Review of Toy Story 3 (2010) by Cameron H — 05 Jul 2017

Rarely do animated children's movies challenge the moral core of its viewers, regardless of age. I mean, in its structure and jokes, Toy Story 3 is a movie primarily intended for children, starting around age 4 or 5. It's perfect for those with younger siblings in the age range of 1 to 3, or even remember daycare / preschool. And regarding the fate of all the characters, the heroes survive to a happy ending, the villains get their comeuppance, no character is left behind. I accept this fully from a children's movie, because, oh God, why should any child have to experience their beloved characters ultimately live in a cruel, miserable, unforgiving world? No, what Toy Story 3 wishes to teach is that there are cruel, miserable, unforgiving situations. Sure, you may be able to pull through as best as you can, but you must also accept whatever cards you are dealt with. That is shockingly mature for any film, let alone one with pull-string cowboy Woody (Tom Hanks) and battery-operated astronaut Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) as the heroes.

Pixar has generally had a natural grasp in reappropriating familiar movie tropes for their own studio works. In the case of Toy Story 3, there are elaborate heists, noir-esque flashbacks, torture / brainwashing, loss of a loved one, loss in faith, star-crossed lovers, even a scene that switches between two settings to unveil some major corruption. That scene is also one of the funniest, because the toys are expecting the loving arms of preschoolers, only to be mutilated by senseless toddlers instead. For most viewers, however, the one scene that will stay with them is the gang slowly descending on garbage disposal towards a furnace, holding each other's hands as they wait for death. Pixar took a leap of faith in where kids, parents, and critics could meet, without sacrificing any group. They landed safely.