I never see movies on opening night, but I bought my tickets early for Iron Man 3. That being said my review will be honest and unbiased and I will keep the gushing to a minimum (unless it truly deserves it.) Okay, on with the review.

Well, I think I am so numb that I won’t be gushing a lot. Maybe after I have thought about it for a month. This movie was…I think I am speechless. I am trying to describe this movie without spoiling it and I find I don’t know what to say.

I guess the first question would be, “Is it worth watching?” Oh yeah. It is a roller coaster of a movie, but well worth seeing in the theater. I am so glad I made the effort to see it opening night. That was cool. Iron Man 3 is a great action film full of twists and turns. Some of the smaller characters have bigger roles which is great and the overall story keeps you on the edge of your seat. I spent a lot of time with my hand over my mouth to keep from crying out in surprise or shock. (I even cried for a moment.)

It would seem I do know what to say. This is a great movie. If I could describe the unease I feel I would say that it lacked that comic book feel. It was one more “fight the terrorist” film. My husband said he loved that part of it. I always feel that superhero action films should be a chance to escape from everyday evil. Give me aliens, bad gods, or mad scientists gone wrong.

Now I know that most people are going to disagree with me. That’s cool. I still think this is an awesome movie and I recommend watching it. I just personally would have liked the bad guy to have had different motivation behind his actions. It left me feeling numb when I would have preferred to leave the theater feeling uplifted. Happiness squared.

Goofy Tip: Disney and other film companies have been doing this for so long that I thought all movie goers knew about it, but a few people still left as soon as the movie ended so I want to let everyone in on the secret. Don’t rush out of the theater at the beginning of the credits. Stay until the very end and you will be rewarded with an extra bit of film. I won’t tell you what happens after the credits in Iron Man 3, all I can say is it is well worth it. Stay calm and watch on.

Mary Quite Contrary is celebrating her engagement to Tom, the Piper’s son. What they don’t know is that when Mary marries she inherits a fortune. Evil Barnaby knows this and so he sets out to marry her himself. He steels her sheep and kidnaps Tom. When that plot fails he follows them to Toyland and then, using a shrinking gun on Tom, convinces Mary to marry him. While they are having the ceremony Tom, now toy size, battles Barnaby using all the toys in Toyland. Doesn’t sound very Christmas-like, does it? Well, the best part of the movie is that is takes place just days before Christmas and the toymaker of Toyland needs all the help he can get or else children won’t have any toy at Christmas. This movie is sure to bring smiles to everyone.

To give you a taste of the fun I have included a couple of clips from the movie, courtesy of YouTube. The scene with the trees is my favorite song in the movie and the battle is just fun to watch. The movie has so many of my favorite Disney actors, including Annette Funicello as Mary Quite Contrary, and a young Ann Jillian as Little Bo Peep (and yes, she loses her sheep).

The Forest of No Return

The Toy Battle

Goofy Trivia: Have you ever seen the lifesize wooden soldiers in Christmas Disney parades or in the Disney Christmas shows on TV? They are characters from Babes in Toyland. Classic Christmas characters from a classic Christmas movie. Happiness squared.