Roll Credits: 13 Brilliant Movie Endings

3) Toy Story 3 (2010)

When the third and last instalment of the beloved Toy Story series arrived in cinemas in 2010, it took two skills that human beings generally develop as they become adults – the leaving behind of our toys, and not crying in public – and effectively ruined our ability to do either.

The joy of Toy Story was its ability to parallel experiences that most people have had themselves, which in this case was the childhood imagining that our toys are alive, and that they have their own lives when we’re not around. The first movie cleverly played on the competition that would likely arise between new and old toys, and the second followed up nicely with ideas of toy collectors and mass market production (Buzz’s interaction with what would have been his old factory-setting self is nothing short of genius, and a magnificent example of Disney Pixar’s adult-appeal humour).

Toy Story 1 and 2 both featured deep and smartly realized themes of friendship, loss, purpose, tradition, challenges, and of course growing up, and both were wonderfully relatable, and suitably emotionally affecting in the way that only Disney films can be (it seriously is a sort of magic).

But nothing – nothing – could prepare us for what was to come in Toy Story 3.

In a perfect reflection of the movie’s central motif about endings happening when we might not be ready for them, no-one was ready for the emotional power of this particular ending, in which Andy finally makes the difficult decision to donate his toys to Bonnie, the little girl whose interaction with her toys is similar to Andy’s past relationship with his own little family.

We had invested our own time, love and imagination in Woody, Buzz, Rex, Slink, Hamm and Co., and saying goodbye to them as Andy hands them one by one to Bonnie was like experiencing ages 0 to 10 all over again, in the space of about three minutes. Andy’s beautiful descriptions of their individual characters and their roles in the group are not just creative information for Bonnie, but summaries of the little journeys that each character went on throughout the whole series, and of Andy’s – and the cast and crew’s – own affection for every single one of them. Rex is finally recognised as the meanest, most fearsome dinosaur who ever lived, the Potato Heads are introduced as being madly in love, Hamm’s wicked sense of humour is acknowledged in his introduction as ‘the evil Dr Pork Chop!” and Buzz regains his original proud title of “the coolest toy ever.”

And Woody, who Andy hadn’t intended to donate and has trouble letting go of…Woody is described as special, and as being someone who will “never, ever give up on you.” As Andy looks down at Woody in his now adult hand, we might think that it is only the audience who experiences the moment that passes between them, aware as we are that Woody understands every one of Andy’s words. But there is a subtly conveyed sense that Andy knows too, and that he is seeing in Woody’s familiar face the toy cowboy’s devotion, and the lifetime of love, friendship, and loyalty that they have shared.

Then, along with Bonnie, Andy plays with his toys one last time, before getting in his car to leave for college. When he waves, Bonnie waves back with Woody’s hand. Andy looks at his toys, lined up on Bonnie’s porch, ready for their new adventures with another child who will love them as dearly as he has done – and quietly thanks them. Woody then says goodbye to Andy’s retreating car – and everyone’s resolve not to cry at a children’s film is blown to kingdom come.

As Woody begins cheerfully introducing his friends to Bonnie’s toys, the dialogue fades, and the camera pans up to show clouds against a blue sky – the exact same pattern of the wallpaper in Andy’s room where everything began, fifteen years ago. This wasn’t just a wonderful end to a wonderful film, it was a perfect ending to the entire series – the best series Disney have ever made.

Brb– taking laptop into shop for water damage.