Toy Story 3: Early Reviews are positive

Have we really gotten to a point where people begin questioning the fact that Pixar never has a misfire? Apparently, because with the release of reviews for Toy Story 3, we felt a welcome sigh of relief that it doesn't suck. In fact, according to the majority, the film is pretty amazing. Michael Rechtshaffen (German?) of The Hollywood Reporter said "Playing with more darkly complex emotions than the previous two installments, incoming director Lee Unkrich (co-director of Toy Story 2 and Monsters, Inc.) and screenwriter Michael Arndt (Little Miss Sunshine) manage to add nice substance without noticeably weighing down the beloved characters. Speaking of which, in addition to all the familiar faces, there's no shortage of entertaining new arrivals to this particular playdate, most notably the seemingly gregarious Lotso (effectively voiced by Ned Beatty), a jumbo pink plush teddy with something bitter and unpleasant festering beneath his strawberry scent."

Anne Thompson from Thompson on Hollywood (A name as clever as The Dave Matthews Band) puts the consensus of reviews best, saying " Right from the start, Michael Arndt’s script and Lee Unkrich’s direction manipulate us into responding to real threats to these toys, not just to their happiness but their very survival. And parents will feel a familiar pang at watching a child leave his innocence behind. Pixar does not rest on its laurels here. This is sophisticated storytelling crammed with visual, editing and sonic cues (Randy Newman is back in fine form), as the movie veers entertainingly (not jarringly) from one genre to another and deploys more and more complex technology as it goes. And like Up, it reaches into the heart and squeezes. My bet: with a boost from 3D (which like How to Train Your Dragon and Up is an organic, immersive enhancement), this will be the movie to beat as the summer’s top performer."

I'm even more eagerly awaiting next friday than I was before. For every horrible film released this year, the impact of a great film is so much more satisfying.