Woody using what seems to resemble a Nokia cellphone to call Andy's what seems to be a flip phone. Not only has Andy grown up physically and mentally, his choice of phone model also changed to not only keep up with the latest trend at that time but also having more features in the phone for convenience is definitely life moving forward for Andy indeed.
If you look back at the first movie, Woody, always Andy's most favourite toy, was strongly at risk of becoming like Lotso. If he couldn't have him, no-one could. In the second movie he learned to share. Now he goes to Bonnie's house and excites her, even being called the hero, but he suddenly realises that just because a child plays with one toy a lot, doesn't mean they're the favourite.
Most of the toys seem to know little to nothing about what daycare even is. Woody is the exception and seems to know quite a lot about daycare. Makes sense once you realize that Woody has been Andy's favorite since he was very young and likely went with him to daycare a few times.
Buzz despite being a bulky toy had trouble breathing after Lotso hugged him. Everyone who receives a bearhug in real life will know how it feels like.
As confirmed by Word of God that Kingdom Hearts III is canon, we have Woody here insisting for everyone to go home. He was kind of skeptical of the daycare, mainly of Lotso and is right when things went from bad to worse. Back in Kingdom Hearts III, it is Buzz who did the insisting to go back home to Andy's room and he was just as skeptical of Sora, Donald and Goofy until things went from bad to worse. And Woody's and Sora's The Reason You Suck speech to Young Xehanort? It kind of hurt Young Xehanort but he did not show it, players would know when they play Kingdom Hearts Union X. If the same was spoken to Lotso, it would definitely sting a lot more than it already did since Lotso is already quite lost in the shadows and forgot about the light that cast them... so instead of putting down Lotso, Woody tries to persuade Lotso instead though it falls on deaf ears. Even if Andy and the toys grew apart and eventually donated away, their hearts are still connected as shown when Andy played with his toys alongside Bonnie one last time before heading for college.
A Totoro plush makes an appearance, but he doesn't have any lines. The reason for this is because he is a Japanese-made toy, so he doesn't speak English. On top of that, Totoro's character never spoke in the first place. If he had said anything, it would've just been a big roar.
The film was released 15 years after the original. The same time the kids who saw the original would be going to college, growing up, and throwing away their old toys. And the parents coping with the fact their children they took to see the first two movies have grown up just like Andy...
At the beginning, when Woody is trying to convince the other toys that going to the attic won't be so bad, he says "someday Andy will have his own kids". Woody must have gone through a kid growing up before. Woody's Roundup was a black-and-white TV show from the 1950's, and a previous Troper mentioned Andy getting Woody from his father. He knows that a decade or so is worth the wait to get another kid.
With Woody being a family heirloom from his father's side practically being confirmed, Mr. Potato Head's "He's been Andy's favorite since kindergarten!" comment probably means that something happened to Mr. Davis while Andy was in kindergarten (namely, death or divorce) that caused Andy to attach to him.
Which would make sense—Molly is a toddler, but not talking, in the first movie, and Andy is about seven. This would mean Andy could have been five when his dad died/took off.
Concerning the film's'' marketing: remember "The Boys Are Back in Town" being used to advertise the film. It's more than just a lame pun. Listen to the second verse. It's about remembering the good ol' times. And if the final scene is any indication, it's a major theme of this film as well.
At first it seems like the toys are being a little self-centered in immediately requesting a transfer to the older kids' playroom (somebody has to play with the Caterpillar kids) — but given their cast by that point, they genuinely aren't made for toddlers. The majority of them have small, detachable accessories - such as Hamm's cork, Buzz's arms and wings, and all of the Potato Heads' individual pieces - that can be a serious choking hazard, and Slinky's metal spring could easily cut or strangle a child. Putting these toys in the Caterpillar Room could be just as dangerous for the younger children playing with them as it is for the toys themselves.
As this potential risk goes unmentioned in the film, Lotso seems perfectly willing to be ignore the childrens' safety to ensure the newer toys suffer, which also makes sense given his backstory. Ever since Daisy replaced him, Lotso now only sees children as ungrateful, destructive brats who just use toys until they get bored of them and throw them away. From Lotso's perspective, letting them play with toys that aren't age-appropriate - with a high chance of hurting themselves in the process - could also be a fitting punishment for the children.
