Unfortunately, it looks as if The Hobbit trilogy wont be as great as Director Peter Jacksons The Lord of the Rings.

Desolation of Smaug picks up a short time after the events of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Hobbit Bilbo Baggins, played by Martin Freeman, is continuing on his quest with a traveling group made up of dwarves lead by Thorin, played by Richard Armitage and the wizard Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen.

The group is being chased by a pack of evil orcs who are trying to stop them on their quest to reach the caverns where the dragon Smaug resides. The group is on a quest to kill Smaug and retake the land back for the dwarves, which in the process would make Thorin king. Along the way they are met by enemies and allies, and some who fall in between.

Desolation is both helped and suffers from the same things that were in the first movies plot. What helps this movie is Director Peter Jackson is talented enough to direct an epic scale adventure film that can keep a persons interest.

What ends up hurting the movie, though, is the pacing, which makes the movie drag out longer than it needs. There is a whole trilogy of films trying to cover a single book in one solitary quest. It feels like plot points are simply unnecessary, or out of place.

The story is stretched a little too thin over the run time of all three movies. More time in the editing room would have helped because the movie needed to be trimmed.

The acting works at times and doesnt at others. The best part is the lead protagonist who is very well adapted from the books and written competently for the screen. The character Bilbo Baggins is supposed to represent that courage can come from anybody and Freeman nails it perfectly. Whenever Bilbo was given a time to shine, his character completely steps up to the plate and through Freemans acting, the role is believable.

As usual, McKellen is also great as Gandalf. This is his fifth film where he is playing the wizard and McKellen feels natural in the role. He doesnt have any trouble getting into character.

Another returning actor who really performed well is Richard Armitage as Thorin. Armitage is fantastic at portraying a strong leader who shows camaraderie with his dwarf brethren, as well as a growing trust for Bilbo.

Some additions that didnt exactly help were the two elves Legolas, played by Orlando Bloom and Tauriel, portrayed by Evangeline Lilly. Both characters are a film adaptation only, not making an appearance in the book. There was a feeling the only reason they were added to the film was to insert more action sequences.

Read the original post:
‘Desolation’ is good, just not really great

Cedar Rapids, IA (PRWEB) December 13, 2013

Mid November welcomed a second tenant to The Fountains complex at Blairs Ferry and Edgewood roads in Cedar Rapids. Joining Salon Jude, the Sanctuary Spa opened its doors to the public and will enjoy preliminary exposure and attention as one of the first in a long line of shops and restaurants soon to call The Fountains their home.

Sanctuary Spa has relocated from its former site on Blairs Ferry Road. The Fountains location provides greater exposure and nearly twice the square footage, allowing them to offer additional services and treatment options.

From the moment you enter the facility, every amenity and feature accentuate the theme of relaxation and pampering of its clientele. Some of the services offered include facials & advanced skin treatments, massage & body treatments, waxing, nail services, and make-up application. There are individual treatment rooms, a couples treatment room as well as a relaxation room where one can go just to relax and enjoy quiet contemplation before your service. For more information about current and upcoming features at the spa, visit their website at http://www.crsanctuaryspa.com.

Compass Commercial Services ensures that the shops and services offered at The Fountains do not follow a cookie-cutter look or feel, but that each facility is able to exemplify its own dynamic which contributes to The Fountains overall comprehensive style. Although the first two stores are salon/spa oriented, there will soon be a wide variety of shops and restaurants with a personality unique to the theme of that particular facility. Compass works closely with each facility owner to provide the design and ambiance desired for that outlet.

About Compass Commercial Services

Compass Commercial Services is a full-service General Contracting and Construction Management firm in the Cedar Rapids area specializing in a wide range of commercial construction projects including interior and exterior renovations, remodeling, building additions and the complete construction of new buildings. As a TRUE design-build firm, Compass Commercial Services is poised to complete projects from the ground up. From the initial design through the entire building process, customers have the advantage of working directly with one company, and a team that is structured to deliver final projects on time, and on budget.

