Toy Story turns 20 years old this week! To celebrate the anniversary we want to host a simple debate: Which of the three Toy Story movies is the best?
The 1995 release of Toy Story — Pixar’s first feature-length movie — sent the studio down a path of remarkable work. When you think Pixar, you think quality storytelling (with only a couple small bumps in the road).
Thanks to the studio’s great interest in telling the best story possible, Toy Story’s two sequels are considered just as good — if not better than! — the originals. In a world of sequel fear, no one can say that the sequel or threequel turned out poorly.
And therein lies the problem: Which is the best? Three of Hypable’s writers with different opinions on the topic speak out:
The best film is ‘Toy Story’ – Brittany
The original Toy Story is a timeless tale of the fear of losing relevance, learning to be open to others’ differences, and the untamable power of imagination. It’s the movie that gave the world Pizza Planet, western towns made of cardboard, Mrs. Nesbitt, and the best bromance in Disney-Pixar history. The timeless themes Toy Story touches on are at their strongest right out of the gate. The journey to Sid’s terrifying chop-shop next door is a wake up call for Woody that home is where you feel loved and accepted no matter who is waiting for you when you arrive.
Toy Story has physical comedy, situational misunderstandings, and the greatest band of misfits made special by one common goal — keeping imagination alive. It launched the trilogy to great heights in animated history, leaving the others to fall with style.
The best film is ‘Toy Story 2’ – Michal
If the Toy Story trilogy is about blending humor with the sadness and fear of growing up, Toy Story 2 hits the sweet spot. It doesn’t have the plastic body-horror of the original. It’s not the straight-up “life is meaningless” sobfest of Toy Story 3. Instead, Toy Story 2 takes its frightening and sad elements and braids them together.
Woody is terrified of being forgotten (as we all are), while Jessie copes with the tragedy of living through that very thing (seriously, if you don’t cry through “When She Loved Me,” you just don’t have a soul.) But Toy Story 2 resolves that fear and sadness with remarkable humor, offering a chance to enjoy the hilarious naivete of brand-new toys as Andy’s more experienced crew explores — and gloriously misunderstands — the human world. And by offering the wounded Jessie a chance at a new toy-life with Andy’s sister, Toy Story 2 boils its elements down to a story of redemption – and the promise that maybe we all of more than one chance at happiness.
The best film is ‘Toy Story 3’ – Andrew
Toy Story 3 is a masterpiece. The film perfectly tells the story of what happens when two lifelong friends — Woody and Andy — need to go their separate ways. We all can relate to the story when we watch Andy pass his collection of beloved toys to Bonnie. This is a necessary end, a part of growing up and moving on.
In addition, the gang’s perilous journey into the depths of an incinerator is one of the most heart-wrenching scenes I have ever witnessed in a Pixar movie. I still remember watching it in a theater for the first time and genuinely believing that Pixar was going to kill off the toys. It was terrifying, but those damn toys were stronger than me: They took hold of each other’s hands and faced death. SOB.
I still remember looking around the theater while that scene was playing and planning my exit if the movie really did burn them all to death. Thank God for those little green aliens.
Fans are understandably nervous about the fourth installment given how perfectly 3 ended, but it speaks to how the third movie is universally beloved.