The term Deus ex Machina comes from the Latin "god out of machine." The machina was actually a giant crane that would lower a platform an actor stood on to create the special effect of a god coming down from the heavens and fixing the plot. The Claw!
In this same vein, the Aliens taking control of the crane seems like a pretty awesome Brick Joke as it is. However, when you remember that the Aliens were the ones who worshiped The Claw and believed that it controlled their destiny, it suddenly takes a whole new meaning when you realize that in a way, the Aliens are taking control of their own lives and have learned to do things for themselves. Considering that this is a film about growing up and the Aliens were arguably the most childish of the talking characters, it serves as an excellent metaphor for learning rely on yourself, which is a huge theme in growing up.
The crane's controls seem fairly simplistic. Considering the Aliens come from a claw machine with see-through-casing that's clear on both sides, they likely saw that the Claw needed to be controlled, could've seen how a child controlled it. Hence how they managed to use it.
I couldn't stop wondering why Andy obsessed over Woody any more than his other toys, after all, the rest were just as beloved. Then it hit me — Andy isn't exactly stupid, he probably knew about the age and value of the Woody dolls, after all, a large museum in Japan willing to pay many zeros worth of money for the toys isn't exactly going to go unnoticed. He was reluctant to give away Woody not only for sentimental value, but for intrinsic value as well.
It's doubtful that this could be true in any context since it's never shown or inferred that Andy would know about the money value of any of his toys. Also, the whole plot of Toy Story 2 is saying that such endeavors will ultimately leave you a broken person.
Also, not only is it unlikely that a kid Andy's age in the first two movies would be aware of the value of collectible toys (particularly in an era before the Internet was widely used), but if it was the case that Andy was planning to sell Woody in the future, he would have avoided playing with him to preserve his value.
The last scene, specifically, on the part where Andy is introducing each toy to Bonnie. It wasn't just the Heartwarming MomentsTear Jerker it was because it showed that Andy still valued and remembered his toys... it's because he described each one exactly how that toy would've wanted, even if it wasn't quite accurate to the toy's real personality.
Jessie probably most wanted to not feel abandoned yet again... and what better way than to introduce her first?
Rex is recognized as the "meanest, toughest dinosaur who ever lived," and that's what he was trying to be when he first appeared. He even appears to scare Bonnie just a little.
Slinky "is as loyal as any dog you could ever want," and Slinky always seems to be sad that he's not loyal enough. Like on the part where he "should've held on longer."
Buzz Lightyear is "the coolest toy ever!" This reminds me of the part in the first movie where Woody gets Buzz his hope back by saying, "you are a cool toy!" It's also nice since earlier, Woody was picked to go to college instead of Buzz and he just gets put in the attic, even after Andy contemplates for a bit.
Andy claims the Potato Heads are "madly in love," and they really just seem like any old married couple by the time of this film, especially after the incinerator peril.
Woody's is so deep that it looks more like Andy's giving up a true friend than an inanimate object. Woody is actually acknowledged for his very real dedication both to staying with Andy and giving him a chance, and to his fellow toys. Andy is also noticeably reluctant to let Woody go, which utterly blows away all of Woody's insecurities about Andy that he's had to suffer through the whole series.
All of this makes me think that their personalities might be this way they are because Andy sees them so, and actually creates those traits in them in the way he plays with them, making them form the roles they play out in his games. Even when playing baddies they tend to exhibit the same qualities — think of the Potato Heads in the opening sequence, still very much a husband-and-wife team, and Slink their loyal forcefield dog!
Andy has both Buzz and Woody in his hands. After some thinking, he decides to take Woody along to college and throw Buzz out. This scene mimics a near identical one in the first film, where Andy decides to take Buzz along and throw Woody down like trash. The difference between their reactions — Woody is filled with rage in the first film, and Buzz never mentions it again and doesn't seem to hold it against Woody — shows how much more Woody feels attached to Andy than Buzz, and how much more mature Buzz is than Woody.
A lot of people keep saying here that the toys get thrown in the trash, but that really wasn't the first intention. Andy put them in a trash bag, yes, but he put the toys on the ladder that led up to the attic, wanting them to be stored instead. But because he left them in a trash bag, the mom thought that it was garbage and put the toys out on the curb. So really, the whole reason why they didn't go into the attic in the first place was because Andy didn't think that maybe he should have listened to his mom and put them in a cardboard box for the attic instead.
