Toy Story 3 (2010)

Hollywood has a long history of disappointing third installments of successful film franchises. So making Toy Story 3 was a big deal for Pixar. People go in to this film either expecting disappointment or being surprised that the third movie is a worthy entry in the series. As for me, I personally love this one. It's rare that the third entry is as good as the previous ones and Toy Story 3 is a rare case in my opinion.

Like the the first 2 films, Toy Story 3 has moments of heart and humor while also having suspenseful and dramatic moments.  In fact, this film might be the most dramatic and serious entry in the entire series. Andy is all grown up this time and is preparing for college. He intends to take Woody with him and puts the other toys in a trash bag so he can put them in the attic but his mom mistakenly thought he left trash behind and put them on the street curb. Thinking Andy doesn't love them anymore, they escape the trash bag, Woody followed them, and sneaked into a donation box sent to a day care center called SunnySide. Woody tried to tell the gang about Andy actually meant to do but they don't believe him. This leads to Woody leaving his friends behind at the day care and going back to Andy's house himself until a sweet little girl named Bonnie finds him and takes him home. But Buzz and the gang realize that SunnySide is not what they think it is because the classroom run by a dictatorial purple teddy bear named Lots-O-Huggin' Bear and is held captive. It's now up to Woody to save Buzz and the gang and get back to Andy's house.

15 years after the original Toy Story, Pixar's technological wizardry has come a long way with one visual dazzler after another. Toy Story 3 looks no different than the other Pixar films. The attention to detail on the sets and characters are just as outstanding as the previous 2 films and the film looks great overall. But storytelling and character development are just as important, just like other Pixar films. This films deals with leadership, nostalgia, friendship, and the toys coming to terms of their owner's adulthood.

Woody has matured since the original film though he's blinded by nostalgia to realize that Andy has matured since high school. He really wants to convince the gang that they're Andy's toys and he was putting them in the attic but he really needs to realize that their mission with Andy is complete and he's all grown up now. After he heartlessly left his friends at SunnySide and was taken care of by Bonnie, he learns of Lots-O's true colors and decides to help the gang escape, learning that he'd been selfish towards them and it's his fault that he left them behind.

We had an interesting villain in Lots-O, voiced terrifically by Ned Beatty. At first, he seemed like a friendly leader to the day care toys but later on in the movie, we discover that he's really a selfish, delusional tyrant. He's also very smart. When Buzz Lightyear demands that he and the gang be put into another room since the toddlers were too young to play with them, Lots-O manipulates Buzz into the delusional action figure he was in the first movie and imprisoning the gang.

We also have a tragic backstory about Lots-O that explains why he's like this. He actually a Christmas present to a little girl named Daisy. She took good care of her toys, including a stuffed clown and a baby doll, but Lots-O was her favorite. One day, after a trip with her parents, they accidentally left the toys behind and never came back. When Lots-O and the gang found their way home, Lots-O was replaced. He freaked out at the other toys, forced them to come along with him for shelter, and found SunnySide. As he rules the day care, he had forgotten the fond memories he had with Daisy and thinks that she doesn't love her toys anymore.

After an exciting escape plan and accidentally altering Buzz in Spanish mode while turning him back to normal,  Lots-O corners our heroes and tries to put them back to SunnySide but Woody reminds Lots-O that Daisy did love him and she did indeed replace him. After Lots-O mistreats the baby doll and calling everybody trash meant to be thrown out and not played with, he's gets thrown in the dumpster for his selfish actions.

This leads to an exciting, dark, and tension filled climax at the junk yard and Buzz finally turning back to normal. At this point in time, we actually though that the toys are going to be destroyed for good but luckily they survived. After they head home via garbage truck, Woody begins to realize that going to college with Andy while letting his friends live in the attic wasn't a great idea and remembers his time with Bonnie. So Woody leaves a note containing Bonnie's address to Andy so he can donate the toys to her.

Some people criticized the ending for being sappy and corny but I disagree. It's established earlier in the film that Bonnie was like Andy when he was a kid and when Andy donates the toys to Bonnie, he expects she take good care of them like he did, so the ending makes sense to me. The film's moral is that even if we grow up and don't play with our toys anymore, they're still friends to us and we have fond memories with them, which is a great message to be sell to the audience.

In conclusion, Toy Story 3 is worthy of it's last two predecessors, with great animation, a consistent mix of drama and comedy, and great morals about leadership, fond memories, and friendship.

RATING: 4/4