Toy Story 3

Reviewer: Alyice Edrich

The Cartoon

The Plot

All grown up, Andy must decide what to do with his childhood pals. Showing no real emotion towards his childhood friends, they decide to run away from home and make a new life for themselves.

Starring

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Michael Keaton, Ned Beatty, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Morris, Wallace Shawn, and more.

The Review

All grown up, Andy's headed to college and his mom wants him to pack up his room and decide what to do with his childhood toys. Andy, tries to appear "too mature" to care about his toys but when it comes time to chuck them or store, them, he opts for saving them.

As he heads to the attic, his little sister needs his help so he sets his toys down to help her. Unfortunately, his mom mistakes the bag for trash and takes it to the curb. Panic-stricken, Woody races to the curb to save them and explain what happened but they don't believe him and opt to hide away in a box set to be delivered to the local daycare.

At the daycare, the toys meet an entire society made up of forgotten toys. At first, the toys appear friendly and make amazing promised of never being forgotten again. And Andy's toys find themselves excited and optimistic about their future.

But as soon as they get comfortable in their new home, they discover an ugly truth—all is not what it seems. The toys are imprisoned and made to live out their lives with an abusive set of toddlers.

That's when Woody steps up to the plate and helps the toys escape where they return to Andy who has realized that his toys deserve to be played with, not stored in an attic.

It is the perfect ending to a wonderful storyline. It's heartwarming, inspirational, and humorous all at the same time.

We get to see Andy all grown up and ready to start the next phase of his life, we get to say good-bye to some cherished friends, and somehow we're reminded of our own childhood friends.

What I did not expect, when watching Toy Story 3, was to cry and that's just what I did. Watching Andy finally allow himself to have feelings for his toys, and then to release them to the little girl in the end was very touching.

Again, what I love about this specific series is that the storyline reaches two audiences: children and adults. And it does it in such a seamless way. There are no inappropriate comedic antics or language that would make a parent cringe. And yet, it entertains and holds the attention of an adult.

Aside from being very entertaining, Toy Story 3 also has a few life lessons thrown in.

First, we deal with the issue of misunderstandings. You see, the toys believed Andy didn't want them since he rarely played with them anymore so when his mom set them by the curb, they immediately jumped to their own conclusions. They didn't take the time to hear Woody out, they didn't wait to see what Andy would do upon finding them again; they just believe what they "knew to be true" and acted accordingly. Later, they realized that had they taken a step back to view the whole picture, they would never have been put in a dangerous situation.

Second, we deal with the issue of two-faced people. You see, they thought they had found paradise with the daycare center and took everything they saw and heard at face value. Later, they'd learn that respect and trust has to be earned. In an ideal world, we can take what others say at face value, but in the real world, we must be careful because things are not always what they appear to be.

Third, we once again deal with the issue of abandonment. Not only were the toys feeling abandoned and unloved by Andy, but the abandonment of Lotso the Care Bear caused him to become bitter, malicious, and evil. In the end, the toys realize that losing those you love doesn't have to mean the end of the world. New friends can be made and new friendships—though they can never replace the old—can bring a new joy while helping to heal broken hearts.

I also enjoyed the bonus features. There's a cute short (or cartoon) about day and night, a behind the scenes look at the making of Sunnyside Daycare, more of Buzz's mission logs, a trivia game, a commentary by the directors, and a very interesting documentary on how the animators became accidental toymakers.

Your Task

Set aside an entire day to celebrate the wonders of Toy Story. Invite a few of your children's friends over, stock up on healthy treats and arts supplies, and have a Toy Story marathon. Start with Toy Story 1, break for lunch, watch Toy Story 2, break for a little fun and games, watch Toy Story 3, break for dinner, then pull out a few arts 'n crafts supplies and help the children create their own little Sunnyside Daycare and video record them acting out the scenes. Make a copy of the video tape for each child, then send it home with them.