At the end, when the toys are ready to go into the attic, Woody quickly writes a note that Andy sees a minute later (resulting in him giving his toys to Bonnie). However, as we saw, Woody was primed to go with Andy to college, yet he's found in the same box as all the others... it can be interpreted that deep down, he wants to go with Andy, but also doesn't want to be away from his friends. So ultimately, Woody put himself in that box to let Andy decide his "fate".
Another one with a spoiler. The toys belonged to Andy all the way from film one through three. In the end, he gives them to Bonnie. They were first with A and are now with B! Bonnie, in her turn, will give them to a C kid (or the day Care).
Why does Rex slide down quicker in the beginning of the incinerator scene? He can't climb as well, because of his short, stubby arms.
Why didn't Buzz go back to normal when the toys switched him back to play mode? Because since he was reset to demo mode, he would have lost the memories he'd learned during the 12 years of the first two movies. Ouch. How he got those memories back after getting hit by a TV is another matter that Eric W cannot figure out.
Rex accidentally switched him into Spanish mode by holding the button "for more than 5 seconds," and his memory was rebooted via The Power of Love just like WALL•E.
It's true! Look closely when he gets first switched to demo mode: Buzz's batteries were made by BnL!
His memories were there all along, as evidenced by him being smitten with Jessie no matter what mode he was in; even when he was Brainwashed and Crazy, he called her a "temptress" and was "immune to her bewitching good looks".
He got his memories back from the T.V. because that's how he realized he was a toy in the first movie!
First time around, the TV had to hit him over the head figuratively. Time wasn't really on their side this time around, so it needed to take a more direct approach.
This is delving into the psychology, so spoilers abound. The primary theme of the film can be likened to life and death, and more specifically, the afterlife. The toys are approaching the end of their life (with Andy). The garbage representing hell or oblivion while the attic is a temporary purgatory, a world of nothing that will be passed.
The Day Care is another sort of purgatory, a world without extremes. They can play with children and never have to worry about being abandoned, but they'll never have the kind of connection they had with Andy. That's how it's supposed to work, at any rate. Lotso has subverted the system, creating his own heaven and hell (the Butterfly Room and Caterpillar Room respectively) and setting himself up as a false god, choosing who goes where.
On this logic, Andy is something of a god to the Toys. Throughout all the movies, they worship him in their own way, seeking his favor, and putting his desires above their own. Woody is analogous to a high priest. He's favored above most of the toys, who in turn look to him for leadership. When the other's are worried about what's going to happen to them, Woody preaches that they should have faith in Andy and that everything will be fine as long as they believe in him.
In the context of kids being like gods, Lotso's last major quote gains an interesting significance: "Where's your kid now, sheriff?"
In the end, the toys are rewarded with reincarnation as they are given to Bonnie. - Beacon 80
So, I finally watch TS3, and with it comes this: You know how in the first movie Buzz thinking he was really from Star Command was played just for laughs? And in the second movie when it's the "wrong" Buzz, it's also Played for Laughs because he thinks he's still at Star Command? It gets brought up again in TS3— but it's most definitely notplayed for laughs— instead Lotso uses one of the funnier running gags in the first movie, and managed to make it something horrifying and terribly sad. Damn you Lotso... —Loracarol
Well, yeah, he's a teddy bear made to be loved and played with and he hates children. Who else would corrupt something so entertaining?
The incinerator scene is the most brilliant piece of cinema ever made. Many people (Disney management included) see TS3 as the film that could finally break the glass ceiling for animation as far as being able to win a Best Picture Oscar. The biggest hurdle to overcome with this is the Animation Age Ghetto and people feeling it's an inherently lower art form. Pixar has obviously been the most prolific studio in trying to turn this around, but regardless of how dark and edgy they make a film. as long as it is made to appeal to any audience they alienate the academy voters who believe solely in the realm of and True Art Is Angsty. So what do they do at the climax of one of the most beloved franchises of all time? They set it up to kill all the characters. When it gets to that point, they end up subverting Like You Would Really Do It and Disney Death by playing them entirely straight. You as an audience member are thinking to yourself "there's no way....it's Disney...but then again, it's Pixar...." and they leave you hanging up until the Deus ex Machina that is arguably the biggest CMOA in the series. Everyone in the theater is cheering and applauding but the whole thing was just a fake out. You move on from that point to the true ending and realize killing them off in the fire would have been a complete cop out. Sure, people would have cried, but it would have come off as a cheap ending wouldn't have had nearly the same effect as Andy giving them away did. The Bittersweet Ending ended up having a far greater emotional impact on the audience and did so without resorting to a standard Rule of Drama resolution.
