Today’s the day my generation has been waiting for: the release of Disney-Pixar’s Toy Story 3. If you haven’t been looking forward to watching the conclusion to the Toy Story franchise, then I’m not sure you had a childhood, honestly.

It all started back in 1995:

Seeing as I was five at the time, I didn’t realize what a landmark Toy Story was. It was the first feature film released to only use CGI. Perhaps most importantly, it was the first film by the critically-acclaimed studio Pixar. Over the last fifteen years, it’s hard to find a movie studio that has been as successful as Pixar. The company has already won 22 Academy Awards. And just think of the film classics they have brought to audiences:

And finally:

So many memories! I honestly can tell you about the first time I saw so many of these movies. Who can forget the Finding Nemo phenomenon? I think my favorite Pixar movie has to be WALL-E, but the opening scenes of Up were absolutely beautiful. Pixar has made us laugh, cry, and laugh again over the years: their movies are masterpieces. The studio has made going to the movies fun again.

Toy Story holds a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first movies I vividly remember seeing. (The others were all Disney too, of course.) I’m also around the same age as Andy; we kind of grew up together, in the cinematic sense. And the story is universal, the close bond between young child and toy. It’s so much more though: the Toy Story films have been about growing up. It’s a journey we all inevitably have to go on.

I cannot wait to go to the movies tomorrow-I’m going to make it an event. What about you guys? Are you excited to finally see Toy Story 3? What’s your favorite Pixar movie?

~ Sarah