It’s been over a decade since Woody and Buzz first captivated the world, entertaining our imaginations and filling the wallets of whichever lucky toy company got the rights to produce Buzz Lightyear action figures. Now, after a wait so long there wasn’t even significant talk of a trilogy until the movie was actually announced, we can all treat ourselves to Toy Story 3. And when I say treat, I mean it. If Toy Story was an ice cream sundae, Toy Story 3 would be the cherry on top.

I’ve been excited about this film since Truth On Cinema uncovered it for us. Despite being the third installment in a franchise that can only do so much, Toy Story 3 is packed with fresh ideas. Admittedly, there are vague shadows of the first films, but these feel more like intentional links than lack of creativity. There’s the standard “no one trusts Woody” section and the “Jessie’s afraid of abandonment” arc, but these aren’t recycled plots. What’s incredible about this series is that the characters retain a personality throughout every adventure. They learn and grow and develop as characters, but still show the traits that made them great. Like a childhood toy rediscovered years later, each character brings up a toy-box-load of wonderful memories. Rex is still insecure, Woody is still loyal, and Buzz still manages to be eccentric.

I love that the creators always find a way to bring back the old Buzz. I especially love that they don’t just do it the same way. While this film does rely on the first two films for background, it does well to build its own personality. Even if someone somehow managed not to see the first two (poor souls), I doubt they’d be confused by this one. They might leave the theater merely satisfied rather than enchanted. What makes this movie an experience is the fact that we know the cast so well. Despite the title, however, this is not a story about the toys. It goes far beyond that. It becomes a story of families, of love and attachment, and of the change that comes with time. Sounds pretty deep for a kids movie, right? That’s because Toy Story 3 isn’t a kid movie. It was meant for all of us.

As a first year college student whose youth was filled with dreams of living toys and the comforting presence of the Toy Story gang, I felt the gravity of the story in a unique way. For a moment, as Andy packed up for college and prepared to part with his toys, I felt like this film was made just for me (I had, after all, just had to part with a plethora of my childhood possessions). I felt that the film was targeted at too narrow of an audience. Then I realized just how masterfully the story was crafted. Whether you are a child who loves the concept of your toys being alive or a parent who has watched their child grow up with the Toy Story gang, you can’t help but be touched by what the Disney/Pixar crew has built for you. It’s a touching tribute to what was and a small promise of what might be, and it is absolutely magnificent.

The film begins with a clever montage of play times past and the toys making a last, desperate attempt to get Andy’s attention before he departs for college and is propelled further as his mother forces him to pack up for his first year of college. After a misunderstanding lands the toys in the trash, the entire gang decides to jump into a donation box and begin a pilgrimage to Sunnyside Daycare, a place they feel must be the toy equivalent of heaven. Woody, the only toy who had been packed into Andy’s “college” box, attempts to dissuade them but ends up taking the trip as well.

The introduction of Sunnyside is wonderful and inspiring; painting the picture of a wonderful future for our favorite toys, but Woody insists on returning home to Andy. From there follows the first of many examples of plastic parkour (this officially brings my free-running reference total into the realm of astronomical and I feel I may need to see a doctor) that the film offers us. Watching the toys interact with their scenery has always been one of the greatest pleasures of the Toy Story universe, especially their interaction with humans. That has not changed a bit.

Woody, through yet another series of mishaps, ends up in the hands of an endearing young girl named Bonnie, whose cuteness is as close to unbearable as one can be and still be loved. Her toys are as sweet as she is and a joy to watch, especially Trixie the triceratops and Mr. Pricklepants, the cultured and entertainingly methodical stage enthusiast. Unfortunately, the news they bring Woody is anything but pleasant as they reveal the twisted history of one of the toys at Sunnyside and the subsequent downhill slide of “the system” at the daycare. The villain of the movies is revealed, to no one’s surprise, as a good toy with a bad history. The one thing this team was never good at was hiding the fact that there is an evil toy somewhere bent on ruining everyone else for his/her own gain. But I can forgive them that, since the characters do tend to show some incredible depth.

Now determined to save his friends, Woody returns to Sunnyside with the intention of staging an unprecedented breakout. Not the most original plot in the world, but because it happens on the toy scale it retains a sense of freshness that still left me delighted. The entire breakout scene is fantastic and reveals that our beloved toy friends still have a few tricks in heir storage compartments. We see the inevitable return of overzealous space ranger Buzz after he is reset and exploited by the villains. We discover that Mr. Potato Head is actually the most valuable covert asset one can have, and we learn that Barbie is far from a stereotypical blond. There are, sadly, no new faces amongst the crew, but given the story, that fits. This film wasn’t about introducing new possibilities, it was about tying up loose ends. Despite this, the creators did give us the treat of Spanish Buzz, which I’m sure everyone has heard about by now. Even if your expectations for him are high, you will be blown away. The sequence in which he prances about and attempts to woo Jessie are pure comedy gold and serve to make an already great movie wonderful.

The toys take one final turn for the worst and end up in a garbage dump, where the creators play an almost cruel game with our feelings by threatening the worst for our heroes. While the scene in the dump could have served as a viable, and even vaguely beautiful ending, the crew had one more treat in store for us. Believe me when I say that they could not have possibly ended this series any better, though they did leave it somewhat open if ever they should want to return to the majestic world they created for us. Throwing open the doors of our imaginations one last time, the Toy Story gang invites us all to join them for one final romp with Andy and the gang. I am not ashamed to admit this: I nearly cried. This film is truly awe-inspiring, and I can find almost nothing at all wrong with it. Therefore, deducting a single point to adjust for the role of nostalgia in making this film priceless,

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