Why ‘Toy Story 3’ is the best film in the series

Pixar has made some astonishing films over the years, and Toy Story 3 is no exception. The film holds a timeless charm that encompasses the two films before it and even provides something new for the franchise.

It came out about 12 years ago, more than a decade after the last movie was released in 1999, and has stuck with fans ever since.

When “buzz” was swirling around the film’s release, fans were understandably excited to finally see the third chapter of the series and were intensely curious as to what the filmmakers were proposing to do.

Here is what makes Toy Story 3 the best in the series.

Disclaimer: This article reflects the views of the author.

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Why Toy Story 3 is the greatest

It’s the most consequential

The first two films had a low-scale threat with Sid the delinquent neighbor kid and then, later, Stinky Pete and Zurg as a minor secondary antagonist. However, the stakes in this third installment are incredibly high.

In the vast expanse of the series, Woody and Buzz's owner Andy has grown up and is preparing to go to college. Many of the other play things have already been sold since Andy outgrew them. After the toys are mistakenly thrown onto the curb of the street, they break out and hop in Andy’s mom’s car to begin a new life at a daycare center for other children.

At the daycare center, they find the new life not to be the slice of heaven that they were dreaming of. A villainous bear named Lotso who runs the operation at the daycare threatens their way of life.

Towards the climax of Toy Story 3, the characters find themselves in a landfill and are at the point of getting incinerated. Cornered and realizing that there is no way out, the toys can do nothing but comfort each other until the small green aliens save them with “the claw."

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It has a slew of funny and zany characters

One thing that the film can definitely say about its merits is that it adds a number of memorable new characters. Whether it’s the devious Lotso bear, Barbie, or her clueless boyfriend Ken (Michael Keaton), the film adds not just characters to the storyline, but also dimensions to the characters.

Lotso's arc as an abandoned stuffed bear is captured through a similar lens as cowgirl Jessie when he and a few of his friends get lost during an outing. He later finds out that he has been replaced with a lookalike bear. The audience has a clear understanding of his motivation and why he has grown to be an embittered stuffed bear in the film.

Every new character has some sort of purpose and never seems like a waste of space in the plot of Toy Story 3. Moreover, the characters add a layer of hilarity that matches that of the first two installments.

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It wraps up the series in full circle

Despite there being a fourth film released in 2019, this was the film that wrapped the series perfectly. The story originally began with Andy playing with his toy cowboy Woody only to be replaced by a newer action figure named Buzz Lightyear. The second film details the aforementioned toys working together more closely, and Toy Story 3 sees Andy packing up to go to college and giving his toys to the neighborhood girl Bonnie.

What started out as a young boy playing with his figurine friends will only continue with a young girl who takes the mantle of caring for the figures, thus bringing the series full circle and continuing the legacy of Woody and his friends.

Its a sweet and enduring ending to the series that ended its arc on a strong note, though seemed slightly diluted by the fourth film.