Toy Story 3 Review

Toy Story 3 Review

We’re almost to Toy Story 5’s release date, which means that we’re almost done with my Toy Story review series. Here’s my review of Toy Story 3, the first animated film to ever make $1 billion and the last animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars. What do I think about this film? Let’s talk about it!

The Good

I’ll just right to the chase, I think Toy Story 3 is one of the best Pixar films, one of the best movie sequels of all time, one of the best sequels of all time, and simply one of the best movies of all time. I’ve always thought that this is the best of the Toy Story films. I feel like this film is a great example of what Toy Story and Pixar films can and should be. Where this film has the big emotions, fun characters, fun adventures, and the humor that you want from a Toy Story and Pixar film. This film was so good at accomplishing what it was going for that many people believe that Toy Story 3 is where the franchise should’ve ended. Quentin Tarantino has famously said that he refuses to watch Toy Story 4 and any future Toy Story films because Toy Story 3 ended things so perfectly. Perfectly is the word that comes to mind when I think about this film. They did something different with the Toy Story franchise, they told a darker story that also keeps the heart of the first two films. You get all of the fun characters that we loved from the previous two, mixed with great new characters so you’re on this emotional and dark story while always loving the characters. Let’s now break down the specifics about what worked about this film. 

What I love about this film is that it leans into this sense of nostalgia and growing up. This film was released 11 years after Toy Story 2 and they knew that the audience grew up, so they had a massive time jump and had Andy grow up as well. If people were the same age as Andy in those first two films, and they’re growing up with Andy and leaving the college at the same time Andy is. The film is dealing with these ideas of nostalgia, growing up, and letting go. Andy is going off to college and has aged out of being the target audience to play with toys. The whole journey of the film and Woody’s arc is tied to this of growing up. Realizing that even though Andy might play with his toys anymore, they still want to be there for him when they do need him. Because the whole journey and arc of the previous two films was the love that a child has for their toys. What happens when that child grows up and doesn’t need his toys anymore. There’s something very emotional and potent about that. You even see that explored through our villain and even ties into the film’s final moment as Andy says goodbye to the toys and gives them to a new child that can enjoy them as much as he did. I was 5 ½ years old when this movie came out and now I’m going into my senior year of college. After watching this movie after experiencing so much of my college life, I was able to connect with this film on a deeper level because I knew that thought process that Andy was going through and dealt with a little bit of that in my personal life. The opening to the film is so perfect because it plays really well as this short film. If that sequence wasn’t the opening to this movie and was just a 5-minute Toy Story short film released later it would work because it’s a fun sequence. But when you watch the movie and you see what the film is actually about, it’s a sequence that works better because it leans into this sense of nostalgia so well. I think the opening sequence of the film is one of the best openings in movie history. 

Another thing that I’ve always appreciated about this film is that they told a darker story. This is of course a fantastic piece of family entertainment that kids have been loving for 16 years now. But rewatching you realize just how dark this movie can get and where this film goes, specifically in the back half of the film. Where the film starts out and it’s a fairly simple setup for a Toy Story film, our toys accidentally get shipped off to daycare and hate it there. Very quickly and seamlessly, the film is able to transition into a prison escape film. The characters in the film even call this out that Sunnyside Day Care is a prison for toys. You continue going and the entire third act of the film takes place at the dump. You have these moments where you’re on the edge of your seating because our toys keep on getting put into dangerous situations. You get to this moment where our toys are going towards the incinerator and we know it’s a kids movie and that they’re not going to die. But you still have this fear that maybe it would happen, and having that level of tension and dread in a G-rated movie means you crafted something special. That incinerator bit is one of the memorable sequences in any Pixar history. No matter how many times you’ve rewatched this movie, you remember that shot of them all holding hands. I think the darker tone goes back to the central idea that the target audience for this film grew up with Andy so doing something more mature is probably very smart.

I’ve touched on this already in this review but the film has a great ending that ended the trilogy really well. It ended so well that people continue to be upset with this movie based on the fact that they undid this movie’s ending. Where the whole journey of the film is built around this idea of growing up. The trilogy ends with Andy giving the toys away to Bonnie and having Bonnie have the same experience with the toys that Andy did when he was her age. You have this ending that perfectly fits into this journey because we saw the early stages of Andy getting buzz when he was a kid and it is a fitting ending to the franchise that I think works really well. It pulls at all of the right heart strings for those who grew up with these characters. It’s another example as to why this movie works as well as it does, the ending perfectly ties into the themes and ideas established in this film. That’s when you have a great and powerful ending, when all of the themes and ideas established perfectly come together in the final moments of the film. 