Read the original post:
Compass Commercial Services Welcomes the Newest Tenant to The Fountains

Chapel Hill, NC (PRWEB) December 13, 2013

SEN Design Group is proud to announce that for the second year in a row, one of its members was named as one of the National Kitchen and Bath Associations 30 Under 30.

Courtney Rogers of Renewal Design-Build in Decatur, GA has been named one of the 30 entrepreneurs, CEOs and designers who are the next generation of kitchen and bath professionals according to the NKBA. The award-winning designer has had projects featured in numerous publications such as Professional Remodeler Magazine as well as on Houzz.com. Rogers was the recipient of the 2013 Chrysalis Award as well as a 2011 Calla Award, given by the NKBA-GA Chapter.

Courtney is an incredibly gifted designer. Her ability to balance form and function, synthesizing a client's taste with their budget, is unparalleled. She is continuously researching products and trends to ensure that her clients receive the best solutions possible, always with a smile and a professional warmth and caring that turns her clients into friends. I have no doubt that Courtney will be receiving this award again when its her turn for the next decade of 40 under 40, stated Peter Michelson, CEO of Renewal Design-Build.

The 30 Under 30 professionals will spend two days exploring the 2014 KBIS show for innovations, new technologies, and emerging business models before presenting their findings at the end of show. This opportunity allows the recipients to learn about new products and immerse themselves into the upcoming trends, promoting their growth and development.

About the SEN Design Group: The SEN Design Group is the industrys first kitchen and bath buying and business development group. As an 19-year-old professional organization, SEN has over 200 members nationwide and more than 70 quality vendors in cabinetry, appliances, plumbing fixtures, decorative hardware, closets, lighting, bathroom products, flooring, tile, business services and accessories who offer their products/services to the membership at group rates. Additionally, SEN offers over 40 business development services to its membership, including financial planning, business coaching, business management training, sales training programs, marketing tools to generate leads, networking, and management systems. For more information on SEN, visit http://www.sendesigngroup.com.

About Renewal Design-Build Renewal Design-Build is an award-winning, full-service, design-build remodeling company offering turnkey solutions, from design concept to move-in since 2001, including: major renovations, additions, green home performance assessments and improvements, whole house remodels, and upscale Atlanta kitchen remodeling services. Renewal Design-Build is ranked as a Top 5 Atlanta Residential Remodeling company for three years running (by the Atlanta Business Chronicle) and has won numerous awards for successfully renovating Atlantas finest old homes, craftsman bungalows, classic ranches, and every kind of residence in between. The company serves prominent in-town Atlanta neighborhoods including Ansley Park, Avondale Estates, North Decatur, Lake Claire, Candler Park, Decatur, Druid Hills, Inman Park, Toco Hills, Buckhead, Brookhaven, Sandy Springs, Dunwoody and Chastain. They help homeowners put the pieces together to solve the puzzle of renovation. For more information, please call 404-378-6962 or visit them online at http://www.RenewalDesignBuild.com.

See the rest here:
SEN Design Group Member Receives Industry Honor

The second installment of Peter Jackson's interminable trilogy proves, again, that more is less.

There are two obvious ways a director can go wrong in adapting a work with a large and ardent pre-existing fan base. He (or she) can feel so constrained by expectations that he makes his adaptation too literal, a book-on-film. Or he can get carried away riffing on the original story, pulling in references from related works and assuming that fans appetites for additional material are, for all intents and purposes, insatiable.

Peter Jackson's Violent Betrayal of Tolkien

As a general rule, I think the former temptation, over-fidelity, is the greater hazard. But Peter Jacksons The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug is proof that when you go the other wayreally, really far the other waythe result can be genuinely egregious.

Last years The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, the first installment of Jacksons Hobbit trilogythe very phrase hits me like a wave of depressiontook Tolkiens slender childrens novel and reimagined it as a prequel to The Lord of the Rings. Characters from the latter work (Galadriel, Saruman, Radagast) were imported for cameos, and the entire production was juiced upover-written, over-orchestrated, over-CGId, over-everythingedto be more epic and grownup.

