Short Take: Delivers nothing less than what you would expect from Pixar

Director: Lee Unkrich (co-director of Toy Story 2, Monster’s Inc., Finding Nemo)

Screenwriters: Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine), John Lasseter (Toy Story, Toy Story 2), Andrew Stanton (Monster’s Inc., WALL-E), Lee Unkrich

Cast: Tom Hanks (The Da Vinci Code), Tim Allen (The Santa Clause 3), Joan Cusack (Kit Kittredge), Ned Beatty (Charlie Wilson’s War)

Length: 1h 43m

Synopsis: Woody (Hanks) and Buzz (Allen) and the gang are preparing themselves for the day that they knew would eventually come, and that day is when their owner Andy (now 17 years old) heads off to college and relegates his toys to either the attic or place of donation. All the toys are in a panic, and despite Woody’s efforts to calm them their hysteria is just too great. What ends up happening to them is that they are given away to a nearby daycare center where they are met with many other toys, but also some unruly toddlers. These hyperactive tots viciously mistreat their new toys, and on top of that not all of the daycare’s older toys are quite what they seem to be. All of Andy’s old toys decide they must somehow reunite with him, but figuring out how to do that will be their biggest challenge yet.

Analysis: For everyone, dealing with things that are inevitable (like puberty, your first break-up, and paying income tax) is a part of growing up. For toys, it appears, growing up is one of those inevitable things that they have to deal with. When Andy reaches the point in his life when he’s college bound it forces his toys – Woody, Buzz, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, et al – to deal with moving on to another stage in their lives, whether that be moving up into the attic or being sold or given away to a new owner. Woody tries to keep the rest of the toys calm through the impending transition, and while doing so he makes clear that he has a special loyalty to Andy – a loyalty he’s trying to impart onto the rest of the toys. Such loyalty gives Woody a level of confidence in Andy, and perhaps fate, that makes him unafraid of facing an uncertain future. The film asserts that the inevitable things help push us along in life, and that when dealing with the uncertainty that follows those unavoidable instances it’s important to trust the direction that momentum will lead you. To put it another way, it’s important to stay loyal to a good past because it will lead you towards a good future.

As the story unfolds with this message it covers a few topics relevant to the relationship between toys and their owners. For instance, what exactly is a good owner? The first Toy Story defined the role as someone who would use their imagination to bring toys to life, not use hostility to kill them. Toy Story 2 defined the role as someone who would enjoy toys the way they were meant to be enjoyed, which is by playing and having fun – not by being collected and kept for years, only to be sold for more money. Toy Story 3, on the other hand, goes beyond what responsibilities a good owner has while a toy is still theirs. When that time comes, when an owner outgrows their toys, it is up to them to give those toys to someone who can appreciate them and have as much fun with them as they used to. Letting go is important, but just as important is where you let go.

The basic story of Toy Story 3 is similar to what is sometimes referred to as the American Narrative or American Dream. The protagonist (in this case Andy’s toys) hails from a very comfortable place that holds a lot of sentimental value, but they must leave this place because of how confining it is. Not confining in the literal sense of course (though the toys spend much of their time in Andy’s toy chest) but in the sense that it inhibits the character from reaching their full potential (although Andy’s attic would be a safe place, his toys would not be played with and thus would not be able to fulfill their purpose of making children happy). To remain in this place would be to lose the promise of living a better life elsewhere. Daunting challenges lie ahead, but through these is an ascension that leads to the realizing of that character’s full potential. That ascension is not possible without the right kind of strong traits, though, which include discipline, courage, self-confidence, endurance, versatility, ingenuity, and a “can do” attitude. During the struggles that the protagonist must endure, these attributes are forced to come to the fore. When the ascension is complete, the character will have sufficiently severed himself from the limits of his past and will be able to enjoy a prosperous future. With Toy Story 3 all of Andy’s toys must follow suite in this journey, and so all of them are tested by this narrative progression. But one toy in particular is tested more than the others, and that is Woody. As Andy’s favorite toy Woody holds the most loyalty to him, and thus the bond between them is the hardest to break. Because their bond is so strong it takes that much more discipline and courage to sever ties and move on to a more fulfilling life. By doing this, Woody shows the greatest capacity to face the inevitable, and – incidentally? – is able to substantiate his role thereafter as the leader of the group. Woody, in this film, exhibits simultaneously the accomplishment of the American Dream and the requisite maturity for growing up. To these extents it would be hard to imagine a more appropriate central character for a children’s movie.

Rating: 8.5

Recommendation for Further Reading: Robert Benne, Seeing is Believing: Visions of Life Through Film; 1998. Benne covers several different kinds of general narratives, such as the American narrative mentioned above. Other examples of narratives include the Christian, Greek, and Skeptical. The book is a fascinating read for anyone interested in learning more about story structures in film.