After months of fevered anticipation, Pixar’s latest animated adventure — Toy Story 3 — has finally arrived. And if early reviews are any indication, it’s a worthy finale to one of the most enjoyable cinematic trilogies in recent memory.
Over at RottenTomatoes, the T-Meter Critics are checking in at a whopping 130-for-130 in the Fresh ranking. The consensus? “Deftly blending comedy, adventure, and honest emotion, Toy Story 3 is a rare second sequel that really works.”
Steven Greydanus declares it a success (if not quite the masterpiece of Toy Story 2), saying that it “ends the beloved series in grand style:”
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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It’s here that Toy Story 3 offers one of the most emotionally powerful moments in the series, ending the trilogy on a lump-in-the-throat high note and sealing the deal on one of the most satisfying third chapters to one of the best trilogies of all time. Toy Story 2 remains the high-water mark, but in this finale, Pixar once again reaches for the sky.
As one of those rare films that will be shown at the local theater the weekend of its release, I hope to get a chance to form an opinion myself before many more days go by. Anyone else planning to go ToyStorying this weekend?
In the meantime, I shall amuse myself with this little reminder of the nearly limitless imagination, creativity, and foresight that has been a Pixar staple since Toy Story was first released in 1995.