Toy Story 3 | Review
Like everyone else, I would have to say… “Pixar has done it again!” “Toy Story 3,” the SECOND sequel to Pixar’s most famous work, “Toy Story,” does what most second-sequelswould love to do – live up to standards of the previous films! “Toy Story 3” heightens the emotion and the especially the danger from the previous two films. “Toy Story 3” is included in the “Must-Watch” film category – I’m sure of that. “Toy Story 3” is one of those films where you know it’ll be worth watching, and where you know it’ll live up to the hype. “The Dark Knight” was the “must-watch” film of 2008, “Up,” “Avatar,” and “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen,” were the “must-watch” films of 2009 (although “Up” was the only one that lived up to its hype), and now “Toy Story 3” is the “must-watch” film of 2010!
“Toy Story 3” opens with a beautiful and creative scene, seen through the eyes of Andy. The opening shows us Andy’s imagination and what he sees and thinks of as he plays with his beloved toys. After this amazing scene, the film goes through a short montage of Andy playing with his toys in the past. But then we realize that a long time has passed, and Andy hasn’t played with the toys in years. When the film skips to present day, we find out that some of the toys from the previous two films are gone – they’ve either been donated or sold at yard sales. Learning this fact was sad to me, and most likely every other fan of the series, for all of the toys are a part of our past, and no longer seeing them is just depressing.
Through a series of mishaps, all of the main toys end up at a daycare center, called Sunnyside Daycare. Of course, a daycare seems like heaven for a bunch of toys since dozens of kids are there to play with them 5 days a week. When the toys first arrive at Sunnyside, we meet some of the main players at the daycare, including the Barbie-doll Ken, and the leader of Sunnyside, Lotso the lovable hugging bear! Of course, all of this seems too good to be true, and it is. Andy’s toys received the bad end of the stick, for when they arrived at Sunnyside, they became the new toys for the youngest age group at the daycare. When Andy’s toys asked to be moved to the older kids’ room, we learn how Sunnyside is really run.
Then comes the part where the film turns into a prison-break movie. While Andy’s toys are at Sunnyside and running into trouble, Woody is instead at one of the daycare kids’ home, meeting a few more new toys, including a doll, unicorn, porcupine, triceratops, and peas-in-a-pod. When Woody meets another toy there, Chuckles the Clown, he learns of Sunnyside’s true nature and of Lotso’s dark past. Woody decides to go back to the daycare in order to help his fellow toys escape.
From that point on, the adventure truly begins. The feel of the movie turns dark and edgy, and it feels like another movie. It’s amazing how the filmmakers made the daycare look a lot like a real Alcatraz-like prison at night. Andy’s toys go through an elaborate escape plan, only to end up at gigantic trash dump, which is the most epic part of the movie. The third act, the last 20 or so minutes, is where the toys face their greatest threat yet, and are the closest to actual death. And the third act is the point where the tears come in.
“Toy Story 3” has the most dramatic and emotional scene in the series because of its third act, and the third act has two different emotional scenes, though I felt the first (the incinerator scene) was more effective. The ending of the movie is the second half, and is more optimistic and happy than sad to me, even though it is pretty sad – it’s the good kind of sad.
The incinerator scene was the best part of the movie for me. The music was just perfect for the scene, and was in-sync with what was happening on screen. As the toys gave up and finally accepted their fate, they all held hands as the music was dramatic (the “dun-dun” part of the music at that scene was perfectly timed, and it added to the emotional effect of the scene). It was just one of the most emotional, dramatic scenes in any of the Pixar films. I truly felt scared – scared for the toys – and my heart was pumping quickly! The incinerator scene is definitely the most memorable part to me. The last-play-time scene was emotional, too, because we see for the last time how much Andy and his toys love one another, and how much history they’ve had.
The thing that I love about the “Toy Story” films, and that’s unique to the franchise, is that in each of the films, except maybe “Toy Story 2,” the toys go through an elaborate, stylized, and intricately choreographed scene from the toys’ point of view. For example, in “Toy Story,” Woody’s plan in order to escape Sid’s house was really well done. The toys’ plan was smart and well-planned – it wasn’t lazily put together. In “Toy Story 3,” the part where Woody escaped from Sunnyside in the beginning of the film was interesting, and the part where all of Andy’s toys went through Woody’s plan in order to escape Sunnyside together was incredibly elaborate and amazing to watch.
There are only about two things that I’d have to complain about in “Toy Story 3.” First of all, the character of Lotso resembles the character of The Prospector from “Toy Story 2.” Both characters seemed friendly to begin with, but we soon learn that they’re the antagonists. However, their pasts are completely different from one another, and I did feel more sorry for Lotso than The Prospector since we actually got to see Lotso’s past on screen instead of just a short speech like The Prospector made in the second film. Even though the characters are different, I still feel that the idea of a lovable character being the actual bad guy was reused, though it was probably necessary in order to move the plot along.
The second thing that I’d have to complain about, which truly wasn’t necessary, is the fact that, once again, Buzz has a personality change. In the first film, Buzz was the naive toy that didn’t think he was a toy, and instead thought he was a real space ranger. By the end of the first “Toy Story” Buzz learns that he’s a toy and accepts it. In “Toy Story 2” Buzz knows he’s a toy, but he’s replaced by another Buzz Lightyear toy, who thinks he’s a real space ranger, for most of the movie! Now, once again, Buzz turns back into his naive space ranger self – TWICE! I feel that the filmmakers continued to make Buzz naive in each movie because they feel like it’s the only way to make Buzz interesting. Since Woody is the brave, smart leader of the toys, I guess they didn’t want Buzz to be just another brave and smart leader, so they made him into a naive space ranger in EACH film. Personally, though, for the first half of “Toy Story 3” where Buzz was normal, I enjoyed it. He was a level-headed leader, and his sneaking around the daycare showed his bravery and courage. I liked the normal Buzz, but he only stayed normal for a little while before turning into space ranger form, and then into Spanish mode.
Overall, though, those two small issues definitely didn’t affect the impact the movie had on me. The adventure in “Toy Story 3” was a great one. I’m grateful that Pixar allowed us to grow up with these characters and this series. The “Toy Story” trilogy was a joyful, heartfelt experience that will definitely never be forgotten. “Toy story 3” gave the series the perfect ending – I honestly didn’t predict that the fate of the toys would be like the one “Toy Story 3” actually gave us for its ending. It’s sad to see the series end, but like Andy, it’s time to move on, but the memories will always be with us.