toy story 3, like pretty much every pixar movie that isn't up, is quality but ultimately disposable entertainment. if there's a lingering affection for it, it is not because of the film's inherent depth or technical excellence or resonance, but because it is pleasantly plotted, unchallenging, well-paced eye candy with a canny ability to tweak the nostalgia glands of the former saturday morning set. if pixar has any true, enduring excellence, it is the perfect reliability with which it sells gorgeously-formatted nostalgia to the heirs of a dying empire.
of course, i also think inception is a beautifully shot and paced movie with a consummately simple and stupid plot that never once challenged its viewers, so hey. still, better than than a sequence of pop culture callouts declared genius by today's inconsiderate critics. eh?
