At this point, it's cliche to compliment Pixar's movies. Every single one of their movies is funny, visually pleasing, and heart warming. Yet, despite these three similarities, they do not feel the same. I would love to shadow Pixar's creative team for a while to see how they do it. Creating pure childish joy in cinematic form is no small task. Yet, it seems that they've perfected the recipe.The Toy Story series will go down as one of the best. Many a series that starts strong deviates at some point--usually because the studio simply strives to keep the series going to make money. Obviously, Pixar is hoping to bring home bacon. But when I watch Toy Story, I forget that toys don't come to life when humans aren't around. These movies are so genuine that I leave the theater feeling that I've neglected my own childhood toys. In fact, after seeing Toy Story 3, I brought my favorite stuffed animal, Blue Rocky, to my home in Boston to make up for years of ignoring him.
Each installment of Toy Story has offered new insight on life, childhood and the inevitability of growing up and moving on. I went into the third movie wondering if they could truly explore these themes any further. They absolutely succeeded. I love this series' straight forward perspective on childhood. The toys never treat Andy like a child. He is their partner in crime; their fellow adventurer. Toy Story makes one nostalgic about childhood without forcing it. Andy's toys go through great lengths and survive great peril just so they can make believe with him. Reality may have its own action sequences, but Andy's fantasy world remains the priority.
The third movie pulls harder at our heartstrings. Andy has undeniably grown out of childhood now. He's even driving himself to college without his family. (Anyone else find it strange that Andy's mom didn't drive him?) Watching him bid farewell to his toys, I actually wept in the theater. Our toys are among our best friends as we grow up, and I don't know that we all take the opportunity to pay tribute to them. I don't remember when I stopped being able to play make believe with toys. But the Toy Story series allows us to cope with that loss by making us believe in Woody, Buzz, Jessie, Bullseye, and the rest of the gang. With this series, we realize that our inner child is alive and well.