Something this troper realized. The reason that everyone survives? They all hold hands to meet their fate. Had they continued to fight and climb the garbage individually it's very likely that they would get spread out and the claw would not have saved all of them. Instead, by staying together to the bitter end, they all live.
Woody does keep saying that it'll be okay if they all stick together... and because they do, it is.
Anyone notice the final shot of the third film was the same thing as the first shot of the first film? The cloudy wallpaper opened the first movie and ended the last one showing that this ending is just another beginning.
A commonly raised point ofFridge Logic about the third movie is that the toys that were sent to the Caterpillar Room were not age-appropriate (in particular, the Potato Heads with their detachable, easily choked-on parts) and should have been removed by the adults. If you think about it, this fits in with Lotso's overall philosophy for two main reasons. Firstly, the toys are not age-appropriate for small children because they break easily; under the rough treatment they receive from toddlers, those kinds of toys would be lucky to last a day or two before being ruined beyond repair and thrown in the trash. Secondly, if by some chance a child did happen to choke or be injured on an inappropriate toy, the most likely result would be that the daycare center would be closed down. What would most likely happen to all the toys? Thrown away, and thus fitting with Lotso's philosophy that humans ultimately don't care about toys and that they're just 'trash'. Lotso is effectively creating a prophecy that is destined to fulfill itself.
Regarding Lotso, specifically the seemingly Misaimed Merchandising involved with Disney's mass-production of Lotso toys. Turns out, it's not misaimed...it's targeted specifically at the kids who felt sorry for the villain. The toy is cute and cuddly, and not at all indicative of Lotso's truestatus within the story, in stark contrast to every other Disney villain ever...on purpose, to encourage kids to love their Lotso. It's like a Real Life Aesop in plush form.
Also a great way to make The Reveal more shocking.
Lotso says to Ken in the midst of the latter's Heel–Face Turn, "She's a Barbie doll! There's a hundred million others just like her!" And Ken turns and says, "Not for me, there's not." There's a lesson in there. Sure, it's Played for Laughs, sort of, but think about it: we all pigeonhole people into fitting into certain categories: the Alpha Bitch, the Jerk Jock, the Brainless Beauty, the Granola Girl — all the time. But no matter how "stereotypical" someone seems, when you get to know them, and love them, they're instantly one-of-a-kind, irreplaceable. And that's true for toys and people.
Think about it — his Barbie may look like every other ditz, but this one tore up precious clothing, putting her friends ahead of material possessions. This Barbie has risen above material goods and she's got guts and brains. Her friends aren't just other ditzy Barbies, but the less popular toys with deep personalities. She's all the things we DON'T think of when we think of Barbie. She really IS special.
Now, Bonnie is obviously supposed to remind us of a young Andy. But there's one moment in particular that shows how much she reminded Woody of Andy. The shot where she scoops up all of her toys exclaiming "You saved us cowboy! You're our hero!" and hugs them all to her chest is nearly identical to a shot at the beginning of the film where young Andy does the same thing. Woody is even in the same place. It's a brilliantly subtle visual cue showing Woody's feelings about Bonnie.
Anyone else notice that it was on seeing Andy's mom's reaction to him going to college that Woody decided to donate himself and the rest of the toys to Bonnie? It is as if Woody saw how similar he was to Andy's mom in reluctance to let go of Andy. One cannot help but think in light of this that Woody's refusal to let go of his attachment to Andy is a metaphor for parental refusal to let go of attachment to their children.
This troper's school was recently visited by animators from Pixar, and had quite a few brilliant aspects of the lighting pointed out to him. Throughout the film, several of the characters have specific shades of light assigned to them. Rewatch it. Andy is surrounded by blue light, Lotso by red/pink and yellow light, and Bonnie almost always appears in the shadows of leaves. The toy truck that carries Lotso around shines a yellow light, and when you see a yellow light inside the vending machine that Buzz investigates, you can see that the animators are already telling you that Lotso is involved. Even the sepia tones of his flashback sequence take on new meaning when you start to notice the lights elsewhere. As far as Bonnie, the first time that she meets Woody, he's hanging under a tree, and the final gifting of the toys takes place under a tree in her yard. Even her room is made to look like a wooded meadow. The idea was that dappled lighting is soothing, and the makers wanted to manipulate the audience into feeling more comfortable in Bonnie's presence.
