jandersonpwco

The title of this summary sums it up pretty well. If you are going in expecting the belly laughs generated by "Meet the Parents" and "Meet the Fockers", you will come away disappointed. There are a couple of good chuckles and Stiller and DiNiro still play well off of each other, but for the most part it is pretty flat. As third generation products go, it is not the disaster that some are, but it no where close to either of the previous "Focker" tales. They make a concerted effort not to simply regurgitate all of the same jokes from the first two movies, though there are some familiar references (i.e.,"I'm watching you") which is admirable, but they don't really come up with anything particularly funny.

Not a bad way to kill a couple of hours, but go in with low expectations.

Generally speaking, I am not a big fan of sequels. Even some of the best and funniest franchises usually generate huge disappointments with their sequels. Perhaps it is because the Toy Story folks did not feel compelled to rush right back out with their sequels, but for whatever the reason, they have avoided the dreaded sequel curse that has plagued such classic originals as "Naked Gun", "Airplane", "Nutty Professor" and "Shrek" - all great originals that fell flat with their sequels.

Toy Story III incorporates enough of the familiar and time-tested characteristics that we all expect from Woody, Buzz, Potato Head, etc., without becoming repetitive and predictable. To quibble, there may have been a moment or two when it lapsed into all too familiar territory, but the movie more than overcomes that minor shortcoming with the same excellence we have come to expect. My only hope is that they know to quit when they are ahead and not churn out Toy Story's IV and V with substitute voices and 2nd rate stories. They have defied the odds with a 2nd top notch sequel, so I hope they don't get greedy - but this is Hollywood...

Despicable Me was on a double feature at the drive in while we were vacationing in Maine. Our kids had never been to a drive in and we wanted to see Toy Story III, so we figured we would "sit through" "Despicable Me" in order to get to Toy Story III. Much to our delight, the trailers and ads for this gem did it very little justice. My impression from the commercials was that this was a juvenile and pointless kids cartoon. To the contrary, Despicable Me was funny, poignant and thoroughly enjoyable. It probably falls just a shade behind TSIII - which was on par with I and II - but not by much. The "voice" cast was excellent, the animation was great and the story - which is not conveyed at all in the trailers - was fantastic. One of the better animated flicks I have seen in years.