Day 3 of 31 - You've Got a Friend in Me

Growing up can be really sad, especially if you are a toy.  It's even worse when you watch someone give away your toys.  If you haven't figured it out by now, I am talking about Toy Story 3.  And this is my review.  As usual, spoilers could arrive in any paragraph below, so you have been warned.  Please grab some popcorn (and some Kleenex), sit back and enjoy growing up.

In my opinion (and seeing as this is my blog, it should be my opinion), I think that Toy Story 3 was the perfect ending to the adventure that was Andy's Toys.  Andy is growing up, we see him from his childhood in home movies, as only PIXAR can create them - playing with his toys, enjoying them and loving them.  But then we are reminded that Andy has grown up and is ready to leave for college.

I remember when I left for college.  I didn't seem to think about my toys back then (it was awhile ago) and perhaps my toys felt sad that I had either given up on them or tossed them away.  That may have been the case back then, but each toy provided me enjoyment for as long as I had them.  I know that there are still toys that my nephew gets to enjoy that were once mine and that makes me happy too.

But back to the story.  Andy is going to college and needs to decide what to do with his toys.  His original plan, put them in the attic, but through a sad mix up, they end up being donated.  From the trailers, Sunnyside Daycare seems like a great place, but it has a dark secret.  I won't go into it completely, but let's just say that some toys do not like the fact that they were abandoned and became bitter to a certain point and therefore like to rule the other toys with an iron fist.

Woody and the gang eventually realize that Andy does care about them and they need to get back to him before he leaves for college.  There is quite a lot of hi jinks and adventure during the escape, but none more so than a wonderful homage to a scene towards the end of Return of the Jedi.  For all you nerds out there who have seen Toy Story 3 (or will), you'll know what scene I'm talking about.

Now, about that Kleenex that I warned you about....there are some very poignant scenes toward the end of this movie that make you realize that not only has Andy grown up with these toys and is about to move on, but we as an audience have grown up as well.  The actor that provided the voice for Andy in the first movie is back again as the voice of the grown Andy.  It's a bittersweet moment for all of us since Andy represents all of us at that moment where we decide that we have to leave childhood and move toward adulthood.  Of course, that doesn't mean that we have to grow up completely, just enough so that we can pass ourselves off as adults when we become professionals in whatever we choose to do, even if it's an animator of children's cartoons.

For me, this movie was a metaphor, reminding all of us of the need to move on from one point of life to another.  Whether it's a matter of physically growing older and moving on, or if it's growing tired of one situation and moving on toward a new one.  It could be anything from college, employment or even relationships.  Whatever it is that you move on from, I think that sometimes you take it with a grain of salt.  You know that you need to move on, but there are still parts of you that yearn to be back in the past, just as Andy felt for his toys.  But he knew it was time and he knew that his toys would be fine where they were.  That's my hope for all of us: that when we decide to grow up, we know and understand that we'll be fine as we move forward.

Until tomorrow.