This time out, Jackson goes further still, producing a film that plays less like LoTR prequel than LoTR remake. The film opens in the town of Bree, where a small-statured traveller stopping at the inn of the Prancing Pony finds himself under watchful, unfriendly gazes until a mysterious figure comes to his aid. (Get it?) This time out, the traveller is Thorin Oakenshield (Richard Armitage) and the mystery man is Gandalf (Ian McKellan). But the sense of dj vu, however deliberate, is suffocating.

And yes, before we go further, Im well aware that this meeting is cited in The Hobbit, and that many of Jacksons other additions and digressions are part of the larger Middle Earth canon. But despite the fact the Tolkien went back to amend The Hobbit more than once, he never chose to cram in all this supplemental material, because the book was not intended as a sweeping, multifaceted epic, but rather as a more personal, hobbits-eye-view adventure story.

Not so, alas, in the hands of Jackson, who is so titillated by his various subplots and foreshadowings that he even loses track of his protagonist, Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman), for considerable stretches. Orcswhich played no role at all in Tolkiens novelplay an even larger role in this installment than in the previous one, the better to supply the many impalements and beheadings Jackson feels compelled to display. Forget cameos by LoTR veterans: In this film, Legolas (likewise never mentioned in the book) reappears as a principal character. (Its hard to shake the suspicion that Orlando Blooms asking price must have come down considerably from its inflated, post-LoTR high.) And the identity of the mysterious necromancer who has begun forming his armies of darkness, fiercely implied in the first movie, is made all too painfully explicit by the midpoint of this one.

A brand-new character is thrown into the mix in the form of a woodland elf named Tauriel (played by Evangeline Lilly, or Kate from Lost), who quickly becomes the crux of an interspecies love triangle. And Bard the Bowman (Luke Evans) has been semi-demoted to Bard the Bargeman (the movie spends a lot of time in Laketown), though theres little doubt that hell be given the chance to earn his loftier nickname using a newfangled Dwarvish anti-aircraft crossbow in the trilogys next installment.

Yes, next installment. Though Bilbo and the dwarves do make it at last to the Lonely Mountain to encounter the dragon Smaug (voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch), the great worm will have to wait until the final movie to intersect with his arrow of destiny. Instead, he spends the latter part of this film contending with a borderline MacGyveresque plot by the dwarves to bring about his destruction deep in the halls of Erebor. (I hope Im beyond the point where I need to note that this, too, is a Jackson invention.)

See more here:
The Hobbit 2 Is Bad Fan Fiction

NEW YORK The Hobbit has been saved at least for the time being. The Desolation of Smaug is a vast improvement over the first installment and is an excellent return to the level of quality as The Lord of the Rings.

A possible reason for this Hobbits greatness is that it only covers the middle portion of the book -- the parts with all the action. How this will all play out in the long run remains to be seen. Splitting a short book into three three-hour films still doesnt seem like a good idea, especially since the exposition in the first film was a long, arduous journey. If the third film, There and Back Again is another three-hour long arduous conclusion, then the entire three-film experience could be ruined. But the sheer majesty and scope of Smaug combined with phenomenal action sequences has certainly corrected the course from the first film. Lets hope Jackson closes the final film out with as much gusto as this one.

Unlike the first film, Smaug has rip-roaring action set pieces, especially one show-stopping sequence with Bilbo and the dwarves escaping in barrels down a river while orcs and elves pursue. Its the kind of frenetic and well executed action scenes Steven Spielberg and George Lucas unloaded in the Indiana Jones and Star Wars films. Its that good.

Jackson and company drop the silly humor which bogged down the first film and treat this second story with as much maturity and sophistication as any of the Lord of the Rings films. It would be false to say there is no humor in Smaug, but Jackson has rightly re-directed this film back to the Rings audience rather than the younger targeted audience of An Unexpected Journey.

