Review of Toy Story 3 (2010) by Max O — 30 Apr 2018

I didn't like Toy Story 3. They've made it seem like it's an obligation to give away your childhood toys, 'grow up' and look back at it all with a tragic sadness. It's perfectly possible for people to stay in touch with their childhood as adults and remain children at heart whilst still minding their responsibilities.

I still have my childhood toys. I will never give them away and I know that many others won't either. Many people even continue to collect and play with toys as adults. There's nothing sad about Andy growing up and going to college, as it's a new beginning for a young person.

But I don't like the way that the producers of Toy Story 3 enforced this idea that everyone must react in the same way to coming of age. The idea that you have to carry out the brutal task of getting rid of your toys and your childhood pleasures.

I also don't like the blind dogma and the fanbase that comes with this film. You're 'supposed' to like it and expressing dislike of the film is met with fierce backlash. I didn't find the ending sad.

I didn't cry rivers over it like most people did. I just found it downright upsetting and unnecessarily dark, especially for younger audiences. There's a very adult undertone to a film that's meant to be aimed at children.

I understand that this could be because the audience has followed the previous two films and so grew up along with it. I much prefer the Peter Pan message of 'never grow up' and stay young at heart forever.