Toy Story 3: A Critical Analysis

At the beginning of Toy Story 3 we see a bunch of toys that are no longer wanted or needed because Andy is grown and is about to leave for college. These are a metaphor for Andy’s parents. They were once beloved; but now they’re no longer wanted or needed by him.

Andy has a choice between throwing them out (forgetting about his parents altogether), or putting them in the attic (writing/calling every once in a while, but mostly forgetting about them).

Eventually they end up at Sunnyside Daycare, a metaphor for a nursing home. There, the toys that were once loved are abused, mistreated, and imprisoned - all the while forgotten by the kids who once loved them - until they despair of life itself.

The only way out of the place, we are told, is through the garbage chute (death). And in the end we see our merry band of misfits at the city dump (the graveyard) - their "final destination."

So the film’s message is clear: once we have “served our purpose” and our kids are grown, we have nothing to look forward to but loneliness, despair, neglect, abuse, and, ultimately, death.

Other than that, the film was good clean fun for the whole family!

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