Even though the story is called The Hobbit, these films are about the plight of the dwarves to reclaim their mountain kingdom from the dragon Smaug. Jackson opens superficial avenues to explore entitlement, bigotry and altruism as the dwarves make their way closer to their prize; the elves, humans and dragons hate the dwarves. The poor bearded guys have a pretty bad rap which makes this more their journey to win back the hearts of Middle Earth than it is for Bilbo Baggins to do much of anything other than tag along.

Naturally, the original cast returns and Martin Freeman, again, is excellent as Bilbo Baggins, in a slightly more mature performance than his first. The situation has become direr and Bilbo has gained a wealth of confidence. Freeman is still the finest actor yet to play a hobbit. Ian McKellan, too, fits comfortably back into Gandalfs pointy hat as he again finds himself in a world of trouble. Even Orlando Bloom reprises his star-making role as Legolas, with Jackson adding a hint of lust and jealousy to the typically stoic elf.

For part two, Jackson introduces a wealth of new lands and characters, which greatly helps keep this three-hour film moving at a brisk pace. The two most significant additions are Luke Evans as the reluctant hero Bard and Evangeline Lilly as Tauriel, an elf with a soft-spot for one of the dwarves. Lilly is a fine addition to the saga as a strong female character, something that has really been lacking in the previous films. She just as effortlessly rolls Tolkeins elfish language off her tongue as she brings down a hundred orcs in seconds with her super-powered archery skills. Perhaps, too, 2013 is setting a new perquisite that strong female action characters must be archery pros.

A separate story line from Bilbos features Gandalf investigating the mysterious resurrection of an ancient evil, which nicely plants the seeds for the action to come in The Lord of the Rings. Juggling Bilbos and Gandalfs stories is a plus for this film, which gives it the same weight, excitement and mystery as the first trilogy.

Also joining the cast are Stephen Fry as the bumbling leader of Laketown, Lee Pace as the Elvinking and if you look closely, you can even see Stephen Colbert as a lurking spy in Laketown sequences.

But the film all comes down to the explosive climax featuring the dragon Smaug, wonderfully voiced by Benedict Cumberbatch. Make a dragon monologue like a Bond villain and you have Smaug, and theres no better voice to accompany those droll lines of maniacal egotism than Cumberbatch. This certainly has been Cumberbatchs year, and he is scintillating as the overweening dragon.

Excerpt from:
Can 'Smaug' save 'Hobbit'?

SEATTLE (AP) - All-Star second baseman Robinson Cano and the Seattle Mariners finalized their $240 million, 10-year contract that was agreed upon late last week.

The deal, which is tied for the fourth largest contract in major league history, was completed Thursday after Cano passed his physical.

Cano had spent his entire career with the Yankees. The five-time All-Star played in 160 games last season and hit .314 with 27 homers and 107 RBI. Cano posted a .899 on-base plus slugging percentage and finished fifth in American League MVP voting.

The Yankees offered Cano a $175 million, seven-year deal. New York went 85-77 last season and missed the playoffs for only the second time in 19 years; Seattle went 71-91 and hasn't been in the playoffs since 2001.

The 31-year-old second baseman is represented by Jay-Z's Roc Nation and CAA Sports. He was New York's most feared hitter for the past several years, and the loss of a middle infielder who bats .300 and hits 30 homers stings. Cano posted a .899 on-base plus slugging percentage last season and finished fifth in American League MVP voting.

Only the two deals signed by Alex Rodriguez - first with Texas and then the Yankees - and Joey Votto's contract with Cincinnati were worth more. Albert Pujols also signed a $240 million deal with the Los Angeles Angels. Cano will make $24 million per season from 2014-23 and the contract includes bonuses for awards. It's the fifth deal to top $200 million in baseball history.

Cano is scheduled to be introduced at a news conference later Thursday.

"We have made a major commitment to a player who is one of the most dynamic in Major League Baseball," Seattle general manager Jack Zduriencik said in a statement. "And Robinson has made a commitment to the Seattle Mariners organization and to the City of Seattle. We have stayed true to our plan of building our organization from the ground up through the amateur draft and player development, and now have had the opportunity to add an All-Star player through free agency."

