Toy Story 3 continues Pixar’s fantastic story-telling after Toy Story and Toy Story 2. Friendship, trust, working together, and unresolved bitterness are strong themes. But the animated short “Night & Day” raises more discussion.
Spoiler-free review
Toy Story 3 was lots of fun and definitely friendly for almost the whole family. It has positively reinforcing themes and believable characters who mostly overcome their struggles.
If you watch Toy Story 3, we really want the exact quote that was in the animated short before the movie. It comes from the tower. If you get that, especially if you can find the source, please send it to feedback@AreYouJustWatching.com or call our listener voicemail line at (903) 231-2221.
The rest of the discussion does contain spoilers. Stop now and come back after you’ve watched, unless you don’t mind spoilers.
Friendship
As with the two previous movies, Toy Story 3 focuses a lot on the relationships between the characters. We see a good friendship between Woody and Buzz, and even a little romance. But their relationship is put over fire a few times.
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10)
Bitterness and deserting
Lotso, the evil anarchist in Sunny Side Up day care, has some unresolved bitterness for being left and replaced. Thankfully, our Heavenly Father makes a wonderful promise to us.
… He Himself has said, “I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,” (Hebrews 13:5)
Homosexual-tolerance agenda?
I’m trying hard to not read into the movie concepts that weren’t there. Not only was Ken (the male Barbie doll, but still a girl’s toy) a little more feminine than would seem normal, but most of my thoughts are on the animated short, “Night & Day,” before Toy Story 3. It has two male characters who go through a journey in their relationship that could have homosexual undertones. The short ends with a quotation about moving with society and not rejecting things just because they’re new or different.
Fear of the unknown.
They are afraid of new ideas.
They are loaded with prejudices, not based upon anything in reality, but based on… if something is new, I reject it immediately because it’s frightening to me. What they do instead is just stay with the familiar.
You know, to me, the most beautiful things in all the universe, are the most mysterious.
[Dr. Wayne Dyer]
God is very clear in His Word on the definition of marriage. Jesus Christ quoted from Genesis as literal history when we answered about divorce and remarriage.
And He answered and said, “Have you not read that He who created them from the beginning MADE THEM MALE AND FEMALE, and said, ‘FOR THIS REASON A MAN SHALL LEAVE HIS FATHER AND MOTHER AND BE JOINED TO HIS WIFE, AND THE TWO SHALL BECOME ONE FLESH’? So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate.”(Matthew 19:4–6)
“Night & Day” also portrayed a little bit of lust, which is never a good idea to encourage.
… I [Jesus Christ] say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:28)
What did you think?
Have you seen Toy Story 3? What did you think of it? Comment on this post, email feedback@AreYouJustWatching.com (audio feedback welcome), or call (903) 231-2221. You can also follow Are You Just Watching?™, Daniel, and Eve on Twitter. And please join our Facebook Page. And don’t forget to leave us some five-star reviews in iTunes!
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Night & Day pushing a "homosexual agenda"? Um… did you not see the obviously male characters ogling the bikini clad women? It's about tolerance, sure, but the characters obviously aren't gay.
And Ken's just meterosexual. Again, notice how stoked he is about having a Barbie show up?
I didn't say they were actually pushing a homosexual agenda, but that it could easily be interpreted as support for the perversion of God's definition of marriage.
Which would not be a problem since God’s definition of marriage is not THE definition of marriage, and the TOY STORY films are not religious films; they are meant to be accessible to all, and the fact that you are critiquing a quote that is about being respectful of others’ differences is unfortunate. Would you rather that children be raised on hatred and intolerance?
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. [Genesis 2:24]
Not helpful.
Very glad to find others who are questioning the message behind the Day & Night short. I, too, was very concerned by the commentary from the "tower" and would like the exact words. It seems to condemn those who hold on to traditional values as intolerant or bad because we do not agree with another's perspective.
Whew! Then I'm not the only one! A friend found that the speaker was Wayne Dyer, and he mentions it in his own blog, but I still can't find an exact quotation. Now that I have the speaker's name (as of just a couple hours ago), I should be able to find the exact quotation. Thanks for listening and commenting, Cassie!
