Article by: Jeff Fish
It’s been 11 years in the waiting, but Toy Story 3 (2010, Disney), the third installment in the Toy Story series, is set to hit theaters on June 18, bringing all the charm and excitement of the original film.
A star studded cast featuring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Don Rickles reprise their roles, continuing the adventures of the now over-the-hill group of toys, who are never played with anymore. The movie deals with a theme that started in Toy Story 2 (1999, Disney), coming to terms with the fact that all children grow up and stop playing with their toys. They decide at the end of that movie that they will be there as long as Andy needs them.
The film was previewed at the AMC Loews Theater on April 28, free to anyone with a college I.D. A hilarious adventure, which opens the film, of course turns out to be a product of Andy’s imagination that turns into a montage of Andy growing-up in front of his mom’s camcorder, with his room transforming over the years, immediately bringing a wave of nostalgia to those who remember seeing the first one in theaters.
Flash-forward to Andy, who is now 17-years-old and about to head to college, who is forced by his mother to decide which of his belongings are worth storing up in the attic and which are for throwing away. At this point, Andy’s toy chest is reduced to the core group of central characters from the first two films, including Buzz, Woody, Rex, Hamm, Jesse, Mr. Potato Head, and his wife. He puts them in a bag meant for the attic, but decides to take Woody with him to college, much to the dismay of Buzz, who replaced Woody as Andy’s favorite toy for some time.
In a mix-up, the toys in the trash bag end up on the curb, causing the toys to think they are unwanted. The toys escape to the back of Andy’s mom’s car, where they find a box of toys headed to a day care center. Woody, who is trying to convince them to stay, also ends up in the box, moving the storyline forward, and away from Andy.
Upon arriving, the toys meet Lot’s-O-Huggin’ Bear, a seemingly benevolent old teddy bear that runs toy operations at the day care. The toys soon find out that they’ve been transported to a hellish nightmare where they are battered and abused daily by a stampede of small children. More problems arise when Buzz is reset to his original factory settings and he once again thinks he is a real space ranger, a great throwback to the first movie.
This sets in motion the toy’s laugh out loud attempt to escape the day care and return to Andy’s house in the same fashion that made the first two Toy Story movies great.
This movie is not only great for kids, who will surely love the movie, but for those who have loved Toy Story and grown up with it for the past 15 years. This movie should definitely be the last because it makes the perfect ending to what is now the Toy Story trilogy.
