TOY STORY 3

(June 2010, U.S.)

TOY STORY 3 was the first movie my wife and I ever took our son to see on the big screen when he was just four years-old. So the third installment in this franchise could've sucked, and I still would've had fond memories of it simply by recalling the look of awe and wonderment on my little boy's face while he looked up movie screen. But it didn't suck. In fact, I considered it an fresh and original take on story of our beloved toys for the first time since 1999.

Well, it's finally happened. Andy is grown up and preparing to leave for college. His old toys have gone unplayed with for years, and they're getting desperate, to the point of staging a cell phone call in order to get his attention, though it fails. Still, Andy intends to take Woody to college with him, while the rest of the gang will be put in storage in the attic. But something goes wrong, and Andy's mother mistakes the trash bag they end up in as actual trash and puts it on the curb. The toys escape, but believe that Andy finally threw them away, and decide it would be best to move on by putting themselves in the box being donated to the local Sunnyside Daycare center. Woody follows them, desperate to convince them of Andy's true intentions.

The first glimpse of Sunnyside is a calm, tranquil place where children play nicely with the toys. The toys are greeted and welcomed by other toys, led by Loto-Bear (voiced by Ned Beatty - remember him as Otis in SUPERMAN?), and Barbie meets her Ken doll counterpart (voiced by Michael Keaton), who about as effeminate as we ever imagines, complete with a full wardrobe of disco-related clothing and dream house. Woody tries to go home, but is discovered by a little girl named Bonnie, who brings him home and plays with him and her other toys. Realizing that Woody just came from Sunnyside, they have their own stories to tell, including how Lotso was abandoned by his owner and forgotten about. This traumatic event made Lots-O bitter and he ended up taking over Sunnyside as absolute ruler.

At Sunnyside, Andy's toys discover the truth about how rough it is when played with by the toddlers, in which they're licked, kicked, banged, and beaten for fun. This is their life now, and Lots-O and his "henchtoys" are keeping them prisoner. Buzz Lightyear has been switched to his original mode and is now acting as prison keeper, until he's overtaken by our hero toys and switched again...accidentally to Spanish mode. This is, perhaps, one of the more original and humorous switches the story in takes by keeping the laughs fresh particularly for adults who can read subtitles on the screen (my four year-old son could not). The toys eventually manage to escape and end up in a dumpster, but are cornered by Lotso and his gang. Woody reveals Lotso's lies and deception, and Lotso ends up in the same life and death predicament, as they toys are headed for the local landfill, where they're swept onto a conveyor belt and headed straight toward the burning incinerator. This is a moment many fans have found worthy of tears, as the toys hold hands, believing that their doom in finally at hand.

But wait, this is a TOY STORY movie, which means they don't end in fiery tragedy! They're rescued at the last minute by those annoying little, green aliens operating the crane claw ("The claw!"). The gang is saved and Lotso ends up tied to the front radiator grille of a truck, destined to ride forever swallowing highway flies. Woody and the other toys hitch a ride on another garbage truck to get back to Andy's house.

Now the final moment is at hand. What will Andy do with his beloved toys? He donates them to Bonnie, and in the process, tells her of what their playful purpose is and what each of them meant to him as a child. There's actually an unforgettable moment when he realizes that Woody is mistakenly in the box and wants to retract from giving him to Bonnie. Once the hesitation passes, the camera is carefully focused to show that the time has come for Andy's greatest toy to be passed down to another child who will love him as much he did. When Andy finally leaves, he turns and thanks his toys. They've always been there for him, and we'll never forget that, either.

There's probably nothing I can say about TOY STORY 3 that I haven't already said about the first two, so I won't even try. What I will talk about is something none of the first three films have ever bothered to mention, and that's the fact that Andy does not have a father. We don't know what happened to him, death or abandonment, but I think we can safely say that whatever did happen, happened shortly before his little sister Molly was born. The fact that Andy has no father is important because I believe it justifies not only the tight bond he has with his toys, but also the adventures he allows himself to be sucked into with those toys. Woody is not just a favorite toy, but perhaps even so much as a father figure for Andy; a strong, courageous presence to look up to while growing up, and one to finally say goodbye to when it's time for him to venture out into the world and his future.

For me, it will always be about a precious memory of taking my son to the movies for the first time. Thanks for that memory, Sam. Your dad loves you.

Favorite line or dialogue:

Andy (to Bonnie): "Woody's no ordinary toy. He's brave. But the thing that makes Woody special is he'll never give up on you...ever."