Condemn? That is a strong word to use. Critique is more accurate, and people who are not tolerant of others because of their race, sexual orientation, sex/gender, etc. SHOULD be critiqued. I get that this podcast reviews films from a Christian perspective, but that is no excuse to be bigoted and hateful, although you are entitled to your opinion.
I would love to hear a more detailed discussion of this movie perhaps when it comes out on video. This article got me thinking about spiritual parallels to the movie.
Here are the two statements I found interesting.
***Mild SPOILER**********************************
"If you’ve seen the movie, you know the story. Andy is heading off to college, and the toys are trying to navigate a difficult transition. They might get stored in the attic, or they might get donated to a local daycare center, but what they really want is to be reunited with Andy and to be played with, as was their created purpose. Thus the adventure ensues."
"There is, without question, a very real spiritual overlap in this movie. The Toys want to be reunited with their owner. Their owner loves them. Something has come between their owner and they are confused about whether their owner still loves them. It’s powerful stuff, and it’s relatable because it’s true."
*******************************************************************************
Source of Quotes Part 1 http://donmilleris.com/2010/06/29/toy-story-3-a-l…
Part 2 http://donmilleris.com/2010/06/30/toy-story-3-wha…
There were definitely some spiritual overtones in the movie, some blatant and some subtle, but I do think it was basically a movie about faith, as has been pointed out above.
MINOR SPOILER: Lotso represents what happens to too many Christians when we feel that God has let us down — they turn bitter and even condescending to those who still have faith. I think we all know people who have an expectation that nothing bad will ever happen to us if we follow God, because He "has a wonderful plan for our life."
But bad things do happen, tragedy does strike. These "when the rubber meets the road" moments are when we need to cling more closely to our faith, and turn our back on Him. You know, the idea that "if God couldn't stop the hurricane (or keep me from losing my job, or give Mary cancer, or not let me have a baby), why should I worship Him?" Lotso takes his disappointment in God and turns it inward into anger, and becomes a militant atheist, asking the key question of the film: "Where is your God now?"
Good points! Sorry it took me so long to read them. Got married, ya know. 🙂
And of course there is this:
MAJOR SPOLIER: In the climactic scene, an alien who seems to be a unified being in 3 distinct parts literally plucks our heroes from their destiny of perishing in a blazing fire.
oooooh-kay.
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Hi Daniel, it’s been two years, but if you are still wondering what the exact quote is, I found this on Pixar Talk (http://www.pixartalk.com/2010/06/day-night-the-quote/):
Fear of the unknown.
They are afraid of new ideas.
They are loaded with prejudices, not
based upon anything in reality, but based on… if something is new, I
reject it immediately because it’s frightening to me. What they do
instead is just stay with the familiar.
You know, to me, the most beautiful things in all the universe, are the most mysterious.
Doh, I didn’t read your show notes, you had found the quote 😀
By the by, I loved Toy Story 3 so much, as well as the other two films in the trilogy. I wrote a review on it, but after just reading it, I realized I should have put up a massive SPOILER ALERT, MAJOR PLOT EXPOSITION INCOMING sign there! That is a major no-no nowadays! I realize now that I don’t have to explain the whole plot! Check it out here: http://pedrowazelski.livejournal.com/5137.html Cheers from Perth, Australia.
Yes, thanks. But what did you think of the quotation’s use in the Pixar short?
Hi Daniel,
I thought the short story had a few problems, especially the bathers in bikinis, but also the fight scene, and the two getting all emotional and hugging at the end? The quote is problematic in the short because it is accompanied by the two characters getting doe-eyed and embracing. It can’t be purely correct use if they are trying to be “gay friendly”, though. People acting out on homosexual desires have been around since God gave them over to a debased mind, so it’s nothing new that Christians are opposing it. If they are using the quote to point out what’s the problem with stick-in-the-mud conservative Christians, they are wrong. What Christians say is not because we are frightened (though certainly concerned), it’s not prejudiced, and it is firmly based in the reality of God’s plan for relationships and marriage.
