Toy Story 3

Okay, Okay, nice work Pixar! You're not perfect, but I think you're trying!

The low-down. This is a really sweet, fun movie. It's also the film I'd least recommend to anyone going off to college this fall or to somebody with a child who's leaving home. It'll break your heart.

It's still a boy-dominated franchise (in any given scene, do a quick head count of the number of males and females on screen), but I think Pixar's really making an effort here. The movie opens with an imaginary show-down between Woody and Mr. Potato Head. Predictable. But wait! Immediately, Mrs. Potato Head and then Jessie jump into the scene. Yes! It almost, ALMOST felt like the filmmakers were sending a shout-out to the many people like me who have been concerned with the lack of a female presence in their films.

Another moment that was particularly meaningful from a gender perspective was Woody's first experience at Bonnie's house. It begins with her holding a tea party for him and her other dolls. I thought, "Oh brother, here we go." Do you remember how dismissive the first movie was about Molly's tea parties? But, in 3, Pixar handles this brilliantly. Bonnie holds a tea party, but it quickly segues into an escape from an evil witch and then a space adventure. With this one decision, Pixar shows us that they have a much more nuanced view of how little girls actually play than they have previously demonstrated.

Finally, (major spoiler alert here), the fact that Andy passes his beloved dolls on to Bonnie is a huge step. Pixar, in a sense, passes the torch on to a female (10, even 5, years ago I have an inkling they would have written Bonnie's character as a boy). It also sends the message that toys are toys, fun is fun, and imagination is imagination. Play doesn't have to be gendered.

Also, two small points:

1) I like that Jessie's taller than Buzz.

2) I love the computer geek dinosaur Trixie!


A couple of complaints. (Of course.)

They introduce some new female characters, but they also bring in at least as many, probably more, male ones. All of the villains are male, for example. Even the potentially gender-neutral "big baby" is identified by masculine pronouns.

Ken is hilarious. I'll grant them that. But I think they went a little too far with the "I'm not a girl's toy!" vibe.

I could have used a little more involvement from human fathers. The only people who interact with kids in this story are women.

Definite progress for Pixar. I hear they're coming out with a princess movie next. Very interested to see how they do with that.