When I saw the first trailer for Toy Story 3 I became very nervous that PIXAR was about to make their one flop. Then when I actually saw the movie I was reminded tat PIXAR doesn’t make flops. The third movie in this trilogy (and yes, it is the last one) is probably the best PIXAR movie I’ve seen to date next to Up (and I don’t say that lightly) and is one of the better films of the year. If I was to make a list of the best 100 movies of the past decade, this would have to be on it. I won’t spoil too much, but I will give you enough data to be able to call this a review.
First I just want to make it known that if you’ve seen the first two Toy Story movies, then you will absolutely love the opening scene of Toy Story 3. I’m not going to tell you what it is, but it’s phenomenal what they do with elements from the first film, as well as the second film. It’s very charming to see how much PIXAR cares about their fans who grew up with the series (the first one came out the year I was born).
Next, there’s the plot. I won’t say much, but it’s very surprising and dark for a “kiddie” movie. The cover is that Andy, the owner of the toys from the movies, is now seventeen and is heading off to college. He hasn’t been playing with his old toys for some time, and at first decides to put them all up in his attic and take Woody with him off to college (he’s a special toy). However, after a series of coincidences (that are a bit complex and hard to explain in a review without spoilers), all of the toys end up being donated to a daycare called Sunnyside.
Upon arriving at the daycare the toys at first believe they’ve entered a paradise where they’ll always be played with. Soon enough, however, they discover that the kids who will be playing with them aren’t exactly “mature enough” to use them correctly, and are tortured roughly by the new children. Not only that but the entire daycare is ruled under an iron fist by a toy who shall remain nameless at this time. The basic goal of the toys in this film is to escape from this “prison daycare” and get back to Andy’s house where they belong.
That’s a very brief description of what Toy Story 3 is. I don’t want to say too much, as you may have noticed, for the very reason that the effect you will feel while watching it will be ruined overall if I tell you too much. That’s the truth. I can tell you this much though, I don’t usually get affected very much by movies, especially animated movies. In this one, I friggin’ cried. Yeah, I’ll admit it. I got all watery-eyed at the end. It’s a beautiful movie, honestly. It’s absolutely hilarious and well worth the full price. There’s no cheap gags or anything like you’ll see in most movies made by Dreamworks. It’s a nice ride, and I’ll gladly go on it again, and again, and again, and…
Dylan Alexander 