Movie Review: 'Toy Story 3'

When I was 4 years old, a great movie full of imagination and love was introduced to the world. It gave me fantasies of my toys coming to life and left me wondering what they did after I left the room.

When I was 8 years old, this movie’s sequel came out in theaters. It taught me about moving on and making new friends (and I still sometimes wondered if my toys came to life).

Now I am 19 years old. Toy Story 3 just debuted in theaters across America. The first time I saw the preview for the movie, I immediately declared I would see it. With school, work, a busy schedule and thoughts of entering “the real world” in just three years, life has been stressful. I was long overdue for a trip down memory lane. So opening day of Toy Story 3 , my friend and I took our two little sisters (who could barely remember the plot of the first two movies) to one of the first showings of the day. (Note to readers: do not laugh. The midnight show on Thursday was apparently sold-out and I know those were not 5-year-olds waiting in line for that).

I knew before the movie even started that there would be changes with the third installment of the franchise. I was handed 3-D glasses before entering the theater; Toy Story had gone high-tech on me. Reason number two how Toy Story has changed? The little boy, the toys’ owner, is not a little boy anymore; Andy is now seventeen and ready to head off to college. But hey, I can relate to that. Actually, one of Disney’s marketing strategies for this movie was targeting a demographic that they call “the Andyites,” according to www.nymag.com . These are twentysomethings who were young kids when the first movie entered theaters. For example, me. Well played, Disney. There were more than a few Andyites waiting in anticipation for this movie (possibly more than actual little kids). I would have been very upset if this movie was a disappointment.

And thankfully, I did not have to be upset. This movie was definitely not a disappointment. In fact, it was quite the opposite.

Toy Story 3 follows the story of what happens when Andy goes to college. Does he keep his beloved toys or does he throw them away without a second thought? This is the perfect plot for the Andyites. We have either just experienced this same feeling (even if we did not experience the same toy debacle as Andy) or are going to experience it soon. It is not just about the toys, but about moving on, letting go and leaving behind your childhood. The story mixed comedy and heart perfectly. Barbie and Ken are absolutely perfect and the Spanish version of Buzz Lightyear is comedic gold.

Tom Hanks, Tim Allen and Joan Cusack are all back to reprise their roles as Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie, respectively. Michael Keaton as Ken was a welcome addition. The only character I missed was Annie Potts’s Bo Peep. Through the twists and turns of the plot, each character maintained their true personalities. This is the mark of a great movie because it is what makes truly fall in love with a character.

And in the end that was very important because it is what led to the final conclusion of the movie. The conclusion made this movie even more special than it already was. It really made the series feel final. Before this movie, I did not think that the franchise felt incomplete; but after watching Toy Story 3 , I felt that it gave a much-needed ending to the movies that I have come to know and love.

With the addition of this third movie, the Toy Story franchise is a series that has been with me through my childhood to my late teenage years. Toy Story 3 is a story that makes me laugh, but it is also a story that makes me nostalgic for my childhood and realize how fast life goes. It is a great family film because it is a movie that every age can enjoy. It is not like most family films, which are truly kids movies that do not make adults cringe. There is truly something for every age to enjoy. Kids will enjoy the comedy; adults will also enjoy the nostalgia of childhood. Toy Story 3 is a movie that every person should see.

Toy Story 3 is rated G and is 109 minutes, including a 6 minute short film.