Toy Story 3 Plot Revealed

Posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta

Toy Story 3The Wall Street Journal has revealed the plot for Toy Story 3:

“Woody the cowboy and his toy-box friends are dumped in a day-care center after their owner, Andy, leaves for college.”

Lee Unkrich, who has been co-director on Toy Story 2, Monsters Inc, and Finding Nemo, stepped up to helm the third film in the series. Michael Arndt, the Academy Award nominated scribe of Little Miss Sunshine, wrote the screenplay.

Before the Disney/Pixar merger, the mouse house was hard at work on a third Toy Story film without Pixar’s involvement. Disney’s plot idea involved a recall of Buzz Lightyear toys, which includes Andy’s doll, which results in the Toys going on an adventure to Taiwan to rescue Buzz, who has been malfunctioning. John Lasseter and company were very unhappy with the idea, and didn’t approve.

The new plot line sounds interesting, but am I the only one who liked the logline for Disney’s Recalled story? (Note: I heard the actual treatment was horrible, but the idea itself sounds pretty cool). Either way I have faith in whatever Pixar comes up with.

Disney will be rereleasing new Disney Digital 3-D versions of Toy Story on October 2nd, 2009, and Toy Story 2 on February 12th, 2010. Toy Story 3 is being produced as a 3-D movie, and will hit theaters on June 18th, 2010.

Discuss: What do you think of the “Day-Care Center” storyline compared to the scrapped Disney “recall” storyline?

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3D, Action/Adventure, Animation, Comedy, Disney/Pixar, Screenwriting, Sequels, 

  • sari
    Toy Story 3 is as unnecessary and unwanted as Elf 2. At least from my end. It's like Cinderella 2 and 3. Gross.
  • Connor
    The Buzz recall does sound like it would be interesting, but I think it'd be too much of a rescue kinda thing like Toy Story 2 was with Woody. I don't know about their new story, I always thought Jessie's story of being abandoned by her grown up owner was kind of sad, that's terrible that it's going to happen to the main characters too!
  • Steelo
    I think the logic behind a recall this long into the time line of the toy doesn't make sense. I think that was the thought process behind it. This way you can introduce the toys to new worn out toys. There's a way to make anything great...you just gotta make it great.
  • Michael Arndt didn't just get nominated for an Oscar, he won!
  • Jerry Butler
    Andy's off to college. Damn, don't I feel old now. :(
  • Rob
    @Jerry -

    HAHAHA! Yeah, makes you stop & think, huh? Our boy Andy is all grown up. But does he really have to be of college age? Why not just continue where they left off? Hell, those kids in "Family Circus" haven't aged a damn day!

    The daycare idea sounds, okay at best. I'm sure Pixar could do something great with it, but the recall idea sounds better. I don't know why, but it does. And who says that Andy has to be older? Why not just pick up where Toy Story 2 left off, and run with the recall idea as the story?
  • Cinemaniac1979
    A movie where a rag-tag group of friends set off to the Far East in an attempt to rescue their friend that's the third in a series? Sounds like the beginning of "At World's End" to me. And personally, I think it's a horrible idea. I don't want to see the toys go on yet another rescue mission-- besides where can they go metaphorically from there?

    The thing I love about the first two is the metaphor. Toy Story was about job security-- about fear of being replaced by someone younger as times change. Toy Story 2 was about DEATH! Woody is basically given the choice to live forever in a sterile, hermetically-sealed existence forever, or go back to his real life and "die" when Andy outgrows him.

    Personally, I like the idea of following them into the (after)Life Without Andy. I vote in favor of Pixar's idea! But then again, I'm also championing Spike Jonze's version of Where the Wild Things Are, so what do I know?
  • I think its a good idea on their part, what with all the toy recalls.
    We'll see if this can recapture the magic, but i dont hold much hope
  • Scott Perry
    I'm more worried about Toy Story 3 in 3-D than anything else. I think 3-D movies loose the important element of story. I hope Pixar doesn't fall into that trap. I'd rather see Toy Story 3 in 2-D because animators wouldn't worry about the 3-D aspect.

