Alright, I’ve had an idea these past few days.
The track “You Got Lucky” plays during Chuckles’ tale of him, Lotso, and Big Baby’s past. As we all know, the three were once loved by Daisy, but were lost, and after a valiant journey home, Lotso found he was replaced. Lotso turned abusive and controlling, lying to Big Baby that he’d been replaced as well. Chuckles knows that he and Big Baby weren’t replaced, but Lotso won’t hear any of it in bitter rejection. The three hitchhike, trying to find a new home, with a child or without one, but end up at Sunnyside. Lotso rises to power at Sunnyside like organized crime with Big Baby, and runs it like a prison.
Alright, now let’s think about the three Toy Story films. Toy Story was the most light-hearted, and Buzz and Woody became buddies by the end. Toy Story 2 became more dramatic with Jessie’s backstory, and set up Andy’s growing up like stormclouds on the horizon, but the toys only faced separation. Toy Story 3 was dark, dramatic, and they faced death straight in the eye, as well as emotional turmoil.
Now, think of the opening of this sequence with Chuckles in three, no, five parts.
youtube.com/watch?v=qMMojyRgefk
Part One - 0:00 to 0:18 or so. Chuckles explains he knew Lotso, and that he was a good toy and friend once. Chuckles was present when Lotso was unwrapped for Christmas by Daisy. Now Part One represents this film, Toy Story 3, so far. So far, it’s been funny (Chuckles’ appearance representing Bonnie’s toys, Ken and Barbie, and other funny points), but already emotional and gloomy (the sad harmonica playing representing the loss of Bo Peep and other toys, the lockup of Andy’s toys in Sunnyside, and the bad farewell with Woody leaving the toys at Sunnyside). Part One reflects on what’s happened so far in Toy Story 3.
Part Two - 0:20 to 0:50. This part represents the first Toy Story. It was relatively light-hearted, but sophisticated. In this scene, we see Lotso, Big Baby and Chuckles happy with their lives with Daisy, and having little playtime adventures and such. Buzz and Woody may have faced Sid’s mutilation, but the film wasn’t nearly emotional or dramatic as the next two films. Part Two is a hunky dorry retouch on the first film, just like Lotso’s life with Daisy.
Part Three - 0:50 to 1:20. Part Three is Toy Story 2. Lotso, Big Baby and Chuckles find themselves lost in the real world, and trudge back home in a desperate exodus. Sure, they face some greater threats then they did before, but they don’t face being thrown away. In Toy Story 2, the stakes are higher, as instead of Woody being separated from Andy and others across town, they face separation from an entire ocean. The music and Toy Story 2 is more dramatic and emotional, but not as dark as Toy Story 3 proves to be later on.
Part Four - 1:20 to 2:05. Part Four is more or less a reprise of Part One. It has a very emotional remembrance of the loss of Bo Peep - the violin when Lotso sees he’s replaced - and the messy “breakup”. It also gets a lot darker, especially when Lotso turns evil and angry, and violently takes Big Baby away from Daisy’s. That small scene of Lotso turning evil could be represented by Lotso imprisoning Andy’s toys at Sunnyside - only after two rounds of physical beating, from the Caterpillar kids, and Bad Buzz - as well as Lotso’s smug, pleased and nonchalant smiling as he watches Andy’s toys be violently apprehended.
Part Five - 2:05 to 2:27. This is the culmination of the Lotso’s backstory section of “You Got Lucky”. Lotso’s trio arrives at Sunnyside on a dark, stormy night, with extremely eerie and dramatic music. Lotso’s leg has also been crippled by his fall. This highlights the extremely perlious and deadly encounters the toys will have at the dump and the incinerator, facing oblivion together. Lotso limping towards Sunnyside is the invitation from Pixar - that this is an omen of what’s to come. We’ve never seen anything this dark and dramatic in a Pixar film yet, and a lightning-lit, otherwise completely dark Sunnyside represents the latter part of the film we’re about to face. We’re about to sink into the dramatic, dealy, and emotional abyss… and Pixar’s offering you the chance to see the toys through… to the bitter end, if so be it.
Part Six - 2:27 to 3:01. The final part of this story of the trilogy. It’s sad, lonely, and emotional, as Chuckles tells Woody that new toys don’t stand a chance under Lotso’s regime, and Woody has to make a choice - get back to Andy, or save his friends. This is the reflection time for what we just saw in Part Five with the dark, dramatic climax. We reflect on the omens of a very dark direction for Toy Story 3’s ending, and make a choice - stick with the toys to the ending, no matter how bleak it gets… or leave. Of course, being the avid Toy Story fans we are, we know the right thing to do is stay… but it promises to be a rough road ahead, for Woody, and us as moviegoers.
Woo, that was fun to write. Any comments, opinions?