Vatican paper praises 'Toy Story 3' and its lesson on true friendship

Vatican City, Jul 9, 2010 / 15:22 pm

The Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano has offered up praise for Disney-Pixar’s “Toy Story 3” for providing moviegoers with a profound reflection on transcendental human themes and a lesson on true friendship through the experience of the film’s toy stars.
 
In the film’s third installment, Woody and Buzz Lightyear, together with their friends, are forced to confront their future. Their owner, Andy, has stopped playing with them and at 17 is preparing to head off to college. He must decide whether to donate the toys to a day care center or throw them away.
 
Reporter Gaetano Vallini stated that “Toy Story 3” is “a film with a capital F” and dismissed the criticisms made by some feminists in the U.S. “who see sexist and homophobic tendencies in some of the characters.”
 
“They have probably forgotten that when they were girls, toys were only objects kids used to play and to dream with, two things this film also suggests,” he added, underscoring that the film ought to be considered a “masterpiece.”
 
Vallini praised the film for its creative animation techniques and quality which have “passed the harsh judgment of children and which even adults find entertaining.” The L'Osservatore reviewer went so far as to put it in the same league as other Pixar films that have lifted up human values, such as “Wall-E,” which promotes the defense of life, and “Up,” which in its opening sequence emphasizes the value of marriage. 
 
According to Vallini, “Toy Story 3” reveals that “friendship is the true bond of this unlikely yet tight-net group of toys” and allows the moviegoer to reflect on “important themes such as the value of friendship and solidarity, the fear of feeling alone or rejected, the unavoidability of growing up and the strength that comes from feeling like you belong to a family.”