Chicagoland

‘Toy Story 3’ good for both adults and kids

By Sr. Helena Burns, FSP | Contributor
Sunday, July 4, 2010

Can we all take a step back for a minute and marvel at what Hollywood can do? “Toy Story 3” is massively entertaining for adults and children both. Despite the over-the-top melodramatic ending that never ends, it’s very funny and suspenseful. The creepy “big baby” doll and hellfire of the dump may be scary for extremely little ones.

There’s no need to have seen the first two “Toy Story” movies to understand anything in “Toy Story 3.” The movie begins and ends with eye-popping epic sequences; the music is fantastic, hilarious and really aids the storytelling; the voice acting is incredibly well-cast; and there are tons of great, quotable lines.

“Toy Story 3” gets squarely inside a child’s head and reminds us exactly what it felt like to be a child, and how children play, dream, imagine and act their play out totally unfettered.

There are also plenty of theological reflections to make. Even though the toys are unplayed with and feel useless at this point (Andy, their “boy,” is going off to college), Woody — Andy’s favorite toy — is content to stay in the attic and simply “be there” for Andy. This says a lot about the gift and ministry of presence. True love stays. True love sticks, seen or unseen, appreciated or unappreciated. “Your life is hidden now with Christ in God” (Col 3:3).

There’s a fantastic Christian “love your enemy, save your enemy” scene toward the end that is not reciprocated by the enemy. And there’s no bitterness about that. It was done in the gratuitous spirit of the famous “Do It Anyway” poem. Another lesson learned is that enemies can become friends, but they have to want to. It’s their choice. The teddy-bear-gonebad, Mr. Lotso, says: “No owner, no heartbreak.” He has opted out of love.

There is plenty of sacrificial heroism, but even better is the point that we belong to someone (and to each other). Woody alone of all the toys truly penetrates and lives this. He urges the other toys to look at their feet where “their boy” printed his name, “Andy.” (Baptism, anyone?) “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom 14:8).

I could definitely go for a round of “Toy Story 4.”

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