Which adds another layer to the rescue at the end. What color light shines on the heroes just before they're saved?
When Woody tries to highlight the advantages of living in the attic, he mentions how fun the Christmas decorations are. The Potato Heads don't entirely agree (not much is made of it). Don Rickles and Estelle Harris were both Jewish and played it up in their entertainment work.
Anyone else pick up on how Buzz's brainwashing and shift to Spanish could be slight nods to the original concept for Toy Story 3? Simply ignore the part of Buzz being recalled, but having a malfunction, and you have at least part of the premise worked into the story.
Compare Andy and Bonnie's rooms, and the way the toys behave in these environments. Andy's room growing up was relatively neat, with each toy well cared-for and in its proper place. The toys behave as if this is their workplace. They have staff meetings, they craft agendas, they worry about being replaced (fired). Meanwhile, Bonnie's room is a bit more chaotic, full of finger paintings and bright colorful decorations. The toys there behave like an improv acting troupe. With the exception of Mister Pricklepants, no one in Bonnie's room takes things too seriously; rather than seeing themselves as employees, they see themselves as actors reveling in their craft.
We see Mrs. Potato Head is considered Andy's toy despite having been given to Molly at the end of the first movie, but we also see Molly tossing away the Magic 8-Ball, which used to be Andy's toy in the first movie, Andy must have traded the ball for Mrs. Potato Head to keep possession of every toy that was important to him. He may have done this after losing Bo Peep to ensure nobody else was lost.
Speaking of the Potatoheads it may seem weird that Andy gave them roles during his playtime that reflected their actual relationships (The Potatoheads as a couple with the Little Green Aliens as their children) but remember the first movie when 'Woody' tells 'One-Eyed Bart' to say goodbye to the wife and tater-tots? Andy had already decided Bart had a wife and kids so he just stuck the new toys into the previously established roles!
Andy becomes even cooler in retrospect when you see the opening scene and remember that this is how he used them during playtime and realized Andy's fond of Action Girls. Sure, Jesse's to be expected but he also cast Mrs. Potato Head as a ninja who outfights Woody! This likely means the only reason Bo Peep wasn't kicking ass is that she's too fragile!
I realized, indirectly, Sid redeems himself. It's his garbage truck that takes them to Andy's house in time to go to Bonnie's.
One man's trash is another man's treasure as the saying goes.
A lot of people have pointed out the brilliance of the claw returning and saving the main cast, but there's a minor point that's not been discussed as much. The aliens use The Claw to rescue the main toys and they can return to Andy and move onto a new life with Bonnie, while Lotso leaves before the claw arrives, and he ends up trapped on the front of the dumptruck presumably forever. Now, however you choose to interpret it, think back to the original description of The Claw from the first movie.
A lot of elements of the opening "playtime" scene subtly foreshadow future events in the movie. For example:
It begins with Woody chasing down a runaway train on horseback, determined to rescue the "orphans." Similarly, we see Woody later mount Buster (or at least attempt to), like one would a horse, and chase after a garbage truck to rescue his friends.
When the train plummets into the ravine, and it look's like Woody is gone; Jessie is distraught. Later in the movie, Woody leaves the gang; and Jessie is the one who takes it the worst, assuming Woody is "never coming back."
Just when it looks like everything will turn out okay, Evil Dr. Porkchop shows up. He's evil and pink. Just like Lotso, who also interferes with the heroes' plans.
Evil Dr. Porkchop initiates "Death by Monkeys." Who is one of Lotso's most dangerous minions? The Monkey!
And finally, the heroes are captured and staring down the barrel of Dr. Porkchop's death ray. They close their eyes and anticipate the end. This parallels the toys quietly accepting their fate in the incinerator.
Barbie is the only toy who is still at the Daycare by the end. Why? Because unlike the others, she wasn't Andy's toy and was supposed to be donated in the first place.
