watched ts3 last night. it was a 3D screening, in a packed theatre.
have to say upfront that this isn't as good as the first two films. but it is a very worthy final (i hope!) entry and a perfect cap to the series.
what surprised me the most was how dark this movie is. i know pixar films have always had depth and an underlying subtext (or two) that have made them as much for adults as for kids. but this one kinda caught me off-guard with the maturity of its themes. toy story 3 deals with themes of aging, mortality and letting go.
as a result, it isn't as funny, breezy and gag-laden as the previous 2. the humour is still very much intact, and there are some brilliant gags (though some jokes feel kinda recycled), but part 3 takes on a more sobering tone in much of its story, esp towards the end.
the finale is a truly heart-wrenching experience, in a good way. if u find yourself unmoved by the resolution to the toys' plight, then u have a friggin heart of stone! many people in the audience were in tears, and i myself had a sizable lump in my throat. that's how involving the characters are. but then again, we as an audience have already invested so many years and so much goodwill towards buzz, woody and gang. so our feelings regarding their end is a totally natural thing. like andy, we feel a certain sense of ownership and protectiveness over them. and that is the magic of pixar. they build all these wonderful characters and genuinely bring them to life.
this ranks alongside the a-team as the best films of the summer, and maybe even the year...