During the western scene, Woody, Mr. Potato Head, Slinky Dog, and Rex reprise their roles as seen in the beginning of Toy Story when Andy was playing with them, but in a more realistic scene than in Toy Story.
Andy uses the "bank" cardboard box seen in the first film during one of his play scenarios
Woody tells Slinky to gather the toys for a meeting, like in the first film.
The toys being distrustful of Woody whether Andy wants to keep them or not is similar to how they were distrustful of him when they believed Woody was trying to get rid of Buzz Lightyear in the first movie. However, they weren't trying to beat him up like they did in the first movie.
When Andy is at his toy chest, deciding whether he should keep Woody or Buzz, it echoes how the first film, he decides which to sleep with. Unlike last time, however, Andy chooses Woody.Sid makes a cameo in Toy Story 3 as the garbageman.
Sid Phillips, the violent teenager from the first film, makes a cameo appearance as an adult at the beginning and end of the film. He appears as a garbage man wearing Sid's signature skull t-shirt and listening to heavy metal.
As the toys are taken to Sunnyside Daycare, Buzz warns them that the toys there might be jealous of new toys, clearly remembering of how Woody was jealous of him during the events of the first film.
Bonnie taking Woody to play tea party seems to echo Hannah taking Buzz to a tea party.
As Bonnie lies in her bed snuggling her toys along with Woody, Buttercup exchanges a wink to Woody, just like how Buzz did when he and Woody reunite with Andy.
The Potato Heads are able to detach their eyes in order to get a better view. This technique was first seen in the first film.
Buzz returns to his delusions of being a Space Ranger in the first film after being switched back to Demo mode.
Like in the first film, Woody comes up with a elaborate plot to escape with the help of the other toys.
The way Slinky Dog was helping Woody to put the monkey toy into custody is completely similar to how Legs was helping Ducky ring the doorbell in Sid's house.
The Aliens' loyalty to "The Claw" reappears in the garbage dump scene. They later use the claw to save Woody and friends.
When Buzz's voicebox says "to infinity and beyond," that sound effect was originally said by Buzz himself when he was about to "fly" around Andy's room. This, along with his "Buzz Lightyear to the rescue" sound effect were probably a reference to the 1995 Thinkway Buzz Lightyear action figure, as the sound quality is also similar.
The movie opens and closes with a blue sky with clouds on it that mirrors Andy's old wallpaper which helped introduce Toy Story.
The toys are tortured similar to Sid torturing Buzz and Woody.
Big Baby has a broken eye, which may be a reference to Babyface.
In the first film, the Pizza Planet truck has a sticker in the back named "KRAT FM", this same sticker appears on Andy's Room in the wall.
Like how Toy Story 2 started with an outer space setting (Buzz's world), Toy Story 3 started with a wild west setting (Woody, Jessie and Bullseye's world).
During the western scene, Buzz Lightyear and Hamm reprise their roles when Andy was playing with them in the second movie.
Jessie's yodeling ability to call for animals reappears when she calls for Rex, as well as her panic attacks at the thought of being in storage.
Woody being worried about the future in the second film has been expanded to with the toys being worried of the future.
After over 10 years, the Aliens still say 'You have saved our lives. We are eternally grateful' to Mr. Potato Head. However, at the end of the film, Mr. and Mrs. Potato Head repeat the same line to the aliens for saving them from being incinerated.
Jessie's line 'It's Emily all over again!', references her previous owner.
Like in the second film, Woody tries to call for Buster in order to save his friends. This time, however, Buster is too old to help Woody anymore.
Jessie's romantic interest with Buzz, which was first showed towards the end of the second film, has become somewhat expanded in this film. Several scenes and dialogue between the two characters in this movie seem to show this.
In the scene where Bonnie takes Woody home, before Woody is stopped by Dolly, he uses a reference from Bo Peep in Toy Story 2when she said, "The boy who wrote that would take you to camp with or without your hat," and Woody was not gonna bother going back to Sunnyside Daycare.
Lotso's fate by the end of the film is similar to Stinky Pete's. Both are unexpectedly found, and then they find themselves in an unwanted predicament: Stinky Pete becomes stuck with a girl who draws on her toys, while Lotso becomes a fly attractant for a garbage truck.
Woody and friends come back to Andy's house by using Slinky, the similar way Buzz's rescue party came out.
Emperor Zurg appears during the end credits as a donation to a reestablished Sunnyside.
When Woody rushes to save the toys, he slides down the drain pipe and hides behind the letter box from Sid. This is a reference to in the second film when Buzz slides down the drain pipe and hides behind a table leg from Andy's mom, when Al was stealing Woody.
Cameos
The batteries inside Buzz are BnL batteries, the company from WALL•E.
On Andy's bulletin board, there is a postcard from Carl and Ellie. (from the movie Up)
At the daycare, Mr. Ray the Scientific Stingray from Finding Nemo makes a cameo. Nemo himself appears as a sticker on Andy's old toybox. There is also a turtle sticker on Andy's bedroom door. The turtle on the sticker is possibly Crush or Squirt.
Lightning McQueen from Cars is referenced a few times throughout the movie: A miniature toy car at Sunnyside Daycare, for a split-second on a child's shirt at the daycare is McQueen's number (95) with the same design it is shown on him, and in the opening scene of the Toy Story 3, there is a dramatic scene involving a train. The number on the front of the train is 95. The number is itself is an Easter egg, referring to 1995, the year Toy Story was released.
