iknow in life | learned

OU

By Jacey Gibb

he moment I realized how
much Toy Story had affected

me came while I was enjoying
a Kinder Surprise. I had just learned
that my toy was a disappointing,
preassembled animal of some sort,
so I simply threw it in the garbage.
Immediately after, I felt sympathy
for the animal and its short-lived
career as a toy. It was no coincidence
that I was also in the middle of my
Toy Story 3 viewing spree (I saw
it a grand total of 16 times, making
sure to pay and retain my ticket stub
each time). Now, you may not have
been as influenced by this iconic
trilogy as I was but that’s not to say it
hasn’t taught us all some valuable life
lessons. [MILD SPOILERS AHEAD
but if you haven’t seen Toy Story
3 yet, you deserve to be punished
anyways]

¢ Sometimes all you need is
your best friend- Woody had
Buzz, Batman had Robin, Salt
had Pepper, you get the idea.

You’re only living if you’re
doing it with a best friend

by your side. The ultimate
companion for any occasion,
if you don’t have a number
one pal at the moment I highly
suggest going out and getting
one. Which leads me to my
second lesson...

Your friends can end up
being your family- It’s
inevitable (and probably
unhealthy if you don’t) that at
some point you’ll depart the
nest formerly known as home
and begin the rest of your life.
Support networks are crucial at
this time and you might have
to turn to your friends to fill the
void. Relationships formed not
from blood can sometimes be
more valuable because unlike
family, you don’t HAVE to
unconditionally love these
people. In Toy Story 3, even

as the toys prepare to meet
their possible end (I won’t say
anymore on that one), they
realize what’s important and

come together in spite of the
unfortunate circumstances.

Old and new can co-exist- A
lesson embedded in the first
Toy Story when Woody fears
extinction when he’s replaced
by Buzz Lightyear as Andy’s
favourite toy. What Woody
ultimately learns is peaceful
coexistence is possible and the
two begin a lasting friendship.
Remember that you don’t
have to reinvent the wheel
every time you simply want to
improve it.

Moving on means letting

go- As Andy’s childhood toys
quickly find out, your past is
your past for a reason. I’m not
saying you have to severe all
previous ties before you can
make new ones, just that hang-
ups can sometimes wind up
holding you back in the end.
But wait...

The end has no end- Whether

this refers to the end of a movie
or you apply it to finding a

     

new meaning in death, it’s

true that nothing really ends;
it’s simply another word for
beginning. Despite every Toy
Story movie finishing with a
neat bow wrapped around it,
Pixar managed to keep bringing
the world back to us with more
laughs and excitement each
time. Even the last scene of the
third one seems more like a
prologue than a final chapter

I have no reservations in saying I
think Toy Story is the greatest movie
trilogy of all time (that statement is
worth the shitstorm I am about to
receive). It’s not that I don’t hold
sets like Star Wars or Indiana Jones
in high regard; it’s just that none of
them had an impact like this one.
Pixar took the themes of growing
up, friendship, romance and even
mortality and made a movie about
toys. I consider myself lucky to have
been a part of this fifteen year-long
journey and will continue to hold the
Toy Story franchise close to my heart
for infinity and beyond.