never grow up

Toy Story 3 came out to DVD yesterday, and so I thought that I would take the opportunity to write some more (because so many critics and columnists alike have written about this "kids" movie) about why this movie is just so darn good.

I'm 22 years old. I grew up with Toy Story, and then my siblings, 20 and 19, also grew up with Woody and Buzz and with the second installment came Jessie (my Mom's personal favorite). The second one was good. But it was years ago. So how did Toy Story manage to do so well in the third one? Well in my humble opinion, the movie never gave up on the original audience, those who were old enough to see the first one when it came out in 1995 (I was 7) and thought, "What the heck! I'll see the third!"

And the movie followed through. For me at least.

Andy, the boy in the film, is going to college. He grew up just like the rest of us. Just like me. Getting ready to go away to college is starting anew and being able to be whoever you want, away from parents, possible away from old haunts and sometimes away from all things high school. Moving into dorms is putting your life and personality on one side of a room. Some things have to stay home, some come with you, some are thrown away. In Toy Story 3 the big decision is what toys will be saved. About what part of the past will be taken into the future.

For me, her name was Holly. She is a stuffed bear decked in a lovely Christmas dress with her right chest sewn shut due to many surgeries throughout the year. I got her for Christmas the last year I lived in northern Virginia which would have put me in third grade. We became the best of friends. And she was the one I took to college. In fact she stayed all four years and now rests back in my bedroom. She is my Woody.

This movie isn't just about the usual mischief of Woody and his pals. It's about what growing up is about, about moving on and trying to cut the right strings between the past and present. But just as the excitement of growing up hits, the longing for simplicity sets in.

Growing up is a funny thing. Full of ups and downs and good and bad. It's a funny thing.