Toy Story Trilogy Review

Jamie Gomersall

Ever since Toy Story first hit our cinemas in 1995, it has been watched and re-watched again and again by millions worldwide. This, of course, isn’t surprising as it is an engaging, hilarious and heart-warming story, entertaining an audience of all ages, and it has been long deemed as a Disney classic.

The first movie answered the question ‘What do toys do when the kid leaves the room?’. It focuses on an old fashioned cowboy doll, Woody, who faces rejection when ultra-cool space ranger, Buzz Lightyear is given to his owner Andy as a birthday present. There was an instant love for the characters including Rex the anxious dinosaur, the easily agitated Mr Potato Head, a loyal springy dog called Slinky, and Hamm the streetwise piggy bank. This film also features the first of Toy Story’s villains, Sid, a teenage terror whose hobby is to torture and destroy his toys.

Four years later, Toy Story 2 was released, which perhaps may even have been more popular than its predecessor. The sequel introduced five new characters: Jessie the cowgirl doll and her horse Bulls-eye, Barbie, Wheezy the squeaky penguin, and of course Mrs Potato Head, Potato Head’s excitable wife. This plotline revolved more around what happens when a toy is broken and highlighted the required acceptance that one day Andy will grow up, and the toys will be no longer wanted. In this film, Woody is stolen by a greedy toy collector, who wants to sell him and his other cowboy dolls to a Japanese toy museum. Among these cowboy toys is Stinky Pete, the prospector, who is also the major villain of the story. Buzz and the gang organise a rescue, only to be faced by Buzz’s nemesis, Evil Emperor Zurg. This film features a lot of new characters, furthermore including a deluded impostor of Buzz and three squeeze toy aliens, which are eventually adopted by the Potato Heads. This all leads to an unforgettable climatic scene in an airport.

Eleven years on, the long awaited final instalment of the Toy Story trilogy was welcomed with open arms. Much more emotional than the previous two, Toy Story 3 is about the toys realising that they are no longer wanted by Andy, who is heading to college, and so decide to donate themselves to Sunnyside Daycare Centre, which is run by an evil strawberry scented teddy bear named Lotso. As well as this despicable villain, new toys are added to the ensemble: Ken, Stretch the octopus, a depressed clown called Chuckles, Dolly the doll, the Bookworm, a posh hedgehog named Mr Pricklepants and Trixie the triceratops. I found this film both a funny and heart-breaking end to the trilogy, with the climactic scene seeing the toys head for certain oblivion, as they approach fiery destruction. This left everyone in the cinema at the edge of their seat in anticipation, with a tear in their eye.

The Toy Story trilogy succeeds for a variety of reasons: perfect casting, unbeatable plot, beautiful animation and wonderful characters. Pixar has put more than fifteen years of effort, patience and love into every frame of these movies and they will be treasured for years to come, as a classic. Only Pixar could make a film that makes you laugh, cry and gasp all the way through the incredible journey of these brilliant toys. They are truly magical to watch, and possibly the greatest films ever made.