Barbie blurts out "authority should be derived from the consent of the governed, not by the threat of force!" at a certain point of the movie. It's not just a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment — Barbie dolls have accessories and clothes for just about every profession / trade in existence. She genuinely knows a great deal about just about everything!
Including, if you're curious, President of the United States. However, there is no Generalissimo Barbie.
Let's also look into how Barbie acts in the film: While being lovey-dovey with Ken like how a stereotypical Barbie would act, she did break up with him when she sees that he is working for the bad guy...and is able to trick him into taking her to his dream house again to get information, and even sneaks up on him and is able to hold him down. And she is actually very intimidating; Of course she can do all this stuff. Here's some of the jobs a Barbie can have; A Cop, a military officer, and careers in medicine and technology. So she's tough and smart. Why does this also make sense? Simple; it seems some toys have innate knowledge of what kind of skills their characters are. (Buzz is a skilled martial artist for example due to having a karate chop action, and Jessie and Woody are skilled horseback riders because they're western toys, the Dinosaur warrior toys from the Christmas special are skilled combatants as well. Even Rex is able to show some brute muscle every now and again because he's a T-rex). So really, Barbie is a Jack of All Trades compared to her friends because of her franchise's expansive history.
The hellish imagery of the incinerator takes a whole level of brilliance when one recalls that in the original Greek New Testament of the Bible, "Hell" was referred to as "Gehenna" or the valley of Hinnom, had been declared a cursed valley after some of the Kings of Judea sacrificed their children through fire. It was then relegated in the New Testament as...a garbage pit.
When you tried to change a the favorite toy of a child with a similar toy, they often reject it because "it doesn't smell" like the original toy. The child spend lots of time with him and after a few time, he didn't smell like a fresh new toy. If Daisy didn't notice the difference between her old Lotso and the new one, it's because they all smell like strawberries.
The video games, like the one for Phineas And Ferb Across The Second Dimension, use orchestra music that sounds out of place and really dark for a Toy Story game. It even uses "Grim Grinning Ghosts" from the Haunted Mansion. What is that doing here?! It's because all of Toy Story 3 is so dark compared to the rest of the series! Grim Grinning Ghosts just highlights how different it is!
Grim Grinning Ghosts plays in the Haunted Mansion in the Toy Box mode. If it's in someone's imagination, maybe that's why it appeared in Inside Out?
It's stated that no-one managed to escape prior to Woody, but he gets out with relative ease. From what we see, everyone else tried escaping at night, while the humans were gone and Lotso could have his security Monkey up. Woody pulled it off because he's the only one who thought to try escaping during the day. Lotso probably didn't think anyone would be bold enough to try escaping when they could be caught by the humans.
Plus, Woody has the perks of being humanoid (allowing him to climb and hold into things), relatively small and light (allowing him to hide and get from area to area easily) and having very few extra parts to keep track of. He'd likely have had a way easier time getting out on his own than, say, Rex, Mr. Potato Head or the Aliens.
When the toys first arrive at Sunnyside, Buzz mentions that the other toys might be jealous of new arrivals. Who would know better about inciting jealousy than Buzz Lightyear, the guy who upstaged Woody as Andy's favorite toy when he first showed up?
Meta-example, but having Barbie and Ken be played by Jodi Benson and Michael Keaton isn't entirely coincidental. Remember, both actors happened to star in the biggest blockbuster hits of 1989—The Little Mermaid for Benson and Batman for Keaton—and those roles made for major marketing pushes for Disney and Warner Brothers thanks to their successes. Now look in the film and see who they're playing; Jodi's role as Barbie is not too dissimilar to Ariel, except Ariel is a Wide-Eyed Idealist, and Barbie is Plastic Hiding Steel. Michael's role is the polar opposite of The Dark Knight, being In Touch with His Feminine Side and being more openly emotional and vulnerable. It's a perfect mix of Playing Against Type and an In-UniverseToy Ship!
In the tie-in game, Lotso appears as a friendly ally in the Toy Box mode with no hint of the villainy he displayed in the movie (or even the game's story mode). Considering the Lotso in the Toy Box lacks a walking stick (which the one in the game's adaptation of Sunnyside still has) and Lotso's backstory, it's entirely plausible that the Lotso in the Toy Box is a completely different character altogether - maybe even the one Daisy replaced the original Lotso with.