Cano's been one of the most durable players in baseball for the past seven seasons, missing only 14 out of 1,120 games since the start of the 2007 season. He's a career .309 hitter who has averaged 24 homers and 97 RBIs per season. Cano has hit at least 25 homers and had a slugging percentage above .500 in every season since 2009.

Cano will be the anchor for a lineup that's lacked consistency at the plate most of the past decade. Seattle made other additions at the winter meetings to support Cano, agreeing to a one-year deal with Corey Hart and acquiring Logan Morrison in a trade with the Miami Marlins.

Continue reading here:
Robinson Cano and Mariners finalize huge contract

Annual Music Issue - 2013

The Top 20 Plus 29 More That Made Our List

by Tim McMahan

The state of the Nebraska music scene is reflected in the adjoining list of the Top 20 bands of 2013 along with the 29 others that comprise the rest.

We usually limit the rest to just 15 bands, but when it came time to pull the list together this year, we couldnt stop or better yet couldnt see a reason to. The sheer number of quality new bands has never been higher, but where are they coming from? Didnt the Nebraska music scene peak sometime in the mid-2000s?

It was New Yorker writer Malcolm Gladwell who came up with the concept of the tipping point in culture, business and society its the moment of critical mass, the boiling point, the cresting of the hill that only builds momentum.

Benson reached its tipping point this year, and now were seeing an avalanche of new bars and booze joints opening along one of the citys oldest corridors. While were all busy patting ourselves on the back about this new Barley Districts economic boom, remember how it all began. First there was Micks Music & Bar, then there was The Waiting Room in 2007. While Micks closed in 2008 (and became another music venue called The Sydney) The Waiting Room flourished.

It wasnt alone. The same year The Waiting Room opened its doors, so did The Slowdown located in Omahas North Downtown district, acknowledged as one of the best music venues in the Midwest (perhaps topped only by The Waiting Room itself).

Meanwhile, one of the citys favorite dive-bar hangouts, OLeavers, quietly built a reputation as an adult playground for the citys finest garage and noise-rock bands as well as a convenient tour stop for young indie bands crossing the country. This year OLeavers gained heightened legitimacy when three members of national indie rock band Cursive bought the joint, along with long-time bartender and musician Chris Machmuller.

Add to those live music venues The Barley Street Tavern, Pageturners, PS Collective, the aforementioned Sydney, The Side Door, House of Loom, newcomer the Sweatshop Gallery, as well as all those Lincoln music venues the legendary Zoo Bar, Duffys, Knickerbockers, The Bourbon Theater and the just-opened Vega, and youve got a whole helluva lot of stages to fill.

See the original post:
the STORY

LOS ANGELES Sipping from a cup of green tea in a cavernous Beverly Hills hotel suite, the scruffy Peter Jackson looks like a struggling artist between gigs.

The 52-year-old is better known as the Oscar-winning filmmaker of a multi-billion dollar series of J.R.R. Tolkien movie fantasies.

His casual appearance is in sharp contrast to the astute fellow he really is. Which is a good thing since Jackson is in the middle of demanding promotional duties for the second Hobbit film, The Desolation of Smaug.

The first Hobbit movie last year scooped up over $1 billion US at the worldwide box office, continuing the momentum from The Lord of the Rings pictures, which earned multiple Oscars and more than $3 billion.

Whos counting? Lets say lots of people, including Jackson who is equal parts expert in commerce and storytelling.

Hes also not above continuing his good fortune by appearing in every one of the Tolkien pictures, including The Desolation of Smaug.

Watch for Jackson in the opening sequence.

I almost have to film something with me in it because its a good-luck charm, says the writer and director during a Canadian exclusive interview with Postmedia News. Its come to the point now where I just want to get (the cameo) over with.

As slapdash as that might sound, there is always a method to his creative madness. And he confesses that the opening from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug features the same town from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in which Jackson appeared, as well.

