Top 10 moments from the 'Toy Story' trilogy

Pixar has officially announced Toy Story 4 to be released in 2017, and it's still pretty hard to believe. Toy Story 3 so clearly wrapped up all the characters and themes of the trilogy in a perfect bow. It ended on a completely satisfying note and was extremely emotional precisely because it was the end of these characters' journeys.

But now the Toy Story movies aren't going to be a trilogy anymore. It's hard not to be cynical about the whole thing, but even if the movie seems pretty unnecessary, let's not forget that Pixar has blown us away with sequels nobody really wanted before, and in my opinion Toy Story 2 and Toy Story 3 are far better than the first one.

The original Toy Story was released by Pixar in 1995 and the trilogy ended up spanning 15 years, with Toy Story 2 in 1999 but Toy Story 3 not being released until 2010. Each film balances a childlike sense of fun and silliness with some extremely serious themes of our mortality, fear of abandonment, and desire to hold on to the past. It's a trilogy that us cry and reflect on our lives almost as much as it makes us laugh.

In celebration of the movies we have so far, and in cautious anticipation of the next chapter in the toys' life, let's take a look at the top 10 best moments from the Toy Story trilogy.

[new page = The toys freak out Sid]

10. The toys freak out Sid

In this great scene from the first Toy Story, the toys decide to teach next door neighbor and serious bully Sid a lesson by coming to life and seriously freaking him out. It's a pretty hilarious moment of comeuppance for the film's villain, although to be fair to Sid, he may have treated the toys differently if he didn't know they weren't just inanimate objects, right? And it's hard not to feel a little bad for him considering how emotionally scarring it must have been to see a bunch of toys start coming to life and talking to you, only for nobody to ever believe you again for the rest of your life. That is a pretty dark fate for a kid who just likes to blow stuff up.

[new page = The airport scene]

9. The airport scene

What's so great about the Toy Story movies is that they can often be just as thrilling as any given live action movie you'll see in theaters. In this climatic sequence of Toy Story 2, the toys save Woody in the airport as he and Jesse are being shipped away. Woody then has to go after Jesse when she's put onto the plane which begins taking off. Seeing the toys have to traverse this giant airport, and then having seconds left before the plane takes off, is genuinely tense and thrilling, to the point where every time I watch this ending I'm still just as worried that they won't make it.

The final moment with Jesse and Woody is also one of the highlights of the film. Jesse is a character in constant fear of abandonment after what happened between her and Emily, her original owner. Woody asks Jesse to let go and trust him and that everything is going to be okay, and Jesse must take the leap and trust in someone again. It's a fantastic and emotionally satisfying conclusion to her character arc in the film, and so much more mature than we might expect from a film about talking toys.

[new page = Mrs. Nesbitt]

8. Mrs. Nesbitt

A lot of the joy of Toy Story just comes purely from the laughs, and this is one of the funniest and most quotable moments in the trilogy. In this scene Buzz, upset when he finds out he really is just a toy, essentially starts going crazy at a tea party in what has to be the toy version of being completely drunk. It's one of the biggest laughs at the movie but like all of Toy Story, there's an underlying darkness to it of having this horrible realization about your existence and completely breaking down. It's both a funny scene and a moment that speaks to one of the film's themes of learning to accept who you truly are.

[new page = Toy Story 2 opening]

7. Toy Story 2 opening

What a way to start a movie. The opening of Toy Story 2 is pretty epic and exciting, and as a kid it was definitely the moment I rewatched the most from the film. In the first Toy Story Buzz is completely out of his element, but we get glimpses in to what his character is probably supposed to be like and what he's "programmed" to do. In this awesome scene, we get to see Buzz completely in his element via the Buzz Lightyear video game. It serves both as kind of an homage to science fiction and video games and as just a pretty thrilling sequence. And let's best honest, who didn't want to play this as a real game?

[new page = Toy Story 3 opening]

6. Toy Story 3 western opening

The opening of Toy Story 3 is pretty amazing and completely one ups the opening of the previous film. In addition to being a thrilling action sequence, it's hard to describe just how satisfying it was to be seeing this on the big screen after not seeing these characters for 11 years. It's absolutely brilliant how elegantly the movie introduces the cast. We don't just open on all the toys sitting around. The film plays on our anticipation to see them again after so long, and so each characters gets a reveal moment when he comes on screen and we smile as if seeing an old friend again. It's also great because it mirrors the opening of the original Toy Story, with Andy playing with the toys in a western scenario, but now we're seeing it from the toys' perspective, or rather from how Andy imagines it. It's not just one of the best Toy Story moments, it's one of the best openings to a movie in recent memory.

