Toy Story 3

Fifteen years after the first animated installment and eleven years after the sequel, the producers, animators, creative writers and director of the Toy Story series has finally thought of the best ending to the highly successful Disney-Pixar animated franchise. Watching the trailer of the film, one would think that this is just one of your ordinary animated movies out to give kids a good time with the adventures of its main characters, Woody and Buzz Lightyear. And if you’re one of the many who thought along the same line, by the time you watch the movie, you’ll be treated to a big surprise!


Not often will one find an animated movie that brings out the kid in all of us adults. Seldom will it also hit the softest part of our adult heart and leave us teary-eyed once the ending gradually unfolds before our inconspicuous eyes. Animated movies are almost always stereotyped for children, and perhaps the only time we would be watching these types of movies is upon the prodding of our kids, and I would guess, that no adult would make animated movies as their first choice among the line-up of contemporary blockbuster movies also showing at the next cinemas. (Unless of course one is an animation enthusiast)


In the animated movie, Andy is now 17 years old on his way to college. Obviously, he has outgrown his old toys and is now being preoccupied with things an ordinary boy of his age would find amusing. Technology took the place of his favorite toys, Woody and Buzz. Having been “completely” forgotten by their owner, Andy, the toys were slowly losing hope that one day, Andy would play with them again the way he used to be back when he was little. Series of unfortunate and unintentional events also happened prompting majority of the toys (except Woody) to take their chances at Sunnyside Day Care Center. Their dream of being played-with again seemed to find an answer at this side of town.


Things are not always what they seem. It was too late when Buzz, the temporal leader of the group, found out the true color of Sunnyside rainbow. Knowing the dark side of Lotso, the acknowledged leader of Sunnyside toys, cost Buzz his “life”. The dangerous task of helping his toy-friends breakout from Sunnyside and return home was left for Woody to handle. With substantial information from the “telephone” and the timely help of the Little Green Men, Woody, Buzz and their toy-friends escaped from Sunnyside and survived the incinerator that could have converted them all into ashes.


In the beginning, the toys devised a plan to get the attention of Andy. With the help of the little soldiers, they deliberately took Andy’s phone and put it in the box where they were kept. The plot is for Woody to dial Andy’s phone (now in the box where they all are being kept) and hopefully when Andy finds his phone in the middle of all his old toys, he would notice the toys and play with them again. The plot failed and the tiny dust of hope left for the toys to be with Andy again vanished in thin air. Of course except for the ever loyal toy Woody.


Did Andy play with his toys again? For those who still haven’t watched the movie, I’ll choose to leave the answer to your imagination. For those who did, I’ll share my uncanny experience towards the ending of the animated movie. I attended a meeting at SM a week ago for the preparation of the Tercentenary Celebration. After that I got a chance to talk to a friend working at the cinema and naively asked about the play date of Toy Story 3. See I didn’t notice that this movie has been shown at SM City Cinema about two months ago.


With the help of the ever dependable Lime Wire P2P Sharing File, I managed to download a copy of the animated movie. With nothing to do on a Sunday afternoon, the kids and I watched Toy Story 3 at home thru the computer at the bed room. The 21” LCD monitor combined with the Altec Lansing VS4221-3 speaker makes watching movies at home just like the real thing. Anyways, towards the end of the film when Andy was about to go to College, he decided to donate his toys. The animated scene from that time on was so powerful that I decided to excuse myself from the room. Pretending I have to make a call I went to the living room and took some breather. I was teary-eyed seeing just few seconds of that special scene.


Sensing that the scene was over, I returned back to the bedroom and opened the lights in jest. There I caught the entire family teary-eyed! Angel, Xavier and Motet in their tender age understood the message and they responded. I didn’t show them what I really felt and I even teased all of them why they were crying! Well, that may be a natural reaction since the movie was made for them, kids, but I’m quite sure it wasn’t made for me! But why in the hell did I react faster than the kids without them knowing it? Safely I would say, the animated movie series has just found its PERFECT ending. The would-be tears are for the thought of not seeing a fourth installment of the amazing franchise in the future.