“No toy gets left behind.”
So why is it that a story about a collection of dated toys is just about the most ‘human’ movie I have seen all year? Toy Story 3 has everything – laughter by the bucket loads, action, suspense and tear-jerking drama. More than all of that, Toy Story 3 succeeds in telling a great human story. It speaks to situations we all face at least once in our lives – how extremely difficult it is to move on and let go but also how ultimately liberating and life-giving that process can be.
The first Toy Story appeared on the scene in 1995 and the second just four years later. Not in Pixar’s wildest dreams could they have guessed how well it would catch on. Initially people were skeptical regarding the new computer generated animation techniques that were used, and also about the basic idea behind it. After all, it was a movie about toys - plastic, inanimate objects that somehow came to life when no one was watching. Yet, both the original and the sequel were funny, engaging, and so surprisingly ‘real’ that they became a cultural phenomenon for a whole generation of children and their parents. Toy Story 3 manages to pick up where the first two left off in terms of sheer quality story-telling and then even raises the bar a little further.
Toy Story 3 begins years after the toys last adventure. Andy, their owner, has grown up and is about to leave home for college. Woody, Buzz and the gang (minus a few who have fallen away over the years) just don’t get played with anymore. The loss of those friends has affected them but their loyalty to Andy remains undimmed. As Toy Story 2 made clear at its conclusion, the toys were well aware that the ‘good times’ of Andy’s youth were temporary, and that at some point they would become obsolete. That point is where Toy Story 3 picks up the story – the future of these much-loved toys is very unclear: Would they be stored away in a dusty attic, or would they be thrown away?
Through a series of mishaps, the gang end up being donated to Sunnyside daycare where they meet a whole host of new toys. Initially, Sunnyside seems like Toy Heaven: a place where children love and play with toys daily and even when they grow up, other children arrive to take their place. However, Sunnyside has a sinister underbelly because it is run by a bitter and twisted toy bear named Lotso who harshly enforces a rule that all new toys stay in the toddler room where they are mistreated day after day. Woody, Buzz and the others decide they must get back to Andy at all costs, which leads to a humorous and yet suspenseful prison-break scene.
Toy Story 3 is superbly made at all levels, but perhaps most outstanding is the script and voiceover acting. Tim Allen and Tom Hanks reappear and once again deliver the goods in the lead roles, while Michael Keaton appears for the first time in the role of the extremely ‘metro male’ Ken and is hilarious from beginning to end. The toys are decidedly retro compared to modern day versions, but this only serves to reinforce the movies timeless messages of integrity, loyalty and sacrificial friendship.
Yet, perhaps most powerful is the emotional punch of the movie. It captures real human moments on several different levels – Andy is leaving home because he is grown up and we are given insight into his mother’s sadness as well as the toys. An era has ended and everyone is struggling to let go. What is so emotionally compelling about these toys is that their greatest desire is to be played with (this is what they have been made for after all), yet their loyalty to Andy means they struggle to let go of him. The last 15-20 minutes of the movie contains several scenes of powerful human drama (yes, I know, played out by toys) that are extremely touching and moving. Ultimately, these scenes are a reminder to us all of the importance of making the most of every moment, and also of how to graciously negotiate life-changing moments that involve letting go and moving on “to infinity and beyond”.
Pixar have brought us back to the world of Woody and Buzz for one final adventurous romp that is hilarious, endearing, and an altogether fitting conclusion to the “Toy Story” universe. Four (and a half) stars out of Five!