Okay, some of the excitement is finally wearing off.

I have been to see "Toy Story 3", and I urge you to run, not walk, to your nearest theater and get yourself a ticket...unless you live in a smaller city or town where it hasn't yet opened; in that case you might as well walk very slowly because if you get there now they'll still be showing "Sex and the City 2" and you'll just have to wait around for a week or so.

I concede that some of the critics have a point: TS3 is not covering new territory or exploring new themes. I can understand why one opined that this third installment is "welcome yet nonessential" (h/t Greydanus. And here's his review). But when is art essential? We could exist without it - just in a world that would be less beautiful.

I'm glad that Pixar has added to the beauty of our world with the many worlds they have created. "Toy Story 3" is a delight and a fitting farewell to Woody and the gang. Essential it may not be, but it was a nice way to say good-bye.

And yes, it did make me cry. Near the end of the film Andy's mom begins to tear up as she surveys her son's room, stripped of all his boyhood belongings. Every mom knows she'll stand in that doorway one day, too.