As it is a Toy Story film, you have to talk about the characters and whether they’re new or old they’re so much fun and really good characters. Of the new characters, the big standout has to be Lotso as our main villain. He’s a character that’s so despicable and evil that you hate him. He’s the type of villain that suffered in the past and he’s going to make everybody else suffer because of that. Since we’ve spent so much time with the toys and care about them, seeing him treat them badly makes you hate him even more. Even in the third act when he’s helped by Woody and Buzz and then later betrays them, it’s this extra layer of hatred. It’s a kids movie so you know that they’re not going to give him a brutal death but so you badly want a brutal death to happen because he deserves it. He’s one of the best Pixar villains that we’ve gotten, I really think it’s a tie between him and Syndrome from The Incredibles. I love both of them and they’re both great and complex villains. I also always forget that Michael Keaton is in this movie as Ken. I love how they use Ken in this movie as this middle man between the good and bad. They use the stereotypes of Ken that were expanded on in Barbie to conflict Ken’s worldview on what side he should be on. You get all of the characters returning that we love from the previous films, once again they’re together so you get the fun rapport that you love. I really love the usage of Buzz in this film, it might be my favorite usage of him in this franchise. Where they go back to the idea that he can switch modes which changes his personality. Using that against him to help stop Woody and the gang is really clever. When he turns into spanish Buzz in the third act I think it is one of the funniest things that Pixar has done. It’s really funny stuff that gets a big laugh out of me every time I watch it. 

Also, I touched on this earlier but I absolutely love the third act of the film. I believe I made a blog post of my 10 favorite movie third acts, this movie should be on that list. It is such an incredible sequence that works on every single level. The whole sequence takes place at the dump and this goes back to what was established earlier of the toys thinking that Andy thinks they’re trash. It’s a great metaphor for the themes and ideas that are explored in this film. As I’ve touched on in the past, when you have a movie that’s so well crafted and able to pull everything together it’s when you have something special. Also, the film does a great job of building tension. You think that our characters are safe, but there’s always something that happens next. It starts off where the toys are walking across the dumpster which leads to Woody being pulled in and all of the toys also being pulled in. They get to the dump and they’re separated, and then the aliens are pushed away. Then Buzz gets injured which leads to the magnet sequence, and then as soon as they’re all safe Lotso is stuck so Woody and Buzz have to go and rescue him. And then as soon as they think they’re safe the incinerator sequence happens. It’s constantly building tension and adding conflict on top of conflict to make it this sequence that’s so memorable and potent and one of the best movie third acts of all time. 

Finally, Randy Newman’s score for this movie I think is the best score that he’s done for this franchise. This was the aspect that surprised me the most upon rewatch was just how memorable and great the music for the film is. I’ve actually been listening to this film’s soundtrack more than I thought I would after rewatching the film. Especially in the third act when we’re at the dump and you get this thrilling music that elevates the scenes and helps craft it to be one of the great third acts of all time. But even beyond that, throughout the entire film you get these great pieces of music that combine that classic Toy Story music that we’ve come to love while also incorporating new sounds and melodies that we haven’t heard before. 

The Bad

For me, Toy Story 3 isn’t just one of the best Pixar movies, it’s one of the best animated movies, it’s one of the best sequels, and it’s just one of the best movies of all time. I don’t really have many issues with this film. The first and really only thing that came to mind is that some of the set up for the film felt a bit off to me. Part of the reason why the gang ends up at Sunnyside Daycare is because the toys think Andy wants to throw them out and Woody is trying to convince them that it was a mistake and none of the toys believe him. It just strained a bit too much credibility that the toys wouldn’t believe him because why would Woody lie with something like that? Why would the toys not trust Woody, after he’s never really steered them wrong? It just strained some credibility and they wished they found a more reasonable way as to why the gang ends up at Sunnyside. 

Final Thoughts: Quentin Tarantino and I agree that Toy Story 3 is one of the greatest movies ever made. It’s so well crafted in the way it uses visual storytelling and metaphors as a way to communicate to the audience what the film is about. I love that it’s a darker story that’s not afraid to go places that you wouldn’t expect in a Toy Story film. This might be my favorite Toy Story film that we have, it’s absolutely fantastic. 

The Score: 9.6/10 (A)