Woody says daycare is "Sad, washed up toys with no home." It was basically an inaccurate description, but it winds up perfectly telling the audience where the film's main villain came from. Hell, Lotso found Sunnyside in the rain. Washed up indeed.
Fridge Horror
The way Andy's mom suggests donating the toys to Sunnyside implies that this has happened to Andy's toys before. At least some of the side characters from the first two films ended up at Sunnyside and were destroyed by the preschoolers.
Lotso mentions they have spare parts in the Butterfly Room. Where do you think these parts come from?
Ken's dream tour. He's essentially showing all the ill-fated toys What Could Have Been before passing them over to the Caterpillar Room, the toy's equivalent of a torture chamber.
At a point in the film, Sunnyside's guards bent Lightyear over, forcibly removed the coverings for his batteries, and did something to a normally covered part which changed his state of mind, which he had for much of the movie.
To top it off, Sunnyside is referred to as a prison later on in the film.
Mrs. Potato Head's fate. She wasn't really a major character until she lost her eye. During the incinerator scene, all the other toys would have been completely destroyed because their pieces are all together, but because her eye was safe at Andy's house, she'd still be alive, watching forever with her one eye. She'd be the only one left.
Perhaps the Potato Heads' souls/consciousness resides in their main bodies (but, like the other parts, remain functional when separated). If those were destroyed, they'd be as "dead" as any of the other toys.
The scene where Mr. Potato Head throws his parts out the window and moves to a tortilla and then a cucumber proves that it's the parts that are alive and the plastic potato is lifeless. So it is likely Mrs. Potato Head would be a sentient, disembodied eye. At least until Andy's mom sweeps and throws away the useless toy part.
Not necessarily; all that scene proves is that they can still control their limbs while they're separate from their bodies. The main potato being intact could still be necessary to do this.
Lotso assigned the new toys to the Caterpillar Room because they were "running low on volunteers" (like he'd care if a toy volunteered or not) and because new toys are stronger and hardier. Here's the thing: he couldn't have cared less whether those toys were safe for the toddlers. Most of Andy's toys are all one piece, but Slinky's coil was metal and a kid could have cut his hand. Plus the Potato Heads' pieces are small, and one kid was shoving an eye up his nostril; it would be easy to choke on those. Who knows what other less-than-safe toys got thrown in the Caterpillar Room over the years?
Following on from this: how well run is Sunnyside from a human perspective? Not only is nobody noticing all these age-inappropriate toys getting thrown in the Caterpillar Room all the time, but the kids are openly destroying them and nobody's doing a thing about it. Even leaving aside the fact that they probably wouldn't have to rely on donations so much if they at least made an effort to look after them, broken toys can have sharp edges/small pieces that can put kids at risk. At best, the place is probably understaffed.
Sure, Woody and the gang escaped from the incinerator and found a nice home with Bonnie. It seems like a nice happy ending, until you realize that sooner or later, they are still going to wear out. Baring the slight possibility that Woody, Jesse, and Bullseye might end up on display, which is horrific in and of itself, eventually the gang is still going to end up in a landfill, while still "alive"—and now they know it. Any enjoyment they have with Bonnie or other kids is going to be sullied by anticipating that.
Actually, the premise of the Toy Story in general. Toys don't age, and are hypothetically capable of living for centuries as long as they're well cared for. Judging by the third movie, however, it seems that toys possess a natural self-preservation instinct that persists much, much longer than the lifespan of the average toy; even those which have lived extraordinarily long and fulfilling lives still intensely fear death. Put these things together. All toys will one day die violently and in fear. This is probably the only way they can die. If it isn't: the odds are overwhelmingly against most toys lasting as long as Andy's favorite's do, since humans have no idea toys are living things, and think nothing of subjecting toys to abuse, neglect, product recall, incineration, waste compaction, and burial alive (the last three being what happens to toys sent to a landfill). For every toy in the world that is deeply loved, how many are lonely unfavorites or poorly-made junk doomed to be thrown out when they break three days after purchase? How many are quietly disposed of by retailers after they fail to sell during the holiday season? Did we mention that toys are apparently alive from the point of manufacture, even when they're never removed from their original packaging? And that they're apparently capable of claustrophobia? Oh, wait. Toy Story 2 mentioned both those things in the same scene.
