Finally saw this yesterday with my partner and we really enjoyed it. Now, I have to say I've never really been a huge fan of the Toy Story franchise. I like them, but I was never as crazy about them as everyone else seems to be and I sort of rated them around the lower-middle of the Pixar spectrum. Great writing, but I never had that emotional connection to these films or their characters as I did with Ratatouille, Up or Finding Nemo. My partner cries like a baby during films and neither one of us were really affected by this. When it came to the gut-wrenching hand-holding scene, it was just a little too predictable for me, I guess, because I sort of guessed everything that was going to happen along the way. The only thing I knew about the film going in was that everyone mentioned what a tear-jerker it was and therefore I expected it to be so much more dramatic than it was.
The writing was excellent, especially considering it was another variation on Pixar's "find your way home" plot. I do think there were several ingenious touches:
The Monkey - whether or not this was inspired by the Stephen King short story, it was brilliant
The tortilla - The set up was genius and the result was one of the best sight gags Pixar has created
Totoro - Loved the subtle tribute to Miyazaki's films with the inclusion of a Totoro stuffed doll. I never paid attention before, but was he in either of the first two films?
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian