Toy Story 3

The critics are nearly unanimous in their praise of the animation, the story, the voice work, and the new characters (The Hollywood Reporter calls Michael Keaton's performance as the preening Ken "terrific"). The one angle that may cause some minor controversy (and perhaps a few nightmares among the youngest moviegoers) is the film's darker tone. No spoilers, but we can say that there are some very tense scenes, more akin to an action film than a G-rated romp.

But, hey, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Ty Burr of The Boston Globe writes that the toy characters are "forced to contemplate an annihilation that is total and complete." That, he writes, "is heady stuff for a kiddie flick." Still, Burr is positive, noting: "The tale needs to go that far into the dark to come back into the light... the twists of the climactic scenes and the emotions they conjure up carry a weight that feels deeply and powerfully earned."

Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly gives the movie an "A," writing that the film is "the studio's greatest achievement since 'The Incredibles,' and -- just maybe -- since the original 'Toy Story.'" Parts of the movie, he writes, have "the poignancy of a Tennessee Williams play."

USA Today's Claudia Puig gives "Toy Story 3" four out of four stars. While "the movie segues into a prison escape thriller with apocalyptic undertones, the suspense [is] always leavened with laughs." Calling the movie a "masterpiece," Ms. Puig also writes, "the tale touches the heart as no movie in recent memory has done."

But the praise doesn't stop there. A.O. Scott of The New York Times applauds the movie's "subtle use of 3-D" and calls it "as sweet, as touching, as humane a movie as you are likely to see this summer." Some scenes, he writes, may be frightening to small children. But that seems like a small quibble. According to Scott, on the whole, it provides "sheer moviegoing satisfaction" and is "wondrously generous and inventive."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times was a bit less impressed, but still gives the movie three out of four stars, calling it a "jolly, slapstick comedy." Like other critics, Mr. Ebert did notice the level of danger the toys face. He writes that "even an Indiana Jones toy would have trouble surviving" what Woody and Buzz go through. At one point, the heroic toys go up against "Big Baby," a character The Hollywood Reporter'sMichael Rechtshaffen calls "truly disturbing."

Online critic James Berardinelli starts off his review with a phrase we've all seen before and will, most likely see the next time the charmed studio releases a movie: "Pixar has done it again," he writes. One of his criticisms is with the film's use of 3D. "In the case of 'Toy Story 3,'" he writes, "3-D adds nothing except a box office surcharge."