The Tragic Debris of Maturity

Toy Story 3

Directed by Lee Unkrich

Four Stars

Toy Story 3 might be the first family film made with people in their early 20s specifically in mind. I was nine years old when the first Toy Story movie was released. Most of the current crop of children weren't even a lustful thought in their father's mind when the first two Toy Story films were made. How fitting it is that this sequel is, in part, about the painful transitory period from childhood to adulthood, a period in which we shed our dependence, our awkwardness, and -- most tragically of all -- our toys.

Despite this treacherous subject matter, Toy Story 3 is a terrific family film -- funny, sweet, action-packed. Kids of just about all ages will, I'm sure, love it (although some segments might be a tad dark for under-5s). But I felt like this one was made almost specifically for me. Kind of like Pixar's 'thank you' to the generation of kids that bought the tickets that began their meteoric rise.

The movie begins just as Toy Story 2 began, at the end of an (imagined) adventure featuring Woody, Buzz, Mr. Potato Head and the rest of Andy's group of beloved toys. We soon learn that Andy is now 17 and about to ship out to college. Woody and the group feel neglected. Andy hasn't played with them in years, and the gang are reduced to concocting elaborate traps ("Operation Playtime", in which the toys steal Andy's cell phone, and make it ring in his toy chest) in order to receive the attention and affection they so desperately long for.

It isn't long before a divide forms in the group. Most of the toys believe that Andy has outgrown them, and think their best bet to find love again is to be donated to the local day care centre. Woody keeps the faith, believing that Andy still loves them, and that it'd be wrong and remiss of the group to abandon their owner.

After a series of events too humorous and delightful to go into in this review, the gang eventually find themselves in Sunnydale Day Care Centre after Andy's mother inadvertently donates them. The toys at the centre are led by Lotso (Ned Beatty), an apparently benevolent teddy bear who promises Andy's toys that they will find children who will love them just as much as Andy once did. Lotso even raises a tantalising prospect for the gang. They'll never be abandoned in the way that Andy abandoned them, because as soon as one group of children grows up and leaves, another one shows up to take their place.

To me, moments like this are evidence of the fact that Toy Story 3 was made with fans like me in mind. It's very tough to watch Toy Story 3 and not reflect on the way you viewed the first two films as a younger person. Every child will eventually grow into an adult, but they don't always know that. I don't think I completely understood that. We all once thought that our toys were always going to be the most important things in our lives. Toy Story 3 is bittersweet in that it reminds us of what we've lost -- but it simultaneously reassures us, because only grown-ups can realise just how great being a grown-up can be.

Toy Story 3 flies (or falls with style) for the same reasons that its predecessors did. A solid story, a sturdy emotional foundation, and enough interesting new characters to prevent it all from feeling a bit stale. Michael Keaton, particularly, does a brilliantly funny job in voicing a flamboyantly stylish Ken doll. There is, of course, a moral compass underpinning everything that happens in Toy Story 3, but Pixar once again differentiate themselves from the rest of the pack because they deal with their material with subtlety. Kids are smart. They'll pick up on the film's messages about friendship, loyalty, forgiveness and kindness. No need to resort to the sledgehammer mentality of movies like Happy Feet, in which the film's message is crammed into the last five minutes.

The toys eventually hatch a plan to escape from the day care centre and return to Andy. There are, of course, the usual dramatic obstacles in their way, including one very dark, but touching sequence in which the toys essentially concede defeat and accept the fact that they're about to be blasted to smithereens. Maudlin toy-mortality exploration aside, Toy Story 3 is done with a lot of good humour, pathos and visual creativity. And, of course, there is even an environmental message as the toys find themselves as first-person witnesses to what garbage has to go through before it winds up in landfill. I always wonder how children respond to these images. They probably assume that all that gross stuff that the grown-ups do is for a good reason. It isn't, really, other than to live beyond our (and the planet's) means.

Andy's mother weeps at the end of the film when he packs up and heads to college, and I did too. It was partly because it was just so nice to see all the gang together again, but mostly because Toy Story 3 nails exactly how it feels to reflect on one's childhood and realise that the happy, carefree child we all once were doesn't exist anymore. I don't mean to make it sound like Toy Story 3 made me sad, or depressed. There was an element of comfort in the natural cycle of the world in the way director Lee Unkrich wrapped up his story.  Pixar's movies guided me through my childhood. I wasn't expecting them to guide me through my early 20s, too.

Jonathan Fisher

June 30, 2010

Jon's review of "Toy Story 3" is also available at The Film Brief