Opinion: The Real Reason Grown Men are Crying at 'Toy Story 3'

I blubbered, too, but couldn't put my finger on why until I read this article. I watched and bought the first movie for my now 15 year old, and we watched that video tape 'til there were holes in it. I kind of feel like I watched Andy grow up, too! But Chris, you're right: the toys gave up Andy ~ that's where the emotional tug came from, no doubt.

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I'm not a parent yet, and I cried at this movie. I am in Andy's position, being a college student, having grown up with beloved toys like he did, et cetera, and I couldn't stop crying when Andy gave and explained each of his toys to Bonnie. Sheesh, even now I'm tearing up! :)

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I agree with your assessment, but that's not the biggest factor that made me cry. The #1 reason why I lost it was during the scene with Andy and the little girl, when I realized that all this time, throughout each movie, Andy had been speaking into the lives of his toy friends. Telling them that they were heroes with integrity and honor, and that is exactly who they became.

It was a picture of fatherhood to me, and reminded me how important it is for me to speak into the lives of my boys about the men that they were created to be.

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WHO CARES ABOUT THE STUPID GRAMMAR? THEY DON'T TEACH IT IN SCHOOL ANYMORE, JUST HOW NOT TO ACT AROUND MINORITIES. POLITICAL CORRECTNESS HAS RUN A MUCK.
TOY STORY 3 WAS A GREAT MOVIE AND YES I CRIED.

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I cried because my gilrs are also growing up. I was able to ralate the transition the mother of Andy was going trough. It is very sad that I as a monther eventually will need to packed their toys up so they can really face life in University. They are 10 and 12 and this is the point of no return. They are like little plants growing every day. This movie really hit me in my role as a mother.

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I'm looking forward to seeing Toy Story 3 and I'll undoubtedly have a good cry just as I did when I watched "My Dog Skip" ... A boy (Willie) and his dog who share life together until the boy leaves for college. "The film concludes with Willie explaining his friendship with Skip, that he had been an only child and Skip an only dog. When Willie leaves to go to Oxford University in the United Kingdom, Skip remains with Willie’s parents, sleeping in Willie's old room, and finally dies, being buried under the elm tree. The closing line adds, "That wasn't totally true. For he really laid buried in my heart". " * I cried like a baby....

*from Wikipedia

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I went and saw the movie with all of my neighbors and one is them is 2. He loves Toy Story more than anything and was absotutley thrilled to go and see it. Before the movie he ran around the threathre and wanted nothing to do with the preveiws. But the second that Buzz came onto the screen he yelled "LOOK IT'S BUZZ" He looked so cute with his Buzz Lightyear shirt on. After the beginning of the movie he sat on his seat or he sat on my lap and he left on his 3D glasses. Then later in the movie when Rex was on the screen and he was sitting on my lap he turned to me and went "roar roar ROAR" so loud the people in the theatre next to us probably heard him. How cute is that????

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I had a tear due to the movie coming full circle from the first film... Andy gets to play with his toys once last time with Bonnie ( who is an only child with two busy elderly parents ). The last scene of the film is the blue sky with clouds... the same image we see in the first scene of "Toy Story" with Andy's bedroom! Clever!

The fire pit scene sure had me worried "How are they gonna get out of this?" and the answer was also smart & clever! "The claw!".

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My wife and I just took our 8 year old daughter and soon to be 2 year old son to see this just yesterday. I had to honestly say to my wife how much I actually enjoyed this movie. It was really in tradition with the other Toy Story movies. But this one even made my eyes bubble a lil bit. Moreso because my son was really into it as he sat on my lap. And it did make me think back to letting go of some of my favorite toys and knowing that the select few I have will be past onto him and so on. It was funny, touching, on a child's level, innocent and above all else, showed great imagination and script. I definately will be adding this to my collection when it comes out on dvd/blueray. We all really enjoyed it and I HIGHLY recommend it for macho dads.

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I never cry because I am hardened to the world around me. I see people as animals, and life as a dream, so absolutely nothing makes me "weep". I do feel sad at times, but it's like a big boy falling off his bike, and sucking it up (to relate it to the Toy Story theme). People live and people die; get used to it. American men, for the most part, have become simple-minded fools, who whine, cry and embarrass themselves over material objects, and fleeting emotions. Read some philosophy for Christ's sake! Burst the bubble you live in and open your eyes to the world outside of your comfort zone! It's shameful that American men have turned into such women. That's how I explain homophobia to people (and fyi, I'm not homophobic, but I can understand the feeling). It, for the most part, has nothing to do with the fear of being gay, but much more to do with the shame men feel when they see other men acting like women. Same can be applied to teary-eyed men. It is shameful to all of mankind. American men have virtually been castrated over the years, and those of you who fit that statistic can attempt to justify it by whatever means you like (and your women who have done the neutering can call me whatever names they want), but it is shameful what has happened to our society. It should never be socially acceptable for men to act like this... especially in front of their children. It is disgusting, quite frankly. I'm thoroughly sickened by this article... but no, I'm not going to cry about it.

