June Film Club: Toy Story

The gang is back with Woody, Buzz Lightyear and Jessie; they have been faced with a new toy challenge. When they become face to face with Lillypad, a new tablet device with her disruptive ideas and plans, she wants to decide what's best for Bonnie. But do the toys know her better? Will playtime ever be the same again?

As a 23 year old, I grew up with Disney and especially Toy Story. Still a Woody and Buzzlightyear owner myself it only felt right to feel nostalgic and watch a good old cartoon. 

Watching this new film, prior I hadn't even watched the trailer so I didn't know the storyline or where the story was going to go. All my life I have watched the films on repeat and grown up with them so it was like seeing old friends again. 

It was very nostalgic as the story linked all the way back to Toy Story 2. Jessie's story looped back around. As soon as I saw Jessie's old home with her first owner, Emily and the music played I was sobbing. Little old me, was taken back in time to the first time Jessie was left behind. Back in the 2000’s we were left with a sad story, and you'll be happy to know you find the story changes and isn't so sad after all. It was good to see all the characters from all films tie together and have a role to play.

What I love about Disney is they are always traditional and stick to what we know. No characters had a dramatic change and it felt like putting some old shoes on. And for us viewers who are watching in their twenties/thirties, we appreciate this. It is always good to not mess with what is already perfect as it is. As they say if ain’t broke, don't fix it.

It was sad in some parts especially as we got to know Bonnie even more. Feeling ‘weird’ and ‘different’ than the other kids was heartbreaking to watch. She loves to play and is the kid that everyone should be away from screens. Which actually isn't weird at all, but now within this day and age, it is normalized to be involved with tech from a young age. The narrative of kids growing up too fast and going into the world of screens is a harsh but sad reality, and Disney didn't shy away from the truth. It is how the world is now, but that doesn't mean it's right. As part of Gen Z nothing frightens me more than to bring my own children into this world and this be the reality. It was a good lesson for everyone to learn from this film. That it is important to keep children as children for as long as you can. Friendships that have depth and connection don't come from being online. To make sure our children are present and in the real world. It was humbling for a cartoon to recognise and create this message across. 

As much as it was sad in parts, it definitely hit the humor mark. I definitely think watching cartoons as an adult is way better than being a child. There were little comments and gestures made that go amiss along with the chaos of the film. It had all the excitement from one character's story to another. 

My one part that I didn't particularly click with is the army of Buzz’s. As much as it did add a lot of laughs and giggles towards the end, at the start I was confused. The scenes shifted from back with the toys and Bonnie to a pack of Buzz’s on a stranded island on a mission to get to the star. With this swapping back and forth, every time it focused back onto the army I would be thinking: ‘I forgot about them in the film’ or ‘where is this going?’

Overall I would rate this 4.5/5.