When my brother and I were kids we went to see Toy Story and Toy Story 2 in the theater. I remember how impressive the graphics were compared to the old Disney cartoons. The era of digital animation had really come into its own. This is when I first noticed that the storylines were also changing. The stories though appealing the children also had bits of humor or nostalgia that only an adult would understand. Though I was never a huge fan of the films it was kind of exciting when Toy Story 3 was released, especially now that I have children of my own.

DD1 had seen the first two Toy Story movies at my sister-in-laws house. When she saw the advertisements for Toy Story 3 there was no getting around having to go see the movie in the theater. We actually waited until it was at a local dollar theater and took both girls (the little one got in free)!

The movie, just like the first two, was very well made. The animation is just what you’d expect and the characterizations of the toys was hilarious – my favorites were Ken and Barbie. As in the first two movies there was the element of adventure and suspense. In a way this was a little darker. Instead of the villains being people it was the toys that were evil. The big baby kinda creeped me out. The monkey guard wasn’t much better. DD1 noticed right away how evil the purple teddy bear was and talked about it for weeks. I was actually surprised that the content of the movie didn’t freak her out more.

If you haven’t seen the movie and would like to with your kids keep in mind that for a cartoon movie it can get a little intense with the action. Your child’s ability to handle that kind of stress should be kept in mind before watching. If they are prone to nightmares or scare easily it might not be the movie for them (the bear gets pretty mean and the big baby doll is rather creepy). If you love the Toy Story movies then this is an indispensable addition to your movie collection.