… A Review…
Phil and I felt the need to “preview” Toy Story 3 before giving the OK for our little people to watch it. This is due largely in part to the fact that I had to get an education about what an ascot was after seeing the trailer when we last visited the theater for Oceans…
Let me say, upfront, that I didn’t like the ascot comment any more in the movie, itself, than I did in the trailer. However, it is not used in an isolated incidence, so I guess there is some value to that. The kids are going to ask what an ascot is… and they’re probably going to ask what leg warmers are too… and since my kids have never even heard the 3 letter “A word” that was supposed to be so funny in that scene, I guess they’ll just get a fashion education (like their Mom did), because they won’t even catch the double meaning. That said, I think Disney/Pixar really bombed at the attempt at adult humor with this one, because I have yet to talk to anyone who thought it was funny, and no one laughed at the theater…
That said… I also went into this film a little concerned about how the filmmakers were using the word “astronaut” (based on another review), and in the end I didn’t find anything inappropriate about it’s use… at all… which I guess just goes to show we could spend hours picking every word and every motive apart, and it probably wouldn’t amount to a good use of our time…
Now… the movie itself…
Oh… wow…
It was just incredible…
Before I go on, let me make my disclaimer here. Spoilers will follow! If you haven’t seen Toy Story 3 yet, please stop reading and go purchase a ticket! You can read what I thought about it when you get home!
We all knew it would happen one day. Andy would go to college. But I don’t think it ever occurred to me that Disney/Pixar would wait the appropriate number of years and then release a third film, in close to “real time”! It was a tear jerker for me (3 times), because the life lessons were abundant (as they have been all along in the Toy Story run) and because the progression of childhood was so poignantly portrayed. If I had to make an educated guess, I would say that all moms will cry, and some college students might roll their eyes…
Woody calls a final “Andy’s Room” meeting, and we find that only a handful of toys remain. Among them are favorites: Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, Rex, Slinky, Ham, Jessie, Bullseye, the Aliens, and a few straggling Army Men. But even Etch and Bo Peep have long since been vanquished from the bedroom.
Andy’s Mom is pushing him to make decisions about where his stuff will go before he leaves for college at the end of the week. He can take it with him or store it in the attic, but anything left in his room is hitting the dumpster. And at this point, I have to be honest, I thought, “Come on, Andy’s Mom! Aren’t you the least bit sentimental? Give the kid a break, would ya?” But I suppose the teenaged Molly is pushing pretty hard for Andy’s room, and Mom is redeemed when in the waning minutes of the film, she does stop to look around Andy’s nearly empty room, and her voice catches when the reality of Andy’s departure hits.
Andy finally opens up the toy box and proceeds to stuff everyone but Woody and Buzz into a trash bag. He looks at both of them, and in the end pushes Buzz in with the rest of the toys and drops Woody in the box marked, “college”. It is never Andy’s intent to trash his toys… they are supposed to be stored in the garbage bag in the attic… but through a series of events, Mom accidentally mistakes them for garbage and their adventure begins… again…
I am sure in the coming months (and probably especially when the DVD hits the shelf), I will take some time to highlight the various teaching points that were so prominent in this movie. The garbage dump scene was amazing. But for now let me just say that Disney/Pixar did a good job of bringing closure to this chapter.
I would have liked to see Woody go to college. And I actually wouldn’t have minded seeing our other friends tucked safely in the attic. Of course they do make it home to Andy, but this time it’s not for keeps. I loved that Andy stopped to play with his toys one last time…
And then life went on…
As it generally does…
Lisa
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