Before the kids run in to play when the other toys in the Caterpillar room hide, the toys under the table shaking are the same toys from Tin Toy.
When Buzz and Slinky are looking down from the ceiling, the wall next to them has lists of children's names. One name is ATTA, who might be named after Princess Atta from A Bug's Life.
When Big Baby, Chuckles, and Lotso are looking for a new life during Chuckle's flashback, They can be seen riding on the back of a Pizza Planet truck. Also a calendar from Pizza Planet is clearly seen.
A poster on Andy's wall shows a character from the movie Cars 2. It shows Finn McMissile, a British sports car secret agent who plays a major role in the sequel.
Totoro, the furry, friendly creature from Hayao Miyazaki's Japanese animated classic My Neighbor Totoro, shows up as a toy that Woody meets. Pixar founder John Lasseter has called Miyazaki an inspiration for his work, and Lasseter produced his most recent film, Ponyo.
A repainted, non-anthropomorphic version of Boost could be seen on a poster on the wall of Andy's room in the first trailer of Toy Story 3. This poster was replaced in the final movie by a picture of Finn McMissile.
Many of the stickers in Andy's room are references to other Pixar movies.
A girl similar to Boo (from Monsters, Inc.), but slightly older, is seen in the Butterfly Room. She says "Boo" and is playing with a blue cat (her nickname for Sulley is "Kitty"), possibly reenacting a scene from Monsters, Inc.
The calendar in Andy's room which has been on the month of August since the first film and originally had a picture from A Bug's Life on it, now has a picture of Snot Rod from Cars but is still on the month of August.
Other Trivia
Unlike the last two Toy Story movies, which were released in November, and thus weren't released until the following year across much of Europe, Toy Story 3 was released in June in the United States, while in the following months in much of Europe, including in July in the United Kingdom.
The bulletin board in Andy's room permits to find out, thanks to an award, that Andy's real name is Andrew Davis.
On the world map in Andy's room, there are three Post-It Notes. They are placed in the locations of three Disney resorts: Disneyland, Walt Disney World, and Hong Kong Disneyland.
Although The Prospector tells Woody that Andy won't take him to college, Andy does put Woody in his "college" box, which means that he would take him to college until Woody puts himself in the donation box at the end of the movie.A timeline chart of Andy through six to seventeen. The chart helped Pixar character designers finding the older Andy in Toy Story 3.
Toy Story 3 has longest running time for a Toy Story film which is 102 minutes.
This is the first Toy Story film to be made using Disney Digital 3D/IMAX 3D technology.
Many sound bits are re-used from the first two movies, especially with Woody, Buzz and Jessie.
The incinerator scene is the darkest scene ever made in any Toy Story & Pixar film.
Ken was based on a 1988 version of himself called "Animal Lovin' Ken" which included his "own chimpanzee to care for and love.". Barbie is based on a 1983 version called "Great Shape Barbie".
Ken wears 21 different outfits in the movie.
In the bloopers of Toy Story 2, The Prospector tells the two Barbie dolls, "You know, I'm sure I could get you a part in Toy Story 3.", and one Barbie doll did appear in the film.
Woody has 229 animation points of movement in his face. Buzz has 215 animation avatars in his face.
Confirmed by Toy Story 3 director Lee Unkrich's Twitter, the baby who did the voice for Big Baby is named Woody.
The Buzz Lightyear of Star Command episode Stranger Invasion has Emperor Zurg requesting incinerators instead of a standard garbage smasher in a new base, as they would be far more difficult to escape from.
Various hints indicate the computer Woody and Bonnie's toys use is an iMac. Aside from the shape and color of the computer, the Apple logo is seen with the word "Safari" (the name of Apple's web browser) next to it in the top navigation bar, and the icons are similar to those on a usual Mac desktop.
It's shown that Andy's mom now drives a new car instead of the blue van she had in the first two movies (while keeping the old A113 license plate).
Aside from Hannah and Sid, every child toy owner in the series end with the E sound. (Andy, Molly, Emily, Amy, Daisy, and Bonnie.)
When Woody falls from the hang glider and stops an inch off the ground because of his pullstring, there is a tile on the wall of Sunnyside with a corner of the Luxo Ball on it.
Two references are made to Lee Unkrich's high school mascot, The Tiger: a sticker on Andy's toy box has a "Tigers" Football helmet on it, and the licence plate frame of Ms. Davis car has the inscription "Tiger Pride".
There are two references to Room 237 from The Shining, Lee Unkrich's favorite movie: Trixie's chat friend's username is Velocistar237, and Sid's garbage truck's license plate reads RM237.
Andy has a pennent saying PU on his wall. This is a reference to Pixar University.
A college application on Andy's bulletin board says that the college is in Emeryville, the town where Pixar Animation Studios are located.
The name of the oatmeal bags seen at the landfill is BRAN, the oatmeal company that makes oatmeal from 1976 to present.
References
↑ 1.01.11.2"Cine-Explore" (supplementary material on Blu-Ray disc release of Toy Story 3). 2010. Blu-Ray disc. Walt Disney Home Entertainment, 2010.