The Emotional Challenges for Kids

Rating: 10/10 (18 June 2010)

When Rex mistakenly sees daylight and he's corrected by Woody about what's really going on, the music takes a sinister turn. You see the expressions on the characters faces grow more worried. At that point, I heard kids in the theater yell out sympathetic worries for the gang. But the adults seemed confidently silent that they'd find their way out of things, as always.
When the villain of the movie invokes the popular internet meme/bible verse by yelling out "Where is your God now!" (God == Kid, so don't worry about cursing) and the gang is in a situation that is all but impossible for Andy or any other person to save them, it was the adults in the theater who seemed to gasp in panic... probably with thoughts like "I don't believe Pixar has done this to me; I'll never be able to explain an ending like this to my kids." But the beauty of the scene isn't really in how it was resolved. It was in what can be learned from it. The themes of strength in friendship, endurance through hardship, and, ultimately, the peace of acceptance when there is no other way out. Those are hard lessons to frame in any fictional setting, but the success of it in this movie was done very well.
The rewards for watching these lessons are great, but don't go into this movie with the youngest of children who will only remember the trauma and the challenges. If your child is mature enough to keep their attention to the end, they will be rewarded. The events in the film end on an upbeat note. Don't worry about toilet humor, sexual situations, or cuss words (very, very mild) but if you question your child's emotional maturity, you should preview it before hand.
Adults will love it compared to almost anything else out yet this year.