The story begins with Andy as a young child, playing with his toys. Different videos his mom records of him play as time goes by.

Years have passed. Andy has just graduated from high school and is getting ready to go off to college.

As he is packing, though, his mom notices that he still has a bunch of toys from his youth. She suggests either putting them in the attic or throwing them in the trash.

Andy puts his toys in a black garbage bag and plans to take them to the attic. Woody even notices that.

But Andy’s mom mistakenly assumes that they are trash and takes them outside near where the garbage truck comes. It gets to the point where no matter how many times Woody tells the other toys that Andy still cares about them and was going to place them in the attic, they will not believe him. They firmly think that Andy is done with them since he has grown up.

At some point, the toys escape from the bag and sneak into a box. Little do they know that they are going to be donated to Sunnyside Daycare.

Once they arrive, they are greeted by this seemingly lovable teddy bear, Lotso, along with a large infant doll called Big Baby, and Ken (who becomes infatuated with Barbie upon meeting her). They give them a tour, making them confident that they’ll get played with.

Then Lotso leads them to another room called the Caterpillar Room, with toys intended for toddlers, yet Andy’s former toys don’t know that yet. They remain confident that they will have a good time.

Meanwhile, Woody gets separated from the other toys and ends up with this little girl, Bonnie. She takes him to her house and plays with him. Woody also loses his hat.

Back at Sunnyside Daycare, the kids come back inside for recess. However, since they are toddlers, they are overly rough with the toys.

By the end of the day, Andy’s former toys are exhausted from being chewed on, hit, or anything else unpleasant. Rex acknowledges that those children are a bit too young for them. He and Andy’s other former toys want to go back to the Butterfly Room with the older kids who can play with their toys nicely.

Buzz decides that he’ll go talk to Lotso about changing rooms. But once he encounters him, he discovers Lotso’s true colors. He also learns that Lotso is a toy tyrant that sends all new toys to the Caterpillar Room, even if they’re not age appropriate.

Since Lotso sees promise in altering Buzz, he opens his settings and resets him back to demo mode. This brainwashes him into thinking that Lotso is his master, thus turning him evil.

Mrs. Potato head has accidentally left her other eye at Andy’s house. But that gives her access to seeing what Andy is doing. She finds out that he’s frustrated that he can’t find his old toys.

Everyone decides to leave to go back to his place. Unfortunately, they are captured by the now-wicked Buzz, who imprisons them in baskets.

Meanwhile, while at Bonnie’s home, Woody meets some new toys who are interested in accepting him. In addition, he also meets a depressed clown toy named Chuckles. Chuckles shares that he, Lotso, and Big Baby once belonged to a girl called Daisy. One day, Daisy fell asleep on the playground and unintentionally left her toys behind. Lotso, Chuckles, and Big Baby tried to go back to her—but it was too late. She’d already replaced them, which made them feel betrayed. Then they went to Sunnyside and Lotso became a dictator.

Eventually, Woody makes his way back to Sunnyside (and is briefly shocked by the toddlers’ inability to play with their toys gently). He reunites with Andy’s old toys.

That night, they also attempt to change Buzz back to being good—except that he ends up speaking Spanish since that is the language the instructions were in. Nevertheless, they all try to escape. Sadly, though, they fail.

What is going to happen next?

This movie drew me in the entire way through. It had lots of lighthearted moments, emotional scenes, and a strong premise. There were also lots of twists and turns.

The toys remained true to their development (with the exception of Buzz when Lotso reset him). Woody remained lovable and confident as did Buzz, Mr. Potato Head, Rex, and many more. I also admired the addition of Barbie and Ken. It was not surprising that they fell in love once they saw each other.

The idea of Big Baby being evil was creative since not many films have infants as villains. I did feel a little bad for him and Lotso after they felt that Daisy replaced them. Otherwise, I enjoyed disliking them.

Andy and his little sister, Molly, had a typical sibling relationship. Molly would be the annoying younger sibling whom Andy would get impatient with. But it adds credibility and relatability to audiences.

Another perk is how there is enough backstory for this movie to stand on its own. Yes, it would technically be helpful to watch the previous two Toy Story installments since the audience would get a better understanding of Andy’s relationship with his toys. Otherwise, the viewer likely won’t be lost.

Like with many good films, the pacing was quick for the most part. That being said, some moments felt a little too slow. But that is a minor flaw.

Overall, I enjoyed Toy Story 3. It centers around the importance of friendship, teamwork, and how times change.

I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars.