For some lore on this review series
Toy Story 3 is yet another Pixar title that I did watch before. I saw it exactly once and I don’t think I had much in the way of strong feelings toward it aside from the incinerator scene and the ending.
For many people, they consider Toy Story 3 the peak of the Toy Story movie franchise as well as Pixar in general. And maybe they are right and for them it is but I can only speak to my opinion of the movie
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Sticking to a Lane
To rehash a bit, I never was partially warm to the first Toy Story movie though I enjoyed Toy Story 2 more. However I think all three Toy Story movies are very similar in terms of scope. The toys place their value in being played with (properly) and adored by a child. Each movie has elements of rescue, escape and making it back to Andy’s house to beat a deadline. First movie was Andy moving to a new house, second was Andy’s return from camp, and the third was Andy leaving for college.
Also in each movie “Buzz” gets waylaid by an another personality. It was the crux and his arc in the first one but in two and three it’s to add conflict. That is an over-simplification of it especially with regard to the second movie since it’s not Andy’s Buzz but the function for the plot to add conflict by making Buzz not helpful is the same. Though Spanish Mode Buzz was a delight.
The Plot
So essentially all three movies have been a prison break movies to some degree. Toy Story 3 just leans into the most and goes full on prison break movie in no uncertain terms.
On the whole the movie is well plotted and more cohesion between the characters. Basically the plots don’t splinter off as much second movie but the side character are given more to do than first movie. However the necessity of the plot does ask a few things of viewer to over look for the plot to work.
One being Andy is an idiot for putting the toys in a trash bag for long-term attic storage. But there needs to some discourse between the toys and thinking they were being thrown out vs stored was the easiest way to get the toy to the daycare. Though apparently it might have been a case of reverse writing, they wrote the toys in a trash bag and had to figure out how they got there.
Two is Lotso’s toddler fodder plan would have fallen apart if the staff actually paying attention to the types toys the toddlers were playing with and how the toys were being handled by the very young kids I mean the toys were never sorted before they just wandered into the caterpillar room and staff were so super chill about the little kids playing with whatever. Glad to know the staff was so inattentive so that the movie could happen. Then again no one never ever security footage either. The humans that populate the Toy Story world are really chill and absent-minded.
I know it seems like I’m nitpicking the plot a lot though don’t even dislike this plot that much. I think aside from the retread of the thesis of the second movie about a toy’s value being loved by a child vs what happen when that child grows-up and breaking out of place to get back to that child, the plot is solid and paced nicely.
The Ending
Where this movie really shines the ending. First there is the off there is the incinerator scene where the toys face their impending doom together. I will say that at least for me this scene hit more on my first viewing than the rewatch. But still the facing of their mortality with solidarity is very impactful.
The part of this movie that gets a lot of praise is Andy’s final play with his old toys and giving them to Bonnie. This works as bittersweet end to Andy’s time with the toys and had it been the final movie it would have been a perfect curtain call for the characters. However the movie was just Andy’s end with them thus a transition to Bonnie’s arc. I will say I do like Bonnie’s toys, I do relate a little more to her style play, my toys were soap-opera stars, I’ll just leave at that.
It’s defiantly a very nostalgia packed ending to the third movie which could have severed at the ending of the franchise but even as end for Andy it still works. I do think the ending and the sense of nostalgia that it brings does a lot of heavy lifting for this movie’s legacy.
Conclusion
I’ve been very candid about my feelings for Toy Story as a whole. I don’t hate the franchise but I’m not that particularly warm it as a property. I don’t have sense nostalgia for it either. I like the characters enough but it’s all fine just fine. Toy Story 3 is a good solid movie with some very silly and heartfelt moments. Much the two other movies I like it enough. If Toy Story 3 is your all-time favorite Pixar movie or movie in general, I fault you nothing.
However my biggest gripe with Toy Story 3 is where is the Shark? Where’s my boy????
Epilogue is at least cute and had great closure.
