Last weekend, my 14-year-old and I went to see Toy Story 3.
By the end both my son and I were in tears, and we had a hard time keeping ourselves together until we got home and could sob a little in peace. It struck both of us in a tender spot.
In the story, Andy, the boy, is getting ready to go off to college, and his mom is fussing at him to decide what he is going to throw away, donate, or put in the attic. He still has a toy box of his favorite toys, but he hasn't played with them for years. He reluctantly puts most of his faithful toys into a garbage bag to take up to the attic, but through a series of events, they nearly get thrown away and then end up getting donated to a nightmare of a daycare center. The toys escape, and try to make their way back to Andy. The journey is harrowing, exciting, intense and even has a moment where it seems that the toys are truly facing a horrifying end together.
Woody the Cowboy, Andy's favorite toy, keeps faith throughout that Andy loves his toys. In the end, Woody's faith in Andy is justified very sweetly, and all ends well.
The theme underneath it all was the difficulty of moving on, outgrowing a stage in life and moving on to the next; of leaving behind childish things, of changing relationships and honoring the past by passing on the things that are cherished instead of putting them away to be forgotten.
Both my son and I are in the process of these changes in our own lives. He still loves kid stuff, but is drawn towards teen and grown up interests. He is a very sentimental person. Even when he was 4, he had me take pictures of him with all his favorite toys "so my kids will know what I played with when I was their age." He still has his tattered baby blanket he has had since he was born under his pillow at night. We have a fair number of toys that have been boxed in the basement, too precious to give away, still visited when younger friends come over with guilty pleasure. When Andy gives the beloved toys to his 3 year old neighbor and enjoys playing with them with her one more time before wistfully leaving home for college, it just broke my son up.
I have heard from other friends that they have had similar reactions to this movie. Even those of us who have been adults for quite some time feel the visceral tug of love and longing for our own toys and childhood pastimes we have long put away. Things such as these can still resonate with as much love and comfort in memory as we put into them in the first place.
For me, well...I'm approaching the first year where I don't have a child in my house anymore--I will have 2 teenagers. And soon, within a decade, we will be on our own again. As much as enjoy the boys as they are now, a part of me wishes so much that I could have their younger selves running around too, because I have cherished their childhoods deeply, and loved every step of the way. When Andy's mom looked around his empty room before he left for college and wept, I cried too, because that day is coming sooner than I want it to.
Pixar did it again, crafting a story that resonates deeply with both adults and children in profound ways. I give it an A++ and recommend it for everyone.