    The first two were great.
  • If anyone can do a sequel right, its Pixar.

    I think the recall story sounds too outrageous for the toys. Too much [like most sequals, even TS, to be honest] of the same story from 2 recycled into bigger stakes.

    Cinemanic hit the nail on the head with the metaphor angle. I am completely on board from that perspective.

    I also love the continuity of Andy going to college. Sure, the Simpsons and Family Circus haven't aged, but that doesn't mean that Pixar's world has to stand still. Catching up on history will be like seeing old friends after a while.

    And with the daycare, we'll get to see the introduction of new toys that are broader than one child's room. And not to mention new trouble making kids
    from the daycare.

    I'm really pumped for 3.
  • his toys are still in one piece when he goes to college. My kids toys dont last through a 2 hour movie
  • Jerry Butler
    3D does not take anything away from an animated films story. I had the pleasure of catching Meet the Robinsons at the El Capitan in 3D, and the experience was amazing.

    Anyone who says otherwise saw a crappy movie (3D or otherwise) and wrongly scapegoated the format as the culprit..........
  • I like how i watched Toy Story for the first time when i was really young, and now im going to be going off to college at the same time this movie is going to be coming out. Good job Pixar :)
  • Sauce
    @Cinemaniac1979

    I'm with you. The heart of the story is with Andy. If they lose that, then no, there is no point to the sequel. You'd take the heart of the story out if you didn't include that relationship.

    Here's a pro tip: Never Doubt Pixar. I know I know, Cars wasn't a home run, but. They have yet to make a bad film. Why would they start tanking on returning to their first love? They wouldn't make it if it wasn't good.

    In Pixar We Trust.
  • Orange cinema
    the thing i didn't dig about the recall idea - a bunch of toys travelling to Taiwan? the recall would be cool, but a road trip to taiwan sounds lame.
  • Anonymous
    "Michael Arndt, the Academy Award nominated scribe of Little Miss Sunshine, wrote the screenplay."

    Ha. Peter.... considering how batty you've been going over Diablo Cody and Juno, plugging her every chance you can possibly get combined with the fact that Juno was last year's Little Miss Sunshine without being nearly as good, one might think you would at least try to have a somewhat comparable response when mentioning Arndt who is basically the mirror of Cody, except he's not a cloying asshole who thinks he's really too smart and cool for everyone. Oh. And he won the Oscar. Cody can only hope to match him.
  • jerry seinfeld
    i don't think a 3rd movie was pixar's idea - disney started pre-production when it looked like their deal with pixar was not going to continue. i think when they agreed upon a deal, part of it was pixar would continue production on toy story 3, since disney had already formally announced it would happen.

    my gut tells me lasseter did not want to make this movie, but now they are kind of forced to come up with a workable storyline.
  • Matias Blankenshroete
    The constant comparison of Juno with Little Miss Sunshine is ludicrous, unwarranted, and a shortcut to thinking. One need only watch the first ten minutes of each to see that the former is pretending to be a hip, "indie" film, and the latter is a carefully observed character piece. But Cody will win the Oscar. Injustice finds a way.
  • Why not have Andy as the bad guy in the film now, taking the toys one by one and shelving them... Then at the end of the movie he presents all the toys to his new son. It would be a good twist.
  • Irish Punk
    Ok, is it just me or does it sound like someone ripped off the Brave Little Toaster?
  • Greg W
    @Irish Punk - Yes! You saved me some research at IMDB.
  • Rebecca
    First thing that came to my mind: The Brave Little Toaster.
  • I kinda believe that Pixar was cornered into making #3, but, as was also said, they can't go wrong. They honestly cannot go wrong. This one will be just as much a classic as every other animation they've made.