[new page = Woody makes a decision]

5. Woody makes a decision

Throughout Toy Story 2, the toys desperately try to rescue Woody, only to realize that Woody doesn't want to be rescued. He's on his way to a museum with Jesse and Stinky Pete. Woody is afraid of abandonment and of being hurt, and he'd rather run to a sure thing that's forever (the museum) than stay where he belongs but knowing that it will eventually end. But as the "You've got a friend in me" song plays, Woody realizes how important his love of Andy and of the fellow toys is. "I can't stop Andy from growing up," he says, "but I wouldn't miss it for the world." This is a great moment of catharsis in the film, and it goes with the film's theme of accepting and embracing our own mortality. Andy abandoning the toys is really a metaphor for the impending forces in our life we can't control, and Woody in Toy Story 2 has an opportunity to escape them. But he realizes that what's most important in life, trumping our desire to escape pain, abandonment and loss, is being there for the people we love.

[new page = Buzz tries to fly]

4. Buzz tries to fly

This is one of the most emotional moments in the trilogy. Buzz Lightyear, who spends most of the film believing he is a real space ranger, sees a commercial with him in it and realizes that he really is just a toy. Buzz won't accept this, and as the music swells he tries to fly out the window. But no, he can't fly. He's just a toy. It's an overwhelmingly sad moment about realizing your limitations and who you really are, and that realization not quite living up to your expectations. But Buzz will eventually realize that being a toy is pretty great, and the movie teaches us that even if we aren't an awesome space ranger, who we are can sometimes be pretty great too, and part of our journey in life is learning to love and accept that.

[new page = When Somebody Loved Me]

3. When Somebody Loved Me

This is definitely the highlight of Toy Story 2, and one of the most emotional moments Pixar has to offer. In it, we learn about the backstory of Jesse, a character filled with a fear of abandonment. We get a glimpse at her journey with her previous owner who loved her at one time, but eventually grew up, moved on, and abandoned her.

The Toy Story trilogy really isn't really about being a toy. It's about being human; it just uses toys to express that. We can all relate to the fear of being abandoned by those we love, whether it's a girlfriend, boyfriend, relative, family member, etc. We love and we value them, but nothing lasts forever, and especially with friends, it's almost inevitable that they will slip away. We lose touch, our interests change, or life sends us in different directions. Eventually, we end up like Jesse, reflecting back on what we once had, maybe with a sense of mistrust of putting our love and faith in a relationship again when it's probably just a flimsy and temporary.

But as we know, Jesse eventually finds a community of friends that love her in addition to a great new owner. Toy Story 2 tell us that losing people is sad and it's a part of life, but we should always stay optimistic for what's around the corner.

[new page = The Incinerator]

2. The Incinerator

I would place the incinerator sequence of Toy Story 3 in any list of iconic movie moments in the history of cinema. It is one of the most incredible and impacting scenes I have ever witnessed on screen, and in addition to the end of the movie, it's really the culmination of everything the movies have been leading up to.

Throughout the trilogy, the toys' absolute worst fear is being abandoned and thrown out by Andy, and that has essentially happened in this scene. They've been thrown out, though Andy is still looking for them, and the toys struggle throughout the action sequence to escape.

But in this moment, the toys all come to the realization that it's over for them. There's nothing else they can do, and they slowly stop trying to escape. They have been confronted with their worst fear and with their own death, but then something magical happens. The toys stop, join together, and hold hands. They realize that in the face of death, all that matters is being together and loving each other.

Though the toys don't actually die, and are saved last minute with an amazing callback to the "the claw" running joke, it doesn't really matter. The movie has still made its point and has come to its conclusion. The Toy Story trilogy presents us with the anxiety and fear of the future and of our mortality, but teaches us that in the face of forces we can't control, what's most important is to surround ourselves with people we love who can whether the storm with us.

[new page = So Long]

1. So Long

It's moments like these that make a lot of fans really skeptical of Toy Story 4. The ending of Toy Story 3 is perhaps the most emotional and satisfying ending of any film. By this point, the toys have learned their lesson about the need to move on and accept the future with the help of people we love. Now, the movie gives them a chance to say goodbye. The toys have spent the whole movie wanting to get Andy to play with them again, and here he does for one last time.

What's great about the ending is that it's satisfying both as an end to the arc of Andy and of the toys. Like the audience, Andy grew up with these toys, and it's hard to say goodbye to something that was such an integral part of our lives. A lot of kids who grew up with Toy Story were going off to college when Toy Story 3 came out, and so the movie perfectly taps in to our fear of leaving our childhood behind.

That's essentially what Andy is doing here, and the movie makes tangible the feeling of saying goodbye to youth and stepping into a next chapter. Andy reflects on this chapter of his life and says goodbye before moving on. The toys to the same, accepting that they've been fearing all along with a smile. They say goodbye to Andy and they move on.

The ending of Toy Story 3 is infamous for making people cry because it once again taps into our desire to hold on to the past and not leave our childlike innocence behind. But the movie gently holds our hand and tell us it's going to be okay. While we should appreciate our past, we must never let it hold us back, bravely moving on into the future with the help of those we love.