Toy Story 3 brought back the classic characters of Pixar's first film over ten years after the first sequel. This time Andy is grown-up, heading off to college, and the toys face an uncertain future. Of course, they're subject to several coincidental events that result in the entire gang being "donated" to a local daycare. Up against slobbery kids, Andy apparently leaving them behind, inner turmoil, and a dictatorial bear, the toys - led by Woody, Buzz, and Jessie - must find a way to get out of daycare and back to Andy before he leaves for college.
The film feels much like the original sequel, wherein Woody and friends venture out of the house and into the real world as the result of human intervention in their lives. The characters remain their familiar selves, and the animation is relatively similar to the imagery we saw in 1995. Woody remains the leader and outlier, as the only one who thinks the group should try to get back to Andy and leave the daycare. Buzz is again faced with personal problems, like being forced into Spanish mode, and Jessie still struggles against her previously explained abandonment issues. Despite all of this, Toy Story 3 features a toy villain rather than a human, like Sid or Al from Al's Toy Barn. Lotso, a teddy bear that smells like strawberries, is the dictator of the daycare toys, complete with an inner circle and a secret service. Aggravating? Yes. Creepy? Oh, yes. Scary? Not so much.
Why was Toy Story 3 considered particularly intense? Largely because of the garbage incinerator scene. Despite all efforts and generally because of elements outside of their control, the entire gang ends up in the incinerator of a local garbage dump. Holding hands and bravely bracing themselves for their doom, the audience can merely hold their breath. I mean, Pixar wouldn't go that far... Would they? The scene lasts just long enough to make you think Pixar might, in fact, go that far. Thankfully, for both the audience and the upcoming fourth film, Pixar does not go that far; but they do succeed in terrifying the crap out of the audience. One could argue the incinerator was a more significant enemy than Lotso (and one could probably win that argument).
Ultimately, the story reaches a satisfying end, during which the audience still manages to bawl their eyes out (you know you did). Andy makes a difficult decision, one that many of us could relate to when leaving for college: to let go of certain parts of one's childhood. Because of Toy Story, we believed our toys had lives of their own, in Toy Story 2 we learned about the importance of our toys, and Toy Story 3 brought the toys full circle, back to the importance of being loved, played with, and remaining in the realm of imagination.
Check out the trailer for Toy Story 3 above! Stay tuned for more Pixar appreciation, sequels, and literature in animation!
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