Movie Review: "Toy Story 3"

Toy Story 3

Directed by: Lee Unkrich
Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
Rated: G (although border-line PG in my opinion)

When watching the original Toy Story movie for the first time, my brother paused the VHS tape half way through the first few minutes and asked “who does Andy and Woody remind you of?” My family, in unison, responded “Zach and Dick Tracy.”

You see, like Andy, I, too, had a beloved toy doll. (Though mine was the Warren Beatty-style Dick Tracy character.) To me, he was every hero, sports figure, and video game character my wild imagination could dream of. And, like Andy, I grew up and Dick Tracy was placed in a (sacred) box in the basement.

Toy Story 3, the final chapter of Pixar’s great trilogy that began with their first feature film back in 1995, now draws to a close fifteen years later. The film’s protagonists, all of which are Andy’s beloved toys, are dealing with Andy moving on to college and leaving his toys behind or, worse, thrown away. Because of it, they, too are trying to move on: this time to Sunside Day Care. Unfortunately for them, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, and soon our heroes are hatching yet another plan to make it back home, even if it isn’t their home for much longer. Like all great Pixar films, there are twists, turns, laughs, and adventure for the whole family. (Although, at times, even the adults are unsure that the toys will make it.) The addition of Ken to the toy lineup is key, providing plenty of great laughs along the way.

But beyond the plot, Toy Story 3 brings us closure in the best of ways. They recognize that this isn’t a movie about toys, but about relationships. We’ve had fifteen years to fall in love with Woody, Buzz, and the gang, and yet their time and duty with Andy (as with us) is done. It’s a touching reminder that, while relationships may end, it never diminishes their impact or importance. Or, as Randy Newman said, “And as the years go by our friendship will never die... You’ve got a friend in me.”