    Kinda not digging the 3-D element though. Pixar, of each and every studio out there, does NOT need 3-D to 'enhance' the viewing experience. The quality and outright realism of their rendering skills makes everyone else look elementary.
  • J
    i think a 3rd movie is a bad idea.... but if they must do it, neither one of those ideas will make a decent movie.

    i think they should all be taken to the garbage dump and the entire movie could have a Mad Max type storyline. instead of gasoline being the coveted commodity they could grapple for control of a dwindling supply of AA batteries.
  • Chris
    Wow I'm shocked at how little faith you people have in this idea. It sounds just like a Pixar film. Kids movie with a deeper meaning/edge. Much better then a stupid recall story. How does that sound like a good idea to anyone.

    One major struggle Woody has had to deal with in the series is abandonment. And in this one, what he feared so badly in the first two films comes true, probably at the very beginning. It turns the entire series into a tragedy, but I very much doubt it will feel that way. They will realize in the end I'm sure, that in the Day Care, they will see kids come and go quite frequently, but they will never be discarded, and I'm sure for all the time Andy was in High School they saw very little playtime.

    It's a much more mature and creative storyline then a recall.
  • sounds like a rip off of...

    THE BRAVE LITTLE TOASTER

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092695/
  • baboosi
    A 3rd movie is a good idea. They're unlikely to stuff anything up. Obviously a good story line is important.

    I'd really like to see the gang go to the Konishi Toy Museum in Tokyo to free all the other toys or something like that.

  • Through the years, I tend to get skeptical whenever I see Pixar's next film only to find their next work to be great pieces of animation.


    So at this time, present day, I have nothing but to trust Pixar that whatever they dish out, it's going to be damn great.


    With that said, I have faith in Pixar to give Toy Story 3 the same AAA quality that that first two Toy Story films had.

  • moo083
    Wow. Brave Little Toaster is the first thing that came to mind. I'm glad I'm not the only one.
  • Evan
    Very interesting. This is Pixar returning to their roots in more ways than one. Obviously, Toy Story was their first feature length film, so there's that aspect.
    And as for everyone saying it sounds like "The Brave Little Toaster," I agree. What's interesting in my mind is that when John Lasseter first started working for Disney, he saw potential for creating animated films using 3-D backgrounds. His first test run of this was based on "Where the Wild Things Are," but afterwards he wanted to do a whole feature like that, specifically "The Brave Little Toaster." Some upper-level people at Disney didn't like this, and turned the proposal down.
    Finally, the day care aspect seems to open the possibility of younger children playing with the toys, potentially a destructive, drooling baby, reminiscent of the Pixar short "Tin Toy" and some scenes in Toy Story with Andy's baby sister.
  • I agree with Chris, the Day Care idea has the potential to be a mature and creative storyline if handled right.

    It may sound negative, but there are kids who have to deal with the frightening reality of being abandoned or given up by their families (and, alternately, adults that have to end long term relationships) and I think it would be a good thing to have a movie for "them". A positive message that even when the worst does happen, love and family can be found again.
  • Ric Ashley
    I think we interupt the surprises that these movies generally bring. It stinks that someone on wall st reveals the plot before a movie is even completed. Let's face it the film makers goabout spoiling movies by showing the funniest bits in advertising the movie why spoil it more by giving us the plot.

    Besides I'm sure Andy would realise the value of his wooden cowboy toy, heard of ebay?
  • As much as I disliked the Taiwanese storyline, I much prefer it to the daycare centre. Great: Liquid sim has advanced to the point we can now do kiddie drool and poop.
  • Jeff
    I think Andy growing up a little might work, but going off to college for appliances (Brave Little Toaster) brought about a reuniting with the "Master" and a happy ending - that's not going to happen for these toys.
    I suggest that Andy willingly gives his toys to a younger kid who really needs them. And instead of the child being needy due to poverty, maybe he's deprived by his parents because they only buy him educational toys.
    (Wow, I put way too much thought into that...)
  • All hail Jeff: his idea has my vote as best so far. :D
  • cvjohnnyg
    The Day Care storyline is moe about rebirth and second chances. Toy Story came out in 1995 and TS2 in 1999. Ten plus years later the toys face being obsolete, compared to today's high tech toys and video games. The recall story is too pestimistic while the day care story involves innocence and discovery. Even if the toys are old by our standards, they are new and exciting in the eyes of toddlers. The 3-D part may be a bit gimmicky, but I bet when the movie ends we will all be feeling good about what lies ahead in the future.
  • will hit theaters on June 18th, 2010.
  • Speedy
    Nasty it's the dude that wrote Little Miss Sunshine screenplay. Maybe Toys gonna strip in this one.
  • Elgin
    i too thought Brave Little Toaster immediately. It could work as a movie but it doesn't mean it's a great idea.
  • i saw the real 3d preview when i went to the beowulf movie.. i thought it was really well done.. two best parts would be the needle and when the tunnel expands in her wall.. it looks interesting and ill give the director (not tim burton) the benefit of the doubt on this one
  • joe parker
    The better story: Toy Barn owner has been reduced to picking trash from the dump. Talks to himself a lot, pushing his shopping cart. Finds a really beat up discarded Stinky Pete. He says a few disgusting things to Pete, tosses him aside. Pete starts talking to him, walks up & kicks him in the shin.

