once as I watched the ending of this movie: Andy may have donated his toys in this film but we can always watch the first two movies again any time we want. Film is forever.

It is great that Pixar's critical winning streak ends with the characters that started it all and for me, this is the ending of the Toy Story franchise. "Toy Story 3" is my favorite film of 2010 and to see this film nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars was the best thing that could have happened for the franchise. It is very hard for a sequel to acheive that, let alone a third film in a franchise, let alone an animated third film in a franchise. I wish though that it wasn't so easy to be get nominated for Best Picture that year. The film obviously won Best Animated film and I love how it was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay. I am a big fan of Randy Newman and so he was my second favorite to win Best Song on Oscar night, even though I felt he didn't have much of a shot. I was rooting for Alan Menken to win and so when Newman won his second Oscar ever for "We Belong Together" out of a career of 20 nominations, it was the biggest surprise for me on Oscar night. I felt that if Menken wasn't going to win, another nominee would besides Newman but I was happily proven wrong. For me, "Toy Story 3" is a little better than other Pixar masterpieces like "WALL-E" or "Ratatouille" because there is a perfect balance between heart, humor and visual splendour in "Toy Story 3". As marvellous as "Up" is, it was more dramatic than humourous. I myself can almost call "Toy Story 3" a masterpiece because of the emotions we feel throughout. The main point I wish to make is that the return of these classic characters make this film a tad more special for me than said Pixar masterpieces and films from the Disney Renaissance. New characters plus a new relatable adventure, a respect for everything beloved in the previous films and hard work equals a successful sequel. Another reason why I think this movie is better than other animated masterpieces is because the filmmakers were able to succeed in making a third Toy Story over a decade after the last instalment. It really seemed like an impossible task to me. Starting with “Cars”, I have always felt fear that every new Pixar film might let me down. It would thankfully take another 13 years after "Cars" until Pixar truly let me down but no one is perfect. Even Walt Disney made mistakes and Pixar should be thankful that they contradicted the laws of Hollywood for so long. Pixar has made it to “infinity” but as they wrote, there is a “beyond” that will hopefully bring even more fun and touching memories.

5 Stars out of 5