All the toys you played with as a child were alive. All of them. Those times your parents stepped on them? The time you switched their arms around? They were aware of it all. And when they went into the toy box they were alone. Alone in complete darkness.
While Woody and co. are obviously designed for older children, it's notable that when the Caterpillar Room kids come back from recess, even the toys that seem clearly designed for kids that age are terrified of them. They don't enjoy being played with that way either. This suggests that all toys designed specifically for that age group are basically trapped in a hellish state where they are constantly (and unknowingly) abused by their owners, just as part of normal play-time. Then, when their kid finally gets old enough to play with them 'properly', they almost certainly outgrow them, and the lucky ones move on to another toddler while the unlucky ones face the incinerator.
Some of the toys that the children play with are insane and motivated to seek revenge. They can squeeze through the tightest of spaces and survive far more damage than any living creature. They know where you sleep. They know where you keep your knives. Sweet Dreams.
Sort of related. LEGO. Your creations are alive. And then you need some bricks for a different project. Just mull over that for a while.
The ending is creepy in multiple ways: Lotso has probably escaped from worse situations before (unlike Stinky Pete in the second film, who can never be "mint in box" again, which was a key goal of his), and Sunnyside will still be just as bad (there's no suggestion Lotso's gang would suddenly give up their privileged positions, and there still have to be some toys in the Caterpillar Room). Oh, and Jesse casually mentions she can activate Buzz's Spanish mode for fun (which to Buzz is basically Mind Rape)
There's one scene in the epilogue where a toy being roughed up in the Caterpillar Room tags out with another toy (and they were both Lotso's henchmen prior), indicating an agreement for the Caterpillar Room to be a shared burden between a lot more toys so that no one toy takes enough punishment to be damaged. So there's at least been some improvement.
We only see Sarge and two other Army Men, there used to be a whole bucket of them. Suddenly Sarge's warning that "the Army Men are the first to go" when the trash bags come out sounds a lot more chilling.
At the end, Andy gives Bonnie his toys and everyone treats it as a satisfying conclusion. But what will happen when Bonnie outgrows them?!
In the scene where the Chatter Telephone is telling Woody how to escape, he shows Woody a toy train being dumped in the garbage disposal, saying that's the only way toys leave. Andy's toys got lucky, because there's an entire group of them, helping each other out, but toys that are thrown away individually, or toys too small for evasive skill, would end up in the pit, slowly sliding to a painful burning death. That is if they somehow survived the shredder that preceded the furnace. Either way, neither would be a pleasant.
Chatter also shows a montage of TearJerkingly cute toys attempting to escape, but are captured by Lotso, and presumably broken and thrown away. It isn't a mystery why some people assume this movie was inspired by the Holocaust.
Where did the Buzz Lightyear Manual come from...? Oh, right, Buzz Lightyear's franchise was ten years ago. Some other Buzz got donated while Andy's Buzz was safe in Andy's house, but we never see the donated Buzz, meaning that it's fairly obvious what happened to him...
An unsettling element occurs during Chuckles' flashback, where upon discovering Daisy has gotten a new Lotso, the former bear insists they've been replaced. Chuckles starts to correct him, claiming she only replaced Lotso, leading him to be intimidated into silence. Even if it was just a bad choice of wording, it almost sounded like Chuckles was about to deem Lotso Somebody Else's Problem, climb back into Daisy's room and leave him to his fate alone. It also adds further Fridge Horror to both Chuckles' morose nature and Lotso's Villainous Breakdown when Woody uses the exact same phrase. His complete antipathy to other toys is fueled by the fact that he himself, at least in his eyes, got No Sympathy from them during his Darkest Hour.
There's just a whole lot of What You Are in the Dark that's never answered to that whole situation. What exactly would have been Lotso's fate if he hadn't snapped?
Buster the dog reappears and he's old, fat and slow. Yeah, he's not gonna be around much longer...
Even with Lotso gone, there’s still a strong risk of toys being broken and sent to the dump from Sunnyside, simply because the humans are unaware that they are alive.
Fridge Tear Jerker: Jessie is the one to tell Lotso that she'd rather rot in a dumpster than submit to his rule. Think about it: Lotso's rule over Sunnyside was just so horrible that Jessie would rather face her two biggest fears (confined spaces and abandonment) with no hope of escape than deal with him any longer.
