Toy Story 3 (2010)
If there was ever a children’s movie franchise that got more emotionally challenging as it went on, Toy Story would be it. While 1995’s Toy Story laid the groundwork – with a film about a group of toys that belong to a boy named Andy, and the way they react when a new toy is introduced to their carefully regulated dynamic – 1999’s Toy Story 2 struck a tone that was a little darker, showing the toys trying to save their friends from captivity. There followed an eleven-year gap before Toy Story 3 arrived, and when it did, it felt like that decade-long interval was intended to allow us to take a really deep breath before heading into theatres to weep our way through the third instalment.
Toy Story 3 feels like a franchise closer (although, we now know a Toy Story 4 is on the way) because it centres its tale around the passage of time. Andy is now grown up and headed to college, which means he has, essentially, outgrown his toys. Dealing with themes of change, connection, and moving on, we see the toys try to figure out how to cope with the inevitable end of their current way of life. There is a great deal of darkness, with the group finding themselves needing to escape a kindergarten nightmare under the terrifying rule of a power-mad, yet adorable cuddly toy – and an almost unbearable scene in which they all say goodbye to each other while facing certain death.
But, it is also about the safety and assurance that comes with lasting friendship, and the comfort that can be taken from having shared time with a loved one – regardless of how limited that time may have been. We see recollections of Andy as he was growing, and the pride the toys have taken in being a part of his story. Finally, we see the acceptance of change, the beauty of letting go and the difference between mourning and embracing new phases and relationships.
It is, at times, emotionally overwhelming, but this is a sequel that benefits from its lateness. By the time Toy Story 3 arrived, the trilogy had matured and delivered a third chapter that actually had something real and important to say – rather than simply wringing another recycled plot from these beloved characters.
