A simple poll. Which movie do you think is the best in the series?
I chose Toy Story 2 and it’s for a pretty stupid reason. I owned Toy Story growing up and eventually burned myself out on it and 3 didn’t come out until I was, roughly, an adult and I only saw it once. Toy Story 2, though, came out when I was still a kid and I never owned it so watching it was a relatively rare treat and I have a thing for Joan Cusack.
I’ve sold a lot of Toy Story toys while working at toy stores, but I have lived a hollow existence and never seen any of these movies.
They are basically the same movie made from three different premises. I think the third one is head and shoulders above the other two, which is standing tall indeed.
I picked the first one because it’s the only one I’ve seen.
I almost went with the first one – and maybe I should have. But I was already a grown-up when it came out, so it didn’t have the emotional impact on me that it might on a younger person seeing it for the first time. On the other hand, by the time 3 came out, I had children of my own and I was already dreading the day when they would grow up and put away childish things - so 3 literally made me tear up in the theater because of the emotional resonance. So 3 gets my vote.
I’m the first soulless creature. Didn’t like any of them, but watched them due to being around kids. They just didn’t do much for me.
As moving as 3 was, and despite being what may be the only example of a second sequel that is not only a good movie, but is actually better than the first - I went with 2.
It is the best film about an existential dilemma I’ve ever seen. Woody has to choose between being loved and mortal, or never again knowing love and being immortal.
Pretty damn deep for a “children’s movie”.
And as moved as I was during the incinerator scene in 3, I can’t watch the “When Somebody Loved Me” scene of 2 without sobbing.
My wife and I saw them in the theater, late show, no kids. Like the golden age Warner Brothers cartoons, they weren’t really made for kids.
I’m pretty sure if you saw them in a theater with no distractions, you’d be moved.
The second one really delved into the psychology and soul of being a toy, specifically an immortal toy nearing its owner’s playing days. The way they throw in a wide variety of perspectives on the subject, from a broken toy, to one that’s given up, to one that’s never known a child’s love, along with nostalgia and cynical adults. The rescue mission provides an action packed counterpoint. It’s all just about perfect.
The first one was very good, and it created the magical world, but the plot wasn’t special or unique, and the climax was odd and arbitrary. It still made me laugh and love the characters, even if Woody was an ass.
The third continued some of the themes of the second, particularly the prospect of destruction vs new owner. Most of the movie was just a prison break plot, and I didn’t like the addition of a villain toy. It still made me cry, and it was fun to see the toys being actually play with again. The opening sequence inside Andy’s youngimagination was wonderful.
I think the third one’s the best. All three were good, but the third was working with a much more difficult premise, and the fact that it succeeded with that premise made it that much more impressive. The kid’s not just approaching the age where he will eventually outgrow his toys: It’s actually happened. Deal with it. And the movie did deal with it.
Gotta go with “Toy Story”, just because of its originality in both premise and art form. The first Pixar movie was so amazing to me visually, knowing that everything was computer generated, but forgetting that after awhile and accepting the characters as “real”, with real emotions. In fact, what looked cartoonish and drawn were the people, and most anything the people interacted with.
They were all great, though. And Pixar has continued to improve people in every movie.
My granddaughter has been watching them, and she watches 2 over and over. It’s the one with the least violence.
I’m going with Toy Story 2, pretty much for the reasons that garygnu brings up.
Also, because I think it’s ultra-cool that Andy went to the same summer camp as Spin and Marty. 
I actually was trying to keep myself from tearing up at the end.
Wonderful movie. Probably one of my top 10 or 20 movies of all time. (I don’t watch a lot of movies.)
The first movie does have a unique premise, and it’s a great one: a toy who doesn’t know he’s a toy.
This is a Sophie’s Choice. But in terms of sheer quality of every element, with almost nothing to let it down, and with a villain of great charisma, I go with episode 3.
That’s a character. The plot is a standard buddy movie.
I like all 3, but I love 1 & 2.
The reason I didn’t like 3 as much was that it covered very similar ground as 2, with only the incinerator scene really making it feel like it was exploring new emotional territory. Plus the fact that most of the movie takes place in one location felt too confined and not as interesting as the areas explored in the first 2.
Plus 2 had Kelsey Grammer as Stinky Pete, which was brilliant.
I’ve tried. Not in a theater, but my sister bought the 3rd one and had a marathon with her husband and TheKid (she was 17 at the time IIRC). Could be due to my dislike of Tim Allen or my dislike of Woody, but I just could not get into them. Yet, I always had the habit of anthropomorphizing my toys as a kid.
Do I have to choose? 
This is one of the few “perfect trilogies” - that is, a trilogy in which all three installments are genuinely Great Films.
Actually, I can’t really think of any others off the top of my head. Anyone?
To answer the OP’s question… yerrgh. Gun to my head, I guess I’d pick the first film, since it has a certain oddball sense of humor that isn’t present in the latter two. I suspect that’s Whedon’s influence on the screenplay. But all three movies are brilliant.