What happens when children grow up and leave childhood behind them? What happens to their toys -the special ones – not the happy meal throw-aways or the overpriced beepers that never got played with? But the ones that are shabby from love, the paint worn off and the fur a little frayed? As Toy Story 3 begins, Andy is in that strange twilight of youth, in the last week of living at home before college. His toys have been stored for years in his room, no longer played with but too full of memories to throw out. Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of the gang languish in the dark, missing the days when Andy would take them on wild adventures.
Under pressure from his mom, Andy packs up his toys for storage, but a mixup lands them at Sunnyside Daycare. Most of the toys are thrilled at this second chance at life and bringing joy to children, but Woody wants to be with Andy. Lots-o Huggin’ Bear welcomes them with cuddly, strawberry scented open arms. A lone Ken doll, blessed with a magnificent but empty Dream House, falls for Barbie. It’s like they were meant to be together.
Of course, all is not sunny at Sunnyside. Lots-o has sinister plans. He runs the daycare toy world along the lines of a Soviet gulag, doling out privileges to those who do his bidding and punishing those who speak up. Even Mr. Potato Head spends a night in the sandbox for his plastic mouthiness. Lots-o’s minions, a giant baby doll and one of those screaming monkeys with cymbals, enforce his dark designs. Will Woody, Buzz, and the rest make it back to Andy and end Lots-o’s furry reign?
If this sounds like fun, you’re right. The laughs keep coming as the geniuses at Pixar play with brainwashed baby dolls, secretive talking phones, a Spin and Speak roulette gambling ring, and a Buzz Lightyear with the reset button pressed.
Just when you think the movie is about over, it kicks into high gear. The zaniness subsides and the film turns into a poignant meditation on friendship, as seen through the toys we’ve come to love. “You’ve got a friend in me” is the theme song of the franchise and we see just what friendship means to the toys in their extreme moments.
If you’ve managed to keep your eyes dry so far, you might just not for the next ten moments as the film moves into a focus on growing up. There is a moment, sitting in a dark theater, you can sense the collective impuse of a hundred fellow parents to hug their beloved children and to try to make time slow down just a bit.
Pixar does it right, capturing the bittersweet joy of saying goodbye to toys, the past, childhood, youth, and all that those things entail. As in last year’s “Up,” the film becomes more than just a story and captures a feeling, a moment so perfectly that the truth of it brings a lump to your throat. The ability to entertain and still capture truth is the essence of great movie making and the last twenty minutes of this film do indeed elevate Toy Story 3 to greatness.
So hug your kids tight, even if they don’t know why, and take them to see this film. Just don’t get caught without your tissue.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
