Breaking down the trailer to Toy Story 3

I was going to embed this, but mean old Disney won't let me.

Sheeeee-it, you guys, are you excited? I'm excited. Above is the latest trailer to Toy Story 3. I've watched it about a dozen times since it was released earlier today, and I've noticed a few things I think are worth mentioning. So click that link, pull that sucker up in another window, and follow along as I point out some bits of interest at various times in the trailer.



[0:10] In this trailer we see Andy placing every toy except Woody into a cardboard box. If you've watched every previous trailer and teaser as often as I have, you'll remember previous footage of Andy placing the toys in a black trash bag. To compare the two sequences:

A - Andy looks in the toy box. He places each toy in a trash bag one by one to take to the attic. He decides to put Woody in his suitcase for college. The trash bag is accidentally taken out and put in a trash can. Woody looks out the window to see Rex's tail poking out of a bag in the back of a garbage truck.

B - Similar to A, but Andy places each toy but Woody in a cardboard box. The box is taken by Andy's mother to Sunnyside Daycare. Later parts of the trailer imply that Andy did not intend for his toys to be taken there.

It would seem as if there are three possibilities for the conflicting scenarios.

a - The trash bag sequence is either not part of the actual movie (Pixar often places scenes in teasers that don't show up in the actual film) or is outdated and has been cut in order to smooth the story out.

b - The trash bag sequence is a dream sequence. Toy Story 2 featured a similar scene early on, also ending with a toy, Woody, being thrown away. I could see the events of the trash bag sequence happening, Woody waking up in the toy box with Buzz and the others, and then the box sequence occurs. This seems most likely.

c - Somehow they both happen. Woody rescues the toys from the garbage truck, and manages to get them back inside, where they are placed in a box and taken to Sunnyside.

[0:29] "New Toys!" Mr. Jack-In-The-Box says this in reference to Woody and the gang, but you can't help but think that looking at the regular Sunnyside lot. Look at all of them! There are a few that stick out to me in particular, namely the play fast food meal, which is exactly the set of toys I found at every day care I ever went to, and the Lego men. I'm just really excited to see Legos in Toy Story.

No, other way around.

[0:36] That's Lot's-O-Huggin' Bear, also known as Lotso. He's supposed to be the main antagonist of the film, but you only get a hint of it in this trailer. Look for him on the floor of a little girl's room in Up.

[0:43] I love that bug guy. I would have loved to own that toy as a kid. It's so silly as a concept, but totally awesome. I don't love the Potato Head limp arm gag, however. It falls a little flat and goes against the established physics of Mr. Potato Head's arms. Still, that's a small complaint, the rest of the jokes in the trailer are good.

[0:49] Woo boy, where to start?

• Quick, look in the corner! It's Totoro!
• I love that toys can use the internet. I want to imagine my figures get on my laptop when I leave it in the room and get too frustrated with Ball State's wi-fi to use it.
• At Woody's left, along with the aforementioned Totoro is Mr. Pricklepants, the stuffed porcupine voiced by Timothy Dalton, as well as an unnamed girl doll.
• That dinosaur is clearly from the same toy line as Rex (made by Mattel, well, not really Mattel, but a smaller company that was bought by Mattel...). Look at the cheeks, the articulation of the joints, and especially the eyes. They even seem to have similar nervous jittery personalities. I hope she and Rex become friends, it's too perfect. The voice is familiar, but I can't place it.

[0:59] Oh my God Ken. Ken Ken Ken Ken Ken. Pixar has nailed it with this guy. The way he moves, the way he acts, the persona he puts on, it's all perfect. Also, where did this Barbie come from? She's shown to be in the box with the other toys, but I seriously doubt it belonged to Andy. Was it one of his sister's? The ending scene of Toy Story 2, where Weezy sings "You've got a friend in me," he has accompanying Barbie background singers, meaning that someone in his family owned them. Still, I found it interesting, and liked, how the toys just accept her as one of their own, since she has been in the years we didn't get to see between films. Please don't introduce her formally, Pixar.

[1:24] I like where this is going. I really like where this is going. I'm so pleased to see that Sunnyside has a seedy underbelly. The hardened donated toys gamble and conspire at night and Ken ditches his sunny persona to get serious. I'm going to love this movie.

[1:37] Oh, this is creepy. Baby dolls are always creepy, especially ones that have been well loved by many children. They're missing eyes, hair, clothes, have unexplained stains on their soft bodies... bleh... Poor Potato Head, this movie is not treating him well so far. Also, Hamm makes a poop joke. Really, Pixar? I mean, it's funny, but not quite your style, I didn't think.

[1:48] Man, both Potato Heads are in pretty rough shape in this movie. That's to be expected when your vital features and limbs are all easily removed and lost. This scene shows that Mrs. Potato Head's missing eye still functions. She's been virtually walking blind this whole time, only half-seeing Sunnyside while her other eye stayed at Andy's. This is a pretty cool touch, actually.

[1:55] Here Andy looks lovingly at Woody and talks about what a great toy he is, it seems a little odd, as if he's aware of Woody's sentience. By the second time around, it occurred to me that Andy's talking to somebody. The way he looks down and the story he's telling about Woody makes me think he's talking to a child, perhaps even about to give Woody to the kid. It might be Molly, it might be just some child in need of a toy to love. This is likely at or near the end of the movie, once Woody's returned to Andy.

[2:06] Scary phone.

[2:09] What the hell is happening? Where is that train? My only guess is that this is a fantasy sequence, perhaps in the vein of the beginning play sequences of the first two movies, or a really really large and elaborate train set, with angry Barrel Monkeys. In general, there's a lot of action going on in these scenes. This movie may very well be "epic."

[2:20] Seriously, why do so many horrors fall upon the Potato Heads? Sure, they're easy to write gags for, but Mr. and Mrs. Head must be absolutely miserable in this movie. Poor guys...

[2:27] Dammit, June 18, I'm not going to be in the States when this is released, if I get into the study program in Munich. I'm heartbroken. I mean, I won't give it a second thought while I'm in Munich, but I'll be home eventually, and when I am everyone will have already seen this, leaving me to take the charity of "Well, I could see it again... It's amazing..."

So that's how much thought I've given the Toy Story 3 trailer. If you've noticed anything about it, please feel free to post it in the comments section below. If any more trailers or footage come out on a night when I have very little to do, I may just examine them too.