Unnecessary But So Good On Levels. Two Thumbs Up On So Many Levels

Rating: 8/10 (22 June 2019)

Pixar, one of the two big animation studios vying for the spot of number one in the great world of movies. In competition with Walt Disney Studios, though supposedly working together for the big company, the studio that blew our minds long ago is back with another "new" movie. Having difficulties launching new ideas, Pixar seems to fall back on their time-honored films in an attempt to expand upon their timeless characters. While often good, how far the movie can go is always the question, but these guys have managed to find the magic time and time again. So I am here once more to review the latest installment to see if Pixar can keep in time with their storytelling. Robbie K here and get ready for another review this time on:
Movie: Toy Story 4 (2019)
Director:
Josh Cooley
Writers:
John Lasseter (original story by), Andrew Stanton(original story by
Stars:
Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts

LIKES:
Animation
Voice Acting
Fun
Funny
Good Pace
Evolution Of Bo Peep and Woody
Three-Dimensional Villain
Super Emotional to Grip You
DISLIKES
Trailers Revealed A lot/Predictable
New Guys are Okay/Gimmicky
The Ending Makes The Points In Three Pointless
The Older Characters Are Not Utilized Well
Summary: It's Disney and It's Pixar, you know the animation is going to be awesome as beautiful, and improving, graphics are integrated with color and sound design to bring the world to life. Throw in the voice acting and once more the movie has crafted the usual media to bring their characters to the forefront of Disney heroes and heroines. And through their magic they have crafted fun characters, their army finding a way to bring comedy and emotion to the movie and produce a fun paced movie that entertains many ages and preferences. Yet what impresses me in this movie, is how well they developed some of their characters once more. Bo Peep, a character who had little involvement out of snarky comments and a crush in the first two installments, is back with a complex story that is balanced, poised, and realistic to really latch onto. Woody's ever evolving tale matches perfectly with it, a lock and key that push these characters to new levels and somehow bridges the issues of the first installment. Even more impressive is Pixar's way of adding depth to the villain, somehow managing to put more layers in outside of just megalomaniac personas that are famous in Disney movies. This utilization of storytelling and character development, is the example of Disney's ability to make emotionally gripping tales that pulled me into the adventure once more, keeping my interest and I believe pulling younger members in as well. It's those emotional moments that somehow seem to complete the movie and leave you with yet another satisfied conclusion, until they need more money and make the fifth movie.
Yet, the movie still runs into the art of predictability, not entirely, but certainly enough has been ruined by the copious trailers to have given much away. And much like the trailers and specials, Toy Story also has a new cast of characters to merchandise off to the younger wards. The new characters are fun, and serve their purpose of bringing laughs, quotes, and new ideas for toys. They contribute their points, but unlike the original bunch, the involvement with them is not quite as engaging as previous installments. Through in that the older characters we have grown up with over the last two and half decades are rather poorly integrated and you have some disappointing components to me. I'm from the school of if you are not going to keep them integrated into the story meaningfully, why put them in to begin with, and this was especially true for Toy Story 4. Finally, and probably picky, the conclusion of this movie sort of overwrote all the hard work of Toy Story 3 for me. Certainly there are new lessons to learn at a new stage of the journey, but given the time frame between three and four, I would expect them not to so quickly displace what the gang did in three. But hey that's just me.
Overall, the movie is still a work of art, showing that despite ending the movie well, they can find way to keep it going. Toy Story 4 has heart, class, and does such a good job of expanding its main characters to continue the supposed hero's journey. The new characters are fun, the world is still colorful, and it's all presented in an entertaining and meaningful pace that I thoroughly enjoy. Sure the tale is still predictable, the characters are imbalanced, and the ending did offset three for me a bit, but the truth is the movie is a fantastic tribute to the art of the animation studio that is Pixar. No surprise it is worth a trip to theater so take the family, or yourself and get out to enjoy it as the emotional tale of the summer hits theaters this weekend. Otherwise, it's definitely one to go on the must see at home list for me.
My scores are:
Animation/Adventure/Comedy: 8.5
Movie Overall: 8.0