Thanksgiving Day 1995 (if I recall) was when my parents, my sister, and myself, took part in Pixar’s very first animated feature, Toy Story. A movie about a boy and his toys, a movie about toys’ feelings for their owner, and the fear of being rejected by a new toy, it was a movie that changed animation, started a legacy, and arguably helped launch Apple’s dominance in the audio/video/graphic design world, or at the very least, helped pay for Steve Jobs jumping the transplant list.

Toy Story 3 focuses on the final chapter in the life-cycle of a toy, when the owner outgrows their toys and goes out into the real world. Oh, college? That’s not the real world. Moving on. By now we are left with a small core cast of toys compared to the first two movies, Woody, Buzz, Jesse, Bullseye, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, Hamm, Rex, and Buzz Lightyear. Along with a few toy soldiers and such, they are all that remains of once was a full room of random toys. Faced with either donation to a daycare, the attic, or trash, Andy must decide what stays and what goes, and decides to attic everything but Woody, who he wants to take with him. In true Toy Story fashion however, the bag intended for the attic almost ends up in the trash if not for the efforts of the toys to dodge the bullet. Facing final rejection by their owner, they decide to jump into the daycare donation box along with Barbie, a castaway from Molly’s toys. They arrive at Sunnyside Daycare, meeting a whole slew of toys including the leader of the gang, Lots-O-Huggin Bear. From there the toys feel they will enjoy their life being played with forever.

If you frequent Rotten Tomatoes or movie review sites you no doubt noticed the near perfect reviews of Toy Story 3 by most critics. Actually, up until late Friday night, it was at 100% and as of now, stands at 98% with only three negative reviews. What annoys me is that the three people who wrote negative reviews of the film, wrote no substance to their reviews whatsoever, it was blatant trolling. If you want a fairly balanced review, I suggest reading Ebert’s review, as he only gave it three stars, but did not squash the movie entirely, making many good points.

The most common critique of the movie is that compared to the first two, it is a lot darker and doesn’t resonate with children very much. I honestly feel Pixar aimed this a little higher than children, rather they aimed at those of us adults who were children back in 1995 for the original release, sort of paying homage to the fact that while the movie’s character Andy has grown up and is moving on, we who were kids when the original movie debuted, are not college-age or older and also moved beyond our old toys. All throughout the series there has always been emphasis placed on the fact that someday, the toys would be retired, that they will have outlived their usefulness as toys, and this resonates less with children and more with teens and adults because we remember the toys we played with, and the antagonizing decisions we made at least yard sale, garage sale, tag sale, Goodwill donation, and moving to a new house or state, in what we should keep and what we should part with. What makes this movie different than the first two is while the first focused on “the new favorite toy” and the second focused on “collector’s toys” and not wanting to break up the group, the third focused on how the toys would move on without Andy. The lull of always having children to play with them in a daycare center excited the toys, but once they got there, they understood an entirely different picture. It’s in that respect that I can understand Ebert and many other reviewers critiques of the movie, but unlike the troll reviews, they understood who Pixar was aiming for and why.

I especially enjoyed some of the gags in this movie, such as the Spanish-mode Buzz, the changed relationship between Buzz and Jesse, and Woody’s retarded flail-running. There is a lot more I could go into, but I don’t want to spoil the movie too much for those who haven’t seen it. If you are a fan of Pixar films, and especially a fan of Toy Story, go and watch this movie. I don’t go to theaters unless the movie is worth the ticket price, and I went and saw it in IMAX 3D, so if I spent 30 dollars for myself and my girlfriend to see it, it was worth it, trust me. the IMAX 3D effects did not stand out as much to me as “How to Train Your Dragon” but it made watching Toy Story 3 much more enjoyable and you almost wonder how you could watch it without it. Still, if 2D is your tea, then do it up.

Finally, without spoiling too much, the ending of this movie is rather sad, depending on your outlook in life. One of the things mentioned in the beginning of the movie and held somewhat-true to the end, is that there is no greater joy than seeing your favorite toys you grew up with as a child, passed along to your child or someone you know’s child. Toys and children are tough these days, with computers, the internet, flashy things and market-muscle, watching these movies reminds me of how you can take any toy, no matter how odd or outdated it may be, and use your imagination to create whatever world you wish, and that was made relevant in the opening scenes of the movie. One of the negative reviews prodded at this part, and honestly that guy was a dick. I may be 26, but I have seriously given thought many times to breaking out my old Legos and playing spaceships all day, it’d certainly be more exciting that anything else I do at home, and you can be certain I will play with my children both outdoors and indoors, I want my kids to be able to share in the kind of imagination that I had with my toys as a child.