My Toy Story 3 Experience

Last June 27, 2010, I watched Toy Story 3 at IMAX with Kuya Jun and the quite rowdy batch of Gudoy, Davey, Miguel and Aaron. Kuya Jun informed me about babysitting these young boys at SM Mall of Asia. They were very excited to watch a movie in IMAX since most of them were first-timers. We arrived there some minutes after 1:00 PM and the next schedule was 3:15 PM. So, we decided to stay at the IMAX waiting area for- as Gudoy calculated- two hours. I think it was a good option for us since the boys were constantly running around, except for Gudoy who just sat beside me and thought of a two-hour wait to be endless. Gudoy relentlessly asked me for the time and felt disappointed whenever only three minutes have passed. I told him that time stops if you keep on asking about it but by the look in his face I thought he did not buy the idea. After one hour, the boys started to ask about soda and popcorn prices. While waiting, the boys entertained me with their questions- Ano ba ang ibig sabihin ng combo snack? Gaano ba kalaki ang regular popcorn? Bakit isasauli ang 3D glasses, hindi ba kasama sa binayaran natin ‘yan? Technology ba ang tawag sa 3D glasses?

We finally entered the IMAX theatre and I was as much excited as the boys were. When the signature 3D countdown was displayed on the screen, I can hear the boys shout- “Awesome”, “Cool” and the statement that almost made me laugh was– “I can’t believe I’m here”. I will not talk about the movie here because I really want you to watch it. Kuya Alvan had been telling as to watch it since Friday for the very reason that the movie had good reviews and a very high score of 98% at Rotten Tomatoes. For me, the movie surpassed my expectations- and I had high expectations before I watched it. When the film almost came to an end, there was a beautiful scene between Andy and the toys and it made me teary-eyed. I don’t always feel emotional whenever I watch films and I think the last time that I really cried was in a scene wherein Mufasa fell from a cliff and died in The Lion King. I finally realized that what was really touching about the episode was that I saw myself in Andy and how he has grown through the years. The first time I watched Toy Story was in 1995 and I was 11 years old then. As we walked towards the exit of the theatre, I told the boys that the first time I watched Toy Story was when I was in Grade 5 (which is Davey and Aaron’s grade level this school year), and Miguel replied, “wow, ang tagal na pala ‘nun”… And yes, if I were in his shoes I would have said the same thing.

Outside, we waited for Miguel’s mom. When Ate Mabel arrived, she asked us if the boys enjoyed the movie and I replied, “nag-enjoy nga din kami [ni Kuya Jun]”. Then, I said goodbye to them and headed to a bookstore to buy a book that was on my required reading list. Scenes from the film just lingered on my mind and I remembered that Kuya Alvan said to us that the theme of Toy Story 3 is “moving on with our life”. And just as I passed by the activity center of SM, I saw a live performance of my favorite Filipino singer/composer- Noel Cabangon. While he was singing, “Tuloy pa rin ang awit ng buhay ko…” I realized that God is really a God of perfect timing. Although I knew that the song was in the context of love loss and heartbreak, I toyed with the thought of a line from the chorus- “Handa na ‘kong hamunin ang aking mundo, ‘pagkat tuloy pa rin”. I knew that God met me at that moment and the message that He wanted me to realize was how much He has been faithful to me throughout the years. I believe that we can brave the toughest situation in life because God truly cares for us and that He gets the glory from our darkest hours. Through every storm and every sunshine, God always reminded me that it’s not about me, it has always been about Him. As a response, it is but fitting for me to continuously strive to be a dispenser of His grace.