Toy Story 3

SYNOPSIS: Woody and Buzz had accepted that their owner Andy would grow up someday, but what happens when that day arrives? In the third installment, Andy is preparing to depart for college, leaving his loyal toys troubled about their uncertain future.

GENRES: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Kids/Family, Animation and Sequel

TIME: 1 hr. 38 min.

RATED: G

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OUR THOUGHTS ON THIS MOVIE

(Recommended Age Group: 4+ years)

There are dozen’s of great web sites that provide info and reviews about movies. If you’re new to our ‘Movie Nights’ section, you need to know that we’re not just another one of those sites. What we do aren’t movie reviews, they’re more like Movie Devotions.

Your children are continually being bombarded with messages that contradict what our Lord Jesus taught and our Movie Devos are written to help you engage your children in conversation (at their level) about those messages.  It’s a fun way to teach your kids a Christian’s veiw of the world, and to help them learn to discern.

Toy Story 3 was nominated for five Academy Awards and won two. It is the third animated movie ever to be nominated for Best Picture. It is the first animated film to gross over a billion dollars worldwide, and is currently the fifth highest-grossing film of all time. All that because it’s a great movie with a lot of heart, it’s just fun to watch, and it actually has a great (and Biblical) underlying message.

A brief warning before we get started; this movie is not for very young children or for older ones that scare easily. There are several scenes and a character or two that may be disturbing to some. If you’re not sure, you may want to watch it without the kids first and then decide.

In Toy Story 3, Andy is heading to college, and the toys we’ve all come to know and love face an uncertain future. Woody, the toys leader, is self-sacrificing in his leadership, determined to see the best outcome for all of his friends. Woody’s loving leadership is contrasted by the selfish, controlling, self-appointed leadership of a new character named Lotso.

This contrast provides a great opportunity to talk with your kids about leadership and/or the way they treat others. After watching the movie, bring up the comparison between the two characters and how they behave towards others and get a discussion going. Your older children will understand the idea of leadership with little explanation. Younger children will understand a comparrison of how the two treat others.

Once you’ve got everyone thinking about it, bring the lesson closer to home; do they treat others like Woody does? How could they treat their siblings more like Woody treats his friends? Are there some things that they do like Lotso (selfish, demanding, mean) that they could change?

Here’s a key Bible verse that you can use to reinforce the lesson;

Philippians 2:3-4 Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Read and discuss this verse: we’re to think of others as more important than ourselves and, therefore, put their needs and desires ahead of our own. Simply put, we’re suppose to put others first and us second. Woody does this when he takes care of his friends instead of just looking after himself and going to colledge with Andy and a couple of other times in the movie. Talk to your kids about how wonderful things would be if everybody always treated each other this way.

For your older kids, discuss what Jesus said about leadership and how they should therefore treat others when they are in charge (even just in charge of their younger siblings).

Mark 9:35 He (Jesus) sat down and called the twelve disciples over to him. Then he said, ”Anyone who wants to be the first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”

Discuss how what Jesus said here is similar to what Paul said in the verse above.

After having this discussion, when a Woody/Lotso moment starts to unfold in your home, you can remind the participants of the Toy Story 3 characters, the talk and Bible verses, and use it all to help guide them towards better behavior.

Enjoy the movie and the Movie Devotional.