While I'm sure that Pixar can do sequels that are really quite good and maybe even almost as good as the original, they can only make so many movies. I hate the idea that we're essentially trading really original movies for sequels, even if they are of characters we love.

I can tell you now, after having seen TS3 last night, the trilogy was incredibly crafted. It's right along the lines of Star Wars and Indiana Jones. It seemed at the end that each movie was made for the next, and each sequel trumped the previous. This latest installment was incredible. There's a moment near the end that is the most incredibly crafted scene I've watched in a long time. And the ending was even more so. They ended in a way that creates an infinite story line. One that the audience can fill in from their own imagination.

Well done Pixar.

Dunno, it seems highly inaccurate to describe Pixar's sequels as not being "original."

@TSW: "Original" in the specific sense of the first in a series. Should be abundantly clear from the many, many posts re Pixar that I hold their creativity (read: originality) in the highest regard.

I actually like sequels as a way of revisiting "loved" characters. The issue is that films have to be made with a broad enough stroke to give remakes weight.

TOY STORY does that well by establishing "underlying questions" while resolving plot-line questions. The best sequels are characters that don't live in the current story but one that involves a direction or life-goal.

Superheroes fit the mold best followed by law-enforcement and military personnel. Fantasy characters bring up the not-so-shabby rear.