Review of Toy Story 4 (2019) by Mattyice — 22 Jun 2019

Toy Story 4 feels right at home with the rest of the films in the Toy Story series. Like the third film did with regard to the second, the fourth film shows us the consequences of the decisions made by Woody in the third film, choosing to try and continue his journey as support for Bonnie. It greatly expands on the themes of (mostly) the previous two films, taking new spins on topics ironically related to the life of the original two films' audience and introducing probably the entire series' most poignant and realistic themes.

I was also a bit disappointed by the shelving of the original toys, who were relegated to almost mere cameo roles, but I did love the new characters introduced, particularly Ducky and Bunny, who provided some of the funniest comedy in the Toy Story series, and Gabby Gabby, who I will not get into for spoiler concerns.

Additionally, it takes a little while for the film to get going, as its first act is pretty mediocre and slow, but does a good job of setting up future arcs. However, the film only gets better from there, with a fantastic and powerful third act that will definitely leave you teary-eyed (particularly if you're in your late 20s-early 40s). Toy Story 4 provides a really great and seeming conclusion to the Toy Story film franchise (I'm sure there will still be material produced for TV featuring these great toys). Even with a slow start and sidelining of the main cast from the first three films, its powerful themes, great new characters, stunning animation, and third act all more than make up for it, solidifying this film as another great entry in Pixar's lineup of classics.