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Great movie! I think one thing that makes these Pixar flicks so moving is that they can directly address very basic human experiences in a way that might come off as cliche or cloyingly sentimental if they were using live actors. To me, the idea of loss and human connection/disconnection are the fundamental issues that break our hearts when we watch these pics. Everyone knows these experiences, and everyone carries some heartbreak about it. I like seeing people's reactions when I tell them that I, a 55 year old jock, cried when I watched the first Toy Story!

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When I went to go see this movie, their was more grown-ups than kids and the grown-ups were more into it than the kids. I took a 10 year-old and before I explain to her the whole Toy Story franchise because she wasn't born when the 1st and 2nd one came out and she didn't get the 3rd one as much as I did. The whole point is, when you grew up on Toy Story like I did, then you will get more into it.

But I find it weird that the 1st one came out when I was 6, the 2nd one when I was 9, and the 3rd when I was 21. But I really loved all of them.

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I have a few comments to make on the earliest posts.

I am a 50 year old man who went to see Toy Story 3 with my wife and cried unashamedly. I am, admittedly, the type who used to cry at Kodak commercials. I liked the comeraderie of the toys, and how they were ultimately there for each other (and for Andy). Giving up something you love, even something you no longer use, can be sad; it means leaving a part of your life behind.

Regarding Greg and his calling someone out on spelling and grammar; I am a professional proofreader, and I too get bothered by the mistakes. However, only rarely have I been rude enough to point out the mistakes to the writers. I have done it to someone who has been rude to another poster, while making the same errors he decries. That being said, I have seen many posters make mistakes; I have not always thought about the person behind the errata, and that is something I shall work on as not everyone who posts, myself included, makes mistakes.

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I'm in my 50's, and though I have given up some toys, I refuse to give up others. They are packed away, and most will probably finance my retirement. Some I didn't start collecting until my 20's (wasn't alot of money around for toys when I was a kid).
My daughter saw this movie with my grandson yesterday, and she cried. I haven't seen it yet. She remembers me taking her to her first movie. When the snacks were gone, even though the movie wasn't over, she was ready to go. I still remind her of that at every opportunity. lol I refuse to see "Legend" because of what happens at the end. I won't watch it.
And, though I'm not THAT nitpickey......it's spelled GRAMMAR.

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Response to Greg, what is it with clowns such as you? Is your life so pointless that you must criticize website discussion boards due to misspelled words and grammer errors instead of just commenting on the movie or the emotions it created with most people? What makes you think that your impressing anyone with your borish inconsiderate attitude? You are the type of person that most people try and avoid in life but I just had to get my 2 cents in. Get a freaking life and just leave fool.

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I know exactly what this writer is talking about. A lot of the teens who watched the first Toy Story are now parents of their own. Having a 5 year old and having watched him growing up over the years was very similar to the way they portrayed Woody and the gang's feelings. I think it was very smart writing, directing etc. They really tugged on the heart strings of the previous Toys Story fans, parents and even the kids!

It was a bit overly sad/scary in the middle with the dumpster and the inferno. But I totally relate to this author of this article.

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..what made ME sad was that neither Andy NOR the little girl he gave all his toys to HAD fathers. Nor were EITHER of their fathers EVER even MENTIONED during the Toy Story movies. If they were then I stand corrected, but I'm positive they were only mentioned in passing. Then the KIDS in the theater all sat with only ONE parent. Hollywood is trying to teach our children not ONLY is having one parent OK, but that it's the NORM!!! Hollywood has tried to TEACH us that art imitates LIFE. It is MY firm belief that Hollywood wants their ART to CHANGE normal life. And we RELY ON and TRUST these people to deliver an HONEST message.

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Speaking as a woman, I think there is no shame in men crying. It is neither a sign of castration, emasculation nor of being effeminate. We would do well to remember that history and literature is full of men who cried - Christ, for example, wept upon hearing of the death of his dear friend Lazarus, the one he would eventually raise from the dead.
But I do digress. "Toy Story 3" has its finger on the truth about life and its uncompromising truth: that we all must grow up and "put away childish things." And as another contributor to this post observed, the toys as well as Andy must come to terms with this; they, too, must let go of Andy. That would bring tears to any feeling human being's eyes. If more men yielded to that human (not just feminine) side, perhaps there would be more love and fewer conflicts - such as the way some have used this site to tear each other down over secondary things like grammar.

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his article seizes on the exact emotion at play here for adults with children: the end of their childhood and their inevitable departure from our homes. It wasn't until near the end when Andy's mom gets choked up at that very idea that my lower lip began to quiver. The toys having to say goodbye, watching the car depart; wow, that got me as I sat in the theatre with my four kids. The time does fly. Another lesson to enjoy every moment and keep your head about you when they get out of line.

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