5 Plots For A Mature Toy Story 3

Pixar have stated that Toy Story 3 will be a mature affair .

Animator Angus MacLane has said: "Certainly we're approaching this film 10 years later, so I think we're sort of coming at it from the standpoint of [Andy] has grown up, and we've grown up with these toys, and we have a reverence for them, but we also have different things as a priority."

We thought we’d look at some of the ways past films have dealt with mature stars, and whether they could apply to Toy Story...

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The Odd Toy Couple

Hollywood loves to stick a couple of cranky old men together and watch them grumble about their surroundings.

There’s something about old curmudgeons complaining that appeals to studio executives. We have no idea why. Maybe it reminds them of studio notes.

The Plot: Pixar could put Buzz and Woody on the porch of a Dolls House and let them moan about the young Furby couple that’s moved in around the corner.

They could follow the pair as they go through their usual daily routine over and over again, grumbling every step of the way.

But when a care-worker named Barbie comes to try and convince them to go into a home, they both fall in love with her and the trouble really starts...

Likelihood Score: 8

Next: Toy Story 3: Cocoon [page-break]

Toy Story 3: Cocoon

The other movie path available to pensioners is best exemplified by Cocoon. A handful of old folks take a dip in a pool with alien pods in it, and become young again.

Ignore all the alien pod stuff, the last part is universal to almost every old folk flick – at some point, they’ll adapt some aspect of youth culture, usually for comic effect.

The Plot: Buzz and Woody are old. Their parts are broken, their paint is peeling and Buzz’s laser isn’t as bright as it once was.

But then middle-aged Andy takes them in for repairs so he can give them to his son.

The pair get fixed, and gain a new lease of life, as the objects of affection for Andy Jr.

The happy story is offset by a slighter more reflective subplot, in which Mr and Mrs Potato Head are ignored by Andy (operating as a metaphor for society) who slow fall to pieces.

Likelihood Score: 9

Next: The Tear Jerker [page-break]

The Tear Jerker

If a film’s got older stars in it, it will attempt to make you cry at some point. We imagine Toy Story 3 will be no different.

The Plot: Woody discovers he’s got a long lost son and sets out on a voyage of discovery to learn about the boy.

But then Buzz’s lifelong exposure to laser-rays make him fall desperately ill – and Woody has to choose between spending time with his son, or his best friend.

The film inevitably ends with a death scene so tragic there won’t be a dry eye in the house.

Likelihood Score: 7

Next: The Bodyswap [page-break]

The Bodyswap

This one is similar to the Cocoon route, in that it’s packed with gags about the differences between generations.

But it’s less about the sentimentality and more about the slapstick comedy – and Pixar’s proven to be adept at both.

The Plot: Middle-aged Andy buys a mystical artefact from a second hand toy store and takes it home. It starts glowing and electrocutes Andy, sending his spirit into his favourite toy, Woody.

Woody’s personality gets sent into Andy’s body, and he has to cope with being a lot bigger than he’s used to.

Andy, meanwhile, has to try and find a way to get back to his body, whilst dealing with the fact that all of his toys have individual personalities.

Andy learns the value of playtime, whilst Woody realises that being a toy isn’t so bad after all.

Likliehood Score: 6

Next: The Violent Route [page-break]

The Violent Route

Of course, Pixar could be going down another route altogether. Mature usually means old, but it can also suggest blood-soaked violence.

The Plot: Woody has been abandoned by an adult Andy and the rejection turns him into a brutal serial killer.

Taking his six gun and horse, Woody embarks on a brutal rampage of bloody murder, slaughtering his friends in increasingly imaginative ways.

He launches Buzz into space (“To infinity!”), cooks and eats Mr and Mrs Potato Head, shoves Rex in the freezer (“Welcome to the ice age!”), sets a pack of wolves on Bo Peep and untwists Slinky Dog.

Eventually Sarge and the soldiers take Woody down, in a finale full of balletic shoot-outs.

Likelihood Score: 0

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Sam Ashurst is a London-based film maker, journalist, and podcast host. He's the director of Frankenstein's Creature, A Little More Flesh + A Little More Flesh 2, and co-hosts the Arrow Podcast. His words have appeared on HuffPost, MSN, The Independent, Yahoo, Cosmopolitan, and many more, as well as of course for us here at GamesRadar+.