To Infinity, and Beyond!

I watched Toy Story 3 over the weekend because I was bored at my house. You can ask anyone that knows me and they'll tell you, I was not looking forward to this movie at all. I love sequels as much as the next guy, but just felt this movie wasn't needed. I didn't really like Toy Story 2 nearly as much as I liked the original.

Enough lallygagging, you're here for a review.

With that said, I was simply blown away by this movie. I went into it expecting not to like it. Expecting to be sitting there, asking myself, "why did they feel the need to make another one?" Instead, I found myself glad they made another one, something I can not say about many sequels. Of course, its a Disney Pixar movie, what else should I have expected.

I felt that the movie was really made for the people that were kids when the original came out. The movie seemed directed towards a more adult audience than I was expecting. It had much darker overtones than any other Pixar movie I have ever seen, which really helped me get drawn into the movie.

Having many older characters return (nearly all of them, except the voice of Slinky Dog, Jim Varney, who passed away shortly after Toy Story 2), also helped me get pulled in. It was nice to hear everyone voiced by the original actors (even Andy was voiced by the same kid, now an adult, that voiced him in the first two movies). I can't stand when they make sequels and change the characters around, like we'll never notice.

I touched on the mature themes of this movie a bit earlier. The theme of being wanted/needed is very prominent in the movie. The toys are feeling abandoned by Andy, who is now to old to play with his toys. They do a great job making you feel what the toys are going through, allowing you to feel the angst and rejection they feel. It made me really feel bad about all those toys I simply threw away or donated when I was younger. Made me wonder how they felt, if they felt anything at all. The theme of mortality is also throughout the movie. As they show toys that simply want to survive and continue to be someone's special toy.

The movie made me care about characters I had forgotten I cared about. That is the key to great story telling. Without giving any spoilers, there are some heavy, emotional scenes, that will bring tears to many peoples eyes. I recommend this movie to everyone who ever loved the original movie as a kid, or even as an adult. This movie is a great movie to take your family to, or even just the girl friend. You will not feel ripped off after the credits roll at how much you spent, unless you see it in 3D...which I don't recommend, but that's an entirely different blog for a different time.