Toy Story 3 (2010)

To Infinity and Beyond...one last(?) time.

Director: Lee Unkrich
Studio: Pixar Animation Studios
Genre: Animation/Comedy
Country of Release: US
Release Date: 2010

The Toy Story franchise holds a special place in my heart so I will admit this review may contain bias. In 1995 on a Friday night, my dad took me to go see Toy Story in theaters, it was a revolutionary film for the time that changed animation forever and put a little studio called Pixar on the map. It is also my oldest memory of being in a theater whatsoever. That being said, when Toy Story 3 was first announced I was a bit hesitant and worried about it. Then I saw the trailers and I realized immediately that while the movie was targeted to a general family demographic, it was specifically targeted emotionally to people around my age (those currently in college or heading off to college or just graduated from college who grew up with the first two films). Toy Story 3 is a nostalgia fest that makes subtle but effective nods to the previous two films in the series.

The film itself immediately begins to take us on it's nostalgia-ladden emotional ride when we learn that certain characters that were a part of the previous films were no longer around, we the viewers never really got to see the fates of these characters but we still felt sorry for them. Andy is heading off to college and has to leave behind his precious toys that remind him so much of what his childhood was to him, I honestly can say that I believe most of the individuals of my age group can strongly relate and put themselves in Andy's place.

The plot is paced well, there's some remarkably clever and brilliant dialogue that manages to be funny for children and sophisticated enough for adults, the soundtrack hits all the right spots, and the entertainment value remains through the roof. The ending manages to be part of the reason I give so much praise to this film though, it was such an intense scene that resonated among those who could really feel it.

The only problem I had with the film was that I felt many of the new character introduced were painfully underdeveloped but since none of the ones I feel this way about actually had any major roles, I'm willing to overlook this quip. Honestly, Toy Story 3 is a film that's about the send-off of our childhood and everything that it stands for, it's about becoming an adult but not forgetting what your life used to when you were little (the friends you made, the times you spent, the mistakes you made, everything of those days). It's the magic of nostalgia and being a kid.

I feel that those who missed this missed the entire strength of the film beyond just being a remarkably solid film by itself. I personally was deeply moved by this movie, deeply, deeply moved. It is rare when films resonate on an emotional level in this day but when they do, it's nice when they hit as hard as Toy Story 3. Kudos to Pixar for picking their demographic perfectly.

Rating: 10/10