Toy Story 3: Had a ball, bawled like a baby.

I saw TOY STORY 3 — and yes, I cried like a baby, even before the good-bye scene at the end.

Martin and I went together to see it. Our kids wouldn't go with us. At this stage of their lives, they'd rather see GROWN-UPS.

Some day they'll grow up, for real. That day happens when they realize that the best movies make you laugh (for all the right reasons — and those reasons aren't potty jokes) and cry.

I love Pixar. They get it right every time. That is the one studio — animation or live action — that understands that the best movies are story-driven. Sure, you're wow'ed by the great animation, which is both colorful and realistic. But what you remember are the characters, and their wonderful dialogue. (Hamm the Pig: "Come on, let's see how much we're going for, on eBay!")

The first TOY STORY movie came out 15 years ago. Hard to believe, isn't it? I remember taking our kids to see it — and being awed by it. Again, by colorful characters who were well-drawn — and by that, I don't just mean by the way in which they lit up the screen, but how they stayed in our hearts. Buzz Lightyear, voiced by Tim Allen, the pompous hero with a heart of gold; the always hysterical Mrs. Potato Head (yes, that's George's mom in SEINFELD, Estelle Harris) and her gruff hubby, Mr. Potato Head (Don Rickles, who, frankly, is toned down: for the kiddies, if not for the adults in the audience).

And then there's Tom Hank's Woody. Director John Lasseter got that one so right from the very first film in this trilogy, since Hanks will always be this generation's voice of an American hero.

And aren't our toys our heroes? 

Mine were Chatty Cathy, my bubble-hair-do'ed Barbie, and a purple stuffed bunny who went by the name of (you guessed it) Bunny. Not a day goes by that I don't miss Chatty. She was my BFF, my confidante, the gal pal I went to when I needed a pity party. But when her voice box quit working, she went to the Doll Hospital–

And never came back.

I'd like to think it's just the attic of my mom's house, but, alas, I'm guessing that Doll Hospital looks something like the odious incinerator in TS3.

Bunny is still with me, snuggled with the stuffed animals the kids have discarded. I'm holding all of them for some future generation of grand kids.

As for Bubble Hair-Do'ed Barbie…..gee I wonder how much she'd fetch on eBay?

I feel sorry for the classically pretty. Seems that people only admire them for their looks, not their souls.

And if TOY STORY has taught us just one thing, it's that our toys do have souls.

—Josie

http://twitter.com/JosieBrownCA

http://www.facebook.com/josiebrownauthor

  Josie's Next Book: Secret Lives of Husbands and Wives

Simon & Schuster/Downtown Press

(ISBN: 9781439173176)

In bookstores June 1, 2010. Order it TODAY!

"Hollywood's got nothing on the cast of characters living in the bedroom community of Paradise Heights, who have the secrets, sex, money and scandal of an OK! Magazine cover story. Josie Brown is a skilled observer whose clever dialogue and feisty style make for truly entertaining reading."