OK, so I can be the grandfather of the guy from Fellowship of the Ring, says Jackson chuckling. Im actually doing it because I am paying tribute to myself. Why not?

Excerpt from:
Jackson is getting into a good Hobbit (with video)

Welcome to tlsbooks.com, where you'll find a variety of free printable second grade worksheets for home and school use. Our second grade worksheets are intended to enhance your child's skills and introduce new concepts in a fun, stress-free manner.

Depending on your child's abilities, you may wish to review our first grade and third grade worksheets for additional educational materials.

In order to view and print our free second grade worksheets, you will need to have Adobe Reader version 6 or later. Click here to update or download the most current version of Adobe Reader.

You may print our second grade worksheets for your own personal, non-commercial use only. Our worksheets may not be saved electronically or hosted on any other web site, blog, forum, etc. Please review our Terms of Use for complete details.

Second grade worksheets page 2 - Second grade math worksheets You may also enjoy our Timed math drills.

Printing tip: If a worksheet does not appear correctly, reload or refresh the .pdf file.

Writing a Friendly Letter Worksheet Set - This set reviews the parts of a letter, addressing an envelope, and provides a sheet for students to write a friendly letter. Adjectives worksheet 2 - circle the adjectives in a sentence Let's Think About the Days of the Week - This worksheet includes word jumble, alphabetizing activity, and questions to answer Missing Vegetable Vowels Worksheet 3122 - Students will fill in the correct vowel to complete the spelling of each vegetable. Using Is or Are - complete each sentence using the correct word Using We or Us - complete each sentence using we or us Finish the Sentences Ocean Fun Story Solutions Change the Tense - Rewrite sentences using different verb tenses. Verbs #1 They Sound the Same Making New Words - Worksheets A and B Chauncey Chicken - /ch/ and /sh/ Question the Grimm Brothers Homophone Worksheets 1 and 2 - complete each sentence with the correct word Homophone Story Alphabetize Dolch Words - 2nd grade Halloween Sentences Short A Sound Word Shapes - word shapes/tiles worksheet Suffixes Words With Two Meanings - second grade Story Sequencing - 2 page worksheet Noun Clown - grammar worksheet Word World - vocabulary worksheet Rhyming Fun Alphabetical Order Compound Words #2 Compound Words Parts of Speech 2 - recognizing verbs, nouns, adjectives Parts of Speech - recognizing verbs, nouns, adjectives Contractions Contraction Cards for the worksheet above. Dinosaur Reading Comprehension Penguins Reading Comprehension Dinosaur Reading Comprehension Vowel Detective Sonoran Desert Question or Statement

Animal Friends - Classify animals as birds, reptiles, amphibians, or mammals. Scrambled Wetland Animals - word scramble, animal matching The Sounds that Animals Make - easy word search and matching Animal Mix Up - Sea horse and shark cut and paste worksheets Desert Plants Who Am I? - ocean animals worksheet

See original here:
Free Printable Second Grade Worksheets

Toy Story 3 is a 2010 American 3D computer-animated Family comedy film, and the third film in the Toy Story series.[2] It was produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. Directed by Lee Unkrich, the screenplay was written by Michael Arndt, while Unkrich wrote the story along with John Lasseter and Andrew Stanton, respectively director and co-writer of the first two films. The film was released worldwide from June through October[3] in Disney Digital 3-D, RealD, and IMAX 3D. Toy Story 3 was the first film to be released theatrically with Dolby Surround 7.1 sound.

The plot focuses on the toys Woody, Buzz Lightyear, and their friends dealing with an uncertain future as their owner, Andy, prepares to leave for college. Actors Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, John Ratzenberger, Wallace Shawn, Jeff Pidgeon, Jodi Benson, R. Lee Ermey, John Morris, and Laurie Metcalf reprised their voice-over roles from the previous films. Jim Varney, who played Slinky Dog in the first two films, and Joe Ranft, who portrayed Lenny and Wheezy, both died before production began on Toy Story 3. The role of Slinky Dog was taken over by Blake Clark (a friend of Varney), while Ranft's characters and various others were written out of the story. New characters include performances by Ned Beatty, Timothy Dalton, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Whoopi Goldberg, Jeff Garlin, Richard Kind, and Michael Keaton.

