Good, but disappointing

Rating: Null/10 (30 June 2010)

In 1995, Toy Story was released, and my 7-year-old self loved every minute of it. Four years later, Toy Story 2 came out and, while not quite as good as the first, it was still an excellent film. The characters and plots of these films are, and will always be, near and dear to my heart. I, like everyone from my generation, couldn't have been more excited to see Buzz, Woody, and the gang for one last romp; the results of this 11-year wait for a sequel are commendable, but underwhelming.
The movie begins with a mind-blowingly fun action sequence taking place in Andy's imagination. We are then treated to a short montage relating the story of Andy and his toys as he steadily grows older. Both sequences are very satisfying.
As the movie continues, we meet up with Andy at age 17. He's ready to go to college and has to decide what to do with his old toys. Although he wants to put them in the attic, they accidentally almost get thrown out, but eventually they wind up at a daycare center. Everything seems great--what with a plentiful supply of children--but things are not what they seem. It turns out that the paradise is more of a prison, and thus the gang must escape and return home before it's too late.
Here is where the movie sags and seems to go on autopilot. Though I won't spoil anything important, I will say that this is the third movie in row where woody is separated from the gang, the third movie where there's a rescue involved, and the third movie where we see buzz in "space ranger" mode. There are a few good gags throughout all this (I laughed really hard a couple times) but it's pretty mediocre over all.
All of that changes in the last half hour though. To mention anything would spoil it, but suffice it to say that there's a harrowing sequence in a dump that's just heart wrenching. The ending moments are pitch-perfect as well, giving us the absolute best possible send off for the franchise. I'm not ashamed to admit that I cried twice in this last 30-minute stretch.
It's a shame that a good half of the film is so average when the rest is absolutely superb. All in all, Toy Story 3 is a good, but disappointing and uneven movie. I was glad to see it, but whereas I usually can't wait for a Pixar DVD release, I probably wont pick this one up when it first comes out, rather I'll wait until the price drops.
3.5 stars out of 5