When I walk into a movie theater, whether it is for the next big thing or simple entertainment, I expect the film to have an emotional impact through my eyes and ears and into my soul. It could be the shear thrill of extravagant violence or the beauty of one’s acting craft. One emotion that I never expect to come forth often or at all is utter sadness. Bittersweet moments or tremendous scenes of sorrow may shock and depress me but not to the extremes as to begin to forcibly cry at what I’m seeing.
During the course of TOY STORY 3, I was bawling up and overcome with tears constantly flowing out of me. It is rare for me to cry at any film but to have an excessive number of sobs and weeps is on the dodo level of rarity. TOY STORY 3 is just that great of a film for me, an excellent conclusion to the most acclaimed film trilogy ever made. It brings big laughter but it also brings enough sorrow to shake up anyone.
After an excellent prologue that exists for a brief period in a child’s imagination and the recordings of a video camera, we come crashing down to the present state of our beloved CG toys. The extensive family of Andy’s toys has dwindled down to a small group, with several of them departed in unknown but grim circumstances. Woody, Buzz, Jesse and the rest are now at a crossroads as their owner Andy is getting ready for college. They accept their fate of being placed in the attic for an unknown amount of time. Like all comedies, the toys unexpectedly and accidentally are whisked off elsewhere and get donated to a day care center. The film turns into a Southern prison story as they now have to escape both from the abuses of children and a corrupt clique of toys led by a strawberry-smelling purple bear.
The charm of the world and the characters has not been tarnished or misled in any way in this final entry. The script is well-written with hilarious gags and zingers for all ages without being gross and tripe like in the Shrek series. The cast is again on the mark with their performances and their purposes to the story. The new characters introduced are somewhat of a mixed bag though. Some, such as a porcupine voiced by Timothy Dalton, don’t receive nor have much effect to the proceedings. The others, including the already mentioned bear named Lots O Huggin, a visibly abused baby doll, and a clown figure, do stand out in key moments and bring the dark tones and the harsh reality of a toy’s existence. The biggest inclusion for this film, Mattel’s Ken and Barbie, are good though the attention focuses more on the eccentricity of Ken’s lifestyle. Barbie, voiced by Disney alum Jodi Benson, gets some good spotlights and jokes but I felt that the character never had any faults to her, not even an expected display of shallowness.
While the humor still has it, what caused me to cry a river and struck me the most is the underbelly tone that climaxes in the final scenes. It centers on, explores, and critiques the idea that anything that has existed as a pure form of life must suffer abuse at one point or another. The toy family is subjugated to pay their dues in order to become part of the bigger family at the day care center. If they resist, they are tortured in a mild manner but devastating nonetheless. Or, they face future damnation and become labeled as junk like the toys our own mothers may see them as.
I honestly didn’t expect this film to go any further in despair compared to the previous two. At the start, I thought very careful of the words of Woody that the remaining family would still be together in any form. Once the final scenes arrived, some of my worst fears were answered and delivered for me to accept. Not knowing what to expect next, I grew very fearful of losing these beloved characters. Even with some resolution, the ending to TOY STORY 3 is still bittersweet and a sad departure.
Do I believe the franchise ends with this film? No, nor do I want it to end. The Toy Story films are one of the few Hollywood creations to bring up existentialism in an easy and enjoyable manner. It reminds people of the acceptances and imagination we once had as children before our mothers and fathers altered it gradually. It mocks and celebrates American consumerism and materialism. But more importantly, it is simply a celebration of life and love.
FINAL REVIEW: 5 / 5
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