    They go out to find the toys again...
  • Justin
    I think the recall idea is terrible. With a plot line so close to the others it would REALLY feel like a typical bad third installment.
  • I love this new idea about "Day-Care Center". It seems more in line with the other films and its great to see the original team behind the series returning. I have complete faith in it.
  • william
    I'm not sure i'm into this plot. don't get me wrong, I know Pixar could do something amazing with this plot, but I think it'd be unfortunate that after 11 years of waiting for this movie, they get dumped at a daycare as the main plot. I kind of expected that they would end the series here and put them there or even have Andy save them for his kids, but I think it's unfair to people who've waited more than a decade for this movie to watch the main characters get abandoned. Plus, the scene from TS2 where Jessie gets abandoned made my eyes water a bit, so by the beginning of this movie I'll probably be bawling my eyes out. Nonetheless, it is Pixar, so I guess all I can do is have faith in them. Hopefully they won't let me down.
  • We were around the original Disney TS3 project for over a year...it's hard to say how it would have turned out, as we all know it takes years to cobble together a great animated film, (Ratatoulle a perfect example). But, there were some fantastic, creative superstars working on the beloved project before the buyout...followed by a lot of disapointment

    But we agree that it was only fitting that Pixar was able regain control of their baby... absolutely! At the time, though, I think a lot of people working on the "Recall" project felt, if Disney were going to actually make these sequels, they might as well put their hearts and souls in to them. Interestingly enough, the "recall" version, did have a pretty funny Day Care scene in it. Maybe some day when all of the hard feeling have past, some of the work on the recall project will be released...just for kicks...and FYI, it was way past "treatment" stage...an
    "A" list award winning screenwriter penned the first couple of TS3 drafts...and they were pretty far down the line with story reels as well. But, can't wait to see what the geniuses at Pixar pull off! See ya.
  • Rikki
    sounds to be a cute idea. but i don't think it being in 3d would be a good idea. i really don't like 3d if i watch it i watch it once. no matter what i would buy up the dvd to complete my collections. but i hope they come up witha better plot. then a day care. Or how about andys' little sister. do something with her.
  • Kale
    Personally I think that it would work better with the idea that they are sticking with (the daycare scene) because with that it is easier to give a sense of closure to Andy and it still leaves you with the ability to make a really solid storyline. Also, with the recall story it really wouldn't make a whole lot of sense since Buzz has been in stores for a while now he had been owned for a while so they woulnd't recall Andy's buzz but the shelved buzzes. Also, it usually isn't toys that are getting recalled for "malfunctions", mainly electronics and from as far as I've seen, Buzz really isn't all to electronical. Overall I'm very excited to see this movie because they have some brilliant minds working on this one... and it's in
    3-D!
  • rona
    i hope that in the next movie (toy story 3) they will be the same characters like toy story 2 and 1.
  • rona
    **my mistake: there will be the same characters
  • monica
    Well Andy going to college are going to confuse the new fans of Toy story my sons are 1 and 3 and love this movie. I think they should come out with a better idea. And continue from the age they left off
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