The feature broke Shrek the Third's record as the biggest opening day North American gross for an animated film unadjusted for inflation,[4] and had a big opening weekend with an unadjusted gross of $110,307,189. It is also the highest-grossing opening weekend for a Pixar film,[5] and was previously the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film to have opened in the month of June (surpassed by Man of Steel).[6][7] This is the highest-grossing film of 2010, both in the United States and Canada, and worldwide. In early August, it became Pixar's highest-grossing film at the North American and worldwide box offices (surpassing Finding Nemo), and the highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide (surpassing Shrek 2).[8] Later that month, Toy Story 3 became the only animated film in history to make over $1billion worldwide.[9] It is currently the 11th-highest-grossing film of all time.[10]

Toy Story 3 was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Sound Editing.[11] It was the third animated film (after Beauty and the Beast and Up) to be nominated for Academy Award for Best Picture. It won the awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song.

Andy, now 17 years old,[12] is leaving for college, and his toys have not been played with in years. He takes Woody with him to college and puts Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the toys in a bag to be stored in the attic. Andy's mother mistakes the bag for garbage and puts it on the curb. The toys escape and, believing Andy intends to throw them away, decide to climb in a donation box with Barbie bound for Sunnyside Daycare. Woody follows them and tries to explain the mistake, but they refuse to believe him.

Andy's toys are welcomed by the other toys at Sunnyside, who give them a tour of the seemingly perfect play-setting by Lots-O'-Huggin' Bear (simply known as Lotso), Big Baby, and Ken, with whom Barbie falls in love. All of the toys choose to stay, except Woody, who attempts to return to Andy. Woody is found by Bonnie, one of the Sunnyside children. She takes him home and plays with him along with her other toys, which are well-treated. At Sunnyside, a group of toddlers roughly play with Andy's toys.

Buzz asks Lotso to have them moved to the older children's room, but is captured. Lotso, who controls Sunnyside with an iron fist, reveals he sends new toys to distract the toddlers to keep him and his henchmen safe, not caring whether the toys get broken in the process. Seeing promise in Buzz, he resets him to his original space ranger persona, wiping his memory. At the same time, Mrs. Potato Head sees Andy searching for the toys with her other eye that was left behind, and she convinces the toys that Woody told the truth. Before they can leave, Andy's toys are imprisoned by Lotso's gang.

At Bonnie's house, before Woody leaves to find Andy, he learns from a toy clown named Chuckles that he, Lotso and Big Baby once had a beloved owner named Daisy. When the toys were accidentally left behind by Daisy's family during a trip, they made their way back to her house, only to find that Lotso had been replaced with an identical toy, causing Lotso to become bitter and resentful.

Woody returns to Sunnyside and reconciles with his friends. That night, the toys attempt to escape, and accidentally reset Buzz to Spanish mode instead of his original persona. However, Buzz allies himself with Woody and falls in love with Jessie. The toys reach a dumpster, but are caught by Lotso and his gang. As a garbage truck approaches, Woody reveals what he learned about Lotso. Lotso says that he now believes toys are meant to be thrown away, leading an enraged Big Baby to throw Lotso into the dumpster. Lotso pulls Woody into the dumpster just as the truck collects the trash. Woody's friends fall into the back of the truck while trying to rescue him, and a falling television hits Buzz, restoring his memory and normal persona.

The truck deposits the toys at a dump, where they find themselves on a conveyor belt leading to an incinerator. Woody and Buzz help Lotso reach an emergency stop button, only for Lotso to abandon them. Believing the end is near, the toys accept their fate, but are rescued by the Aliens operating an industrial claw. Lotso escapes, but a garbage truck driver finds him and straps him to his truck's radiator grill. Woody and his friends board another garbage truck, driven by an adult Sid Phillips, back to Andy's house.

See the original post:
Toy Story 3 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia