1 min read
The blogosphere is buzzing about Oscar nominations, due to be announced in January, and Toy Story 3 is one film hotly tipped for best animation category.
Having loved the film myself, I have been keen to read other views and came across this interesting theory which claims that the entire movie is based on the Holocaust.
Those that have seen the animated film, about a group of toys whose owner has grown up and is ready to move to university without his childhood companions, may be shocked by this suggestion.
But the author claims that parallels begin right from the opening scene, where 17-year-old Andy is leaving for university. Hoffman claims it is like host nations leaving behind the Jews as Nazis took over Europe. Hmmm.
The tenuous parallels continue as he goes on to compare the scene where the toys discuss their future options to the train station scene from Roman Polanski’s The Pianist and a scene where the abandoned toys accidentally fall down a rubbish chute into a burning furnace is compared to the Nazi crematoria.
It seems we are going a little too far when every attic in a film is reminiscent of Anne Frank, every train is a reflection of the Jews being sent to the camps and any sign of manual labour is a reminder of Jews forced into labour at work camps.
I don’t think the people at Pixar were craftily concealing hidden messages of Nazi persecution behind Buzz Lightyear, Mr Potato Head and Barbie.
But I do think there was an important message in the film: that of friendship, loyalty and selflessness and sometimes it is significant to remember those messages too.
To get more from opinion, click here to sign up for our free Editor's Picks newsletter.