While it seems, like you suggest, to have undertones that are friendly towards the homosexual attraction, it is still a children’s movie, and that being so, it is quite toned down and watchable.
If you believe that people should not be allowed to be with he/she who he/she falls in love with, that IS prejudice. There is something in the Constitution known as freedom of religion, which means that political and social conventions cannot be based on a religion. Therefore, basing your hatred and discrimination on your religion is rather moot. If laws were based on the Christian Bible, wearing a shirt made up of more than one type of material would be illegal, women would not be allowed to seek divorce even if their husbands were physically assaulting them, and parents would be allowed to physically assault their children.
I guess that it is a really good thing that God’s word is irrelevant in a world that practices many different religions, some of which are older than Christianity, and in a nation that prides itself on freedom of religion. It is also a good thing that even some Christians would not share this viewpoint because they understand that some of these messages in the Bible are outdated and no longer relevant because they were written in a time period and for a society that no longer exists. Accepting people regardless of their differences seems like a very Christian notion to me, but I could be wrong. It is also incredibly narrow-minded to say that the Ken doll is more feminine than normal. What does “normal” even mean? Gender is a social construction; it does not exist in any kind of natural state. If you want to refer to achieving equal rights and representation as an agenda, be my guest, but don’t forget that there were more than likely people who called the civil rights movement (in regards to race) an agenda, as well, and those people are now a minority.
“I guess that it is a really good thing that God’s word is irrelevant in a world that practices many different religions …”
All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:16–17, ESV]
“What does “normal” even mean? Gender is a social construction; it does not exist in any kind of natural state.”
So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. [Genesis 1:27]
He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.” [Matthew 19:4–6]
You counter my argument that people are entitled to their own belief system by United States law by quoting the Bible? That doesn’t make much sense, Daniel. You hold steady to a faith, and there is absolutely nothing wrong or immoral about that, but you can’t expect all television and film to adhere to YOUR belief system. If everyone were Christian, this wouldn’t be a free country, and there would be no diversity in perspectives. What kind of a life is that? It is pretty boring if you ask me. I don’t see what you’re accomplishing by criticizing a secular film for possibly including a “homosexual agenda” in its initiative. As far as the quote that you provided me regarding men and women is concerned, I didn’t say that sex is socially constructed; I said that gender is, and there is a difference. Point me to where in the Bible it says that pink is specifically a girls’ color or that only girls are supposed to play with dolls. Sex is the parts with which you are born; gender is how that sex is performed. In other words, it’s possible for a heterosexual man to be feminine and vice-versa.
What about these passages?
“But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God” [1 Corinthians 11:3].
“Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man” [1 Corinthians 11:7].
“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to to speak; but [they are commanded] to be under obedience, as also saith the law” [1 Corinthians 14:34].
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands” [Ephesians 5:22]…
“I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence” [Timothy 2:9].
In other words, Daniel, if Jenny ever disagrees with you, argues with you, raises her voice to you, etc., she is sinning. There are also passages that state that women are not to wear jewelry or wear anything in their hair. Does any of that make sense to you? Do you use the Bible to justify sexism and hatred of women, as well? I could be misinterpreting the first quote that you provided, but it sounds to me that that is saying that God’s word is open to interpretation and also to be reformatted to fit the time period in which it is being heard. Take the Corinthians 14:34 quote that I provided, for example. DOES the law say that? It does not. That right there is proof that some of what the Bible says is antiquated and is not relevant to our time anymore, not even to Christians.
The Bible is also full of contradictions. One of the Ten Commandments is that “Thou shalt not kill.” However, another passage says: “A man or a woman who is a medium or a necromancer shall surely be put to death. They shall be stoned with stones; their blood shall be upon them” [Leviticus 20:27].
I am sorry to carry this discussion over here from the ONCE podcast, but I am quite honestly just heartbroken to learn how discriminatory and narrow-minded that you are after having supported you for a year or so, and I, therefore, did some research regarding your podcasts and found a few troublesome things, including this. It’s fine to quote Bible verses to make a point, but expect contradictions to be thrown back and for hypocrisy to be pointed out.
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