![]() He stands poised at the button that would stop the conveyor belt and save the toys that had saved him from being crushed just moments earlier. The lesson of “Toy Story 3” is that “Lotso” was hurt and became bitter, but that’s no excuse for being mean. The animated plot is much closer to reality, and to the kind of kid stories we used to see in the early 60s – when America was in the midst of a Cold War and we couldn’t afford to have kids thinking that bad guys are really good and the world is soft and cuddly. Even though we learn the root cause of the “Lotso” evil streak – the little girl who loved him, lost him, and never found him again – we still are not asked to grant him instant absolution. Ouch – this isn’t supposed to happen in contemporary kid’s stories!įor decades, kids have been brought up on “The Muppets” (even Oscar the Grouch has a good heart), “Barney” (always sunshine and song), countless Disney films which blur the line between good and evil, and the more solid “Veggie Tales,” with the Bible-based animated vegetable figures in which even bad Mr. When he reaches the button, though, he turns back to character and runs off, leaving the other toys to face the fire. Caught in the same predicament, “Lotso” expresses solidarity with the other toys and asks for a push to reach the button that will stop the conveyor. ![]() Caught on an impossibly long conveyor belt, they steadily approach the distant inferno as they try desperately to run against the tide of garbage. “Lotso” foils their inventive plot but they all accidentally fall into the dumpster and are delivered to the incinerator. ![]() Lots-O’Huggin Bear (“Lotso”) has been exposed as a mean dictator of Sunnyside’s day care toys and the plastic action figures and stuffed animals want to escape his iron grip. There is one scene that resounds with social and cultural significance and gives me hope for the next generation. I know I am coming to this a year late, but my sons just got “Toy Story 3” (2010) on DVD and I must declare that the Pixar production is more than just a great kid’s movie – it has rewritten the script and reset the template for all children’s skits. The loud blast you may have heard coming from your video screen was a bunch of animated toy characters passing through a time warp from about 1965 to the present, and speeding past some 40 years of kid drama drivel in the process.
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