Toy Story 3 (Film)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Toy Story, Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3.

While a third entry to the popular Toy Story franchise would seem inevitable due to high box office returns, Toy Story 3 had quite a rough development. The short version is that, due to the distribution contract Pixar had signed, Disney owned the rights to all of their characters and could make sequels for any of their films, which strained the relationship between the two companies. Disney would push forward with their own Toy Story 3, to be produced by new studio Circle Seven Animation, for a 2008 release. Disney’s acquisition of Pixar, however, placed Disney Animation under new management, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter, with Circle Seven shutting down shortly after and sequel production transferred to Pixar. Pixar would craft a whole new story, which would eventually see the light of day as the final version of Toy Story 3 in 2010. Although the film would cost about $200 million to create, making it one of the most expensive films ever made at the time, it was the first animated film to make over $1 billion, even becoming the highest-grossing animated film ever until Frozen, and would receive numerous nominations and awards, including an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song (“We Belong Together”).

At the time the film came out, when I was in high school, I felt cautious optimism going in; optimism from Pixar’s flawless track record up to then and caution from how the third film in a series usually isn’t as good as the first two. Fortunately, it stuck the landing as perhaps the perfect ending to the trilogy (with not a dry eye in the audience by the time the credits rolled). Admittedly, I hadn’t seen this entry as much in the interim, partly due to the devastating emotional core and some rather heavy imagery, but by the time I finished watching it now, over 15 years later, I remembered why it had left an impact at the time it had come out. However, I had also forgotten how intense it could be at the same time.

As Andy Davis (John Morris), now seventeen years old, prepares to head off to college, he must decide what to do with his old toys. He already plans to take Woody (Tom Hanks) with him, but the rest of the group, who have dwindled in number over the years save for Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack), Bullseye, Hamm (John Ratzenberger), Rex (Wallace Shawn), Slinky (Blake Clark), the Aliens (Jeff Pidgeon) and Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head (Don Rickles and Estelle Harris respectively), worry about their fates. After Andy’s mother (Laurie Metcalf) mistakes a bag meant for the attic as trash, the toys are nearly thrown away and, after escaping a gruesome fate, climb into a box to join Molly’s Barbie (Jodi Benson) on a trip to Sunnyside Daycare. Woody follows to convince them not to go, but fails and ends up at Sunnyside, where they are all greeted by Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear aka "Lotso" (Ned Beatty), Big Baby (Woody Smith), and Ken (Michael Keaton), whom Barbie falls in love with. After a brief tour, Woody leaves to return to Andy’s while the others stay to be played with by future generations. Unfortunately, the reality of staying at Sunnyside isn’t quite as sunny as Lotso had made it out to be.

Lotso isn't all that he seems.

Watching the films close together really highlights just how far Pixar had come with animation since the original, as Toy Story 3 looks almost photorealistic compared to the original, or even Toy Story 2 for that matter. The attention to detail remains, but with an upward trend in quality to where the toys look and feel like real toys without sacrificing the soul present within each character. Lotso in particular is impressive for replicating the texture and physics of a plush toy rather accurately for the time, but the humans are also very easy to look at now thanks to a style that masterfully blends realism with stylization. Toy Story 2 had already demonstrated a better sense of human design, but it does look “ugly” by comparison (and admittedly still has some charm for that reason). Although this is a minor thing to mention, the lighting really helps sell the setting and time of day more effortlessly than before and I appreciated the continued use of Buzz’s glow-in-the-dark plastic.

Improved sound design on the toys is a plus, as it pushes the attention to detail present since the first movie and brings the toys to life in a new way. Randy Newman’s music is good, as always, although I didn’t find the Oscar-winning song “We Belong Together”, which served as an effective capstone, as iconic or memorable as the songs from Toy Story or Toy Story 2. The voice acting is also as good as ever, although the cast does sound older by this point, especially Tom Hanks and Tim Allen. Notably, Blake Clark took over as Slinky Dog, replacing the late Jim Varney, who had passed away in 2000. Clark does an admirable job as a soundalike, as he sounds nearly indistinguishable from his predecessor.

Where the film feels more mixed is the story, but not the way you’d assume from reading that. The story actually has a great execution of the concept of exploring the toys’ future with an aging, college-bound Andy, which already feels like the most logical next step from Toy Story 2. As the plot unfolds, we get to see what life is like for toys in different parts of a daycare, including the brutal reality of how small children treat toys, and prison film elements feel organic and tense. On a rewatch, Lotso’s true nature is easier to see from the beginning, but he remains an effective villain. This time around, it was easier to watch with Stinky Pete’s prediction from the previous film in mind; he’s wrong because Andy did indeed consider bringing Woody with him to college and wanted to preserve the rest in the attic, but he was also almost right because they did end up in a landfill, albeit unintentionally. Andy passing the torch to Bonnie was also a perfect way to end the film, as well as the original trilogy, especially when he gets to unleash his inner child while playing with his toys one last time. Just as when the film originally came out, there were no dry eyes by the time the credits rolled.

The animation is greatly improved by this point.
L-R: Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), Andy Davis (John Morris), Woody (Tom Hanks)

Although Toy Story 3 retains the comedic charm of the series that blends well with the otherwise serious story, including the introduction of Buzz’s “Spanish Mode”, the mixed feelings come from how hard it stretches its “G” rating. Some of this comes from the prison film elements, which involve rather militant measures to keep toys locked up in the equivalent to prison cells. Even ignoring this, Lotso is easily the most awful villain in the franchise thanks to his controlling, tyrannical nature and just how downright mean he is when he goes full “mask off” around Andy’s toys, to the point where you may wonder why anyone would want his toy (as of this writing, Disney currently sells a premium Lotso plush complete with his strawberry scent).

The most intense scene, however, comes from the landfill, where the toys get stuck in a conveyor belt headed to an incinerator. Lotso not only leaves Andy’s toys to die (before he gets his comeuppance), but they quit trying to escape and hold hands as though accepting their fate. It doesn’t help that there are a few shots where they linger on each character’s expression, silently staring into each other’s eyes as they approach the inferno. Although they get rescued, this moment feels rather hardcore for a younger audience and is still notably intense enough to elicit tears in grown men (myself included). This alone made me surprised that the film got away with a “G” and, even now, I think it should have received a “PG” at the very least (even the MPAA would admit as such shortly after the film released based on feedback from parents).

Even with the mismatched rating, Toy Story 3 still stands as an example of a threequel done right, ending a strong trilogy on a high note while providing a perfect potential stopping point. While I can’t say for sure if you’ll enjoy it more than the first two entries, which I find myself returning to more often, there’s no reason not to view this one (as long as you know what you’re getting into).