The First Film I've Seen In A Theater in Over Nine Years ! ! !

Rating: 8/10 (28 June 2010)

My hands, no, my whole body is trembling with delight as I try to tap out my simple, jumbled excitement. TS3 has so thoroughly entertained me, it's seems kinda wrong to call it a sequel. While the majority of the fabulous characters are familiar returnees from the previous installments, it stands completely on its own as a triumph of artful, inspired story telling. I haven't sat in a theater in nearly a decade - the hassle, the cost, and the hype all turned me off from movie going. But remembering how magical and deeply moving were TS1 & TS2, I didn't hesitate when I was invited along with some friends.
If live action films could manage to express even half of the wonder and joy that this trilogy possesses, I might consider returning to the multiplex, but it's just not too likely. Today I'm more a fan of mature, serious films, that provoke thought and doubt and self reflection, but this remarkable franchise somehow manages to recharge my draining supply of patience with my fellow world citizens. At my age, 48, it's absurd to find such consolation and inspiration in an animated children's movie, but I'll take it wherever I can get it. (Wall-E, which I watched on cable, comes damn close with it's bittersweet comment on our seriously misdirected society.) John Lassiter and company have again succeeded at a level that even Steven Spielberg must envy. Bravo! WOW! Encore!