A third Toy Story film had been circulating around Disney since the early 2000’s, and due to the deal brokered with Pixar at the time, Disney owned the IP but couldn’t do an awful lot with it without Pixar’s approval. Following the acquisition of Pixar in 2006, Disney almost immediately put pressure on the studio to make a third film in the hugely successful series after over half a decade of being unable to produce another sequel. Much to Disney’s delight, Pixar agreed, now that they were in complete creative control. So whilst Toy Story 3 did come as a surprise for audiences when it was given a 2010 release date, eleven years after Toy Story 2, it really shouldn’t have been a surprise that Pixar’s biggest property was going to return for a threequel.
Having spent years in storage and neglected, Andy’s (John Morris) toys are presented with the terrifying reality of Andy leaving home for college. Woody (Tom Hanks) maintains the opinion that the toys should stand by Andy, remaining by his side however possible in case he ever needs them. The rest of them fear being thrown away but are preparing themselves for the worst.
When a some of the toys are accidentally almost thrown in the trash, Buzz (Tim Allen) and Jessie (Joan Cusack) take the initiative to get the toys to Sunnyside Daycare, where they can be played with forever. Understanding the mistake made to lead to this, Woody continues to try and convince them to stay with Andy.
But upon arriving at Sunnyside the toys soon realise that daycare is not the safe haven they expected, instead a seemingly inescapable prison ruled over by Lotso (Ned Beatty) and his cronies.
Having spent years in storage and neglected, Andy’s (John Morris) toys are presented with the terrifying reality of Andy leaving home for college. Woody (Tom Hanks) maintains the opinion that the toys should stand by Andy, remaining by his side however possible in case he ever needs them. The rest of them fear being thrown away but are preparing themselves for the worst.
When a some of the toys are accidentally almost thrown in the trash, Buzz (Tim Allen) and Jessie (Joan Cusack) take the initiative to get the toys to Sunnyside Daycare, where they can be played with forever. Understanding the mistake made to lead to this, Woody continues to try and convince them to stay with Andy.
But upon arriving at Sunnyside the toys soon realise that daycare is not the safe haven they expected, instead a seemingly inescapable prison ruled over by Lotso (Ned Beatty) and his cronies.
Toy Story 3 feels as though it doesn’t have any right to be as good as it is. Over a decade passed between the second film and this third entry, and the world had moved on in so many ways. Recapturing the magic of the first two films was an impossible task, and yet Pixar managed to not only live up to the first two films, but arguably make the best film in the trilogy with this ‘final’ outing. Writing this in retrospect obviously cheapens the finality that Toy Story 3 has with its ending, because Toy Story 4 exists, and a fifth film has recently been confirmed to be in the works. But in 2010 this did very much seem like the ending that fans had been patiently waiting for.
From the opening scene that leans right into the nostalgia by having a young Andy playing with his toys much like we knew from the first two films, all the way up to the heart-breaking finale as the toys bid farewell to Andy and find their new owner in Bonnie (Emily Hahn), Toy Story 3 is a masterclass in writing and technical showmanship.
Lotso is a great villain too, and unlike Sid and Prospector Pete from the first two films, Lotso is given a huge amount of character depth due to the length of time that he acts as the films main antagonist. He’s sympathetic, and you can understand where he’s coming from. But his resentment and anger has bubbled up over time to turn him into a totalitarian ruler who asserts dominance through fear.
The Great Escape style storyline has so many great moments tucked away that give the film such a great momentum, and it feels significantly larger in scale than both previous entries without ever feeling like it’s jumped the shark.
From the opening scene that leans right into the nostalgia by having a young Andy playing with his toys much like we knew from the first two films, all the way up to the heart-breaking finale as the toys bid farewell to Andy and find their new owner in Bonnie (Emily Hahn), Toy Story 3 is a masterclass in writing and technical showmanship.
Lotso is a great villain too, and unlike Sid and Prospector Pete from the first two films, Lotso is given a huge amount of character depth due to the length of time that he acts as the films main antagonist. He’s sympathetic, and you can understand where he’s coming from. But his resentment and anger has bubbled up over time to turn him into a totalitarian ruler who asserts dominance through fear.
The Great Escape style storyline has so many great moments tucked away that give the film such a great momentum, and it feels significantly larger in scale than both previous entries without ever feeling like it’s jumped the shark.
Toy Story 3 marks another significant leap forward in Pixar’s animation, most notably in the way characters move, how different light sources can create different moods, and the texture of materials. Character animation is significantly more realistic than what Pixar had achieved up until this point, not only by giving some characters so many more ways of moving, but also by taking into account what materials characters are made out of and how that will either restrict or alter their movement abilities in interesting ways.
This ties into the texture work really well too, with minute details on Woody’s stitching pattern, or visible imperfections to the plastic for characters like Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles). Environments are given massive amounts of detailing from flaking paint, grooves in wood, and dirt on ceramic surfaces. It’s all little things that add up to make Toy Story 3 look amazing and years ahead of its time.
Toy Story 3 has rightly gone down in history as one of Pixar’s greatest achievements and it’s hard to deny that the film is a borderline perfect finale to the Toy Story franchise (even though it isn’t anymore). From the emotionally charged story that will absolutely leave you in tears, to the fantastic performances from the entire cast, and the visually stunning animation work on display. Toy Story 3 really is a testament to everything great about Pixar.
This ties into the texture work really well too, with minute details on Woody’s stitching pattern, or visible imperfections to the plastic for characters like Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles). Environments are given massive amounts of detailing from flaking paint, grooves in wood, and dirt on ceramic surfaces. It’s all little things that add up to make Toy Story 3 look amazing and years ahead of its time.
Toy Story 3 has rightly gone down in history as one of Pixar’s greatest achievements and it’s hard to deny that the film is a borderline perfect finale to the Toy Story franchise (even though it isn’t anymore). From the emotionally charged story that will absolutely leave you in tears, to the fantastic performances from the entire cast, and the visually stunning animation work on display. Toy Story 3 really is a testament to everything great about Pixar.