Okay, I know, it's out ages. I have a toddler and no family here. Apart from my wife (ahem). Up until True Grit a few weeks back I hadn't been to the cinema since Quantum of Solace in late 2008. In fact, to show how exciting my life isn't, I sat down with our two-year-old, all excited to watch Woody and Buzz in a new story for the first time, only to be told she'd already seen it. On a plane.
Anyway, of course it's great. I expected no less from Pixar - it bounces along, there are lovely twists and turns all the way, the voice performances are impeccable all through the cast, the dialogue is sharp and funny... and the animation has become something really special. It manages to fit with the look and feel of the first two movies, and yet... well, when it comes to THAT scene, the one that for those of you who haven't seen it (but whose toddlers probably have, on a plane), we'll refer to as the hand-holding scene, the expressions on the characters' faces are incredibly, touchingly human.
I believe the anagnoretic moment for the main characters happens with the hand-holding... but for me the tipping point was Andy's mom, her breath taken away as she looks at Andy's now-empty room. Because I had my daughter beside me, perhaps? Who knows. Anyway, that's when I cried.
Now, here comes the inflammatory comment to attract some comment traffic:Mark Kermode reckons that Toy Story is now the best trilogy in cine.... The Godfather Part III isn't great, Star Wars is let down by the Ewoks and The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 'inevitably sags in the middle' (here I think he's crazy, but I see where he's going). Second-best trilogy ever?