Ten Stars or Less

Every kid has to grow up and at that point they have to put away childish things. Andy is going to college and must decide what to do with his toys, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jesse (Joan Cusask), and Bullseye. Scared and confused, the toys end up donated to The Sunnyside Daycare where they are ushered in by the main man Lotso (Ned Beatty). Promises soon turn into nightmares and these toys are put through the ringer. Life is not all it’s cracked up to be and chaos rains down on these guys. For a kids movie, there is some terrifying stuff in this movie that is supposed to get people to cry (in a heart breaking way), but if I had a kid, I would only assume they would have nightmares. No one ever wants to watch their toys burn, so that one scene has always bugged me from a writers stand point. Lotso is a great villain, but some of the tricks he pulls are a little over the top for a day care and kids movie. This is after all a Pixar family movie, not a kids version of Shawshank Redemption. The highlight of the movie is when Buzz is reprogrammed in a different language. Who ever came up this idea was brilliant because those particular scenes bring down the house. Overall this was a somewhat decent way to “end” the franchise. Although if you follow movie news, know that Toy Story 4 is headed our way next year. It will be interesting to see where the gang goes from here since they expanded by about 20, and will the scars of their days at Sunnyside leave them unable to trust anyone else. 6/10