The Send of Toy Story Needed

Rating: 9/10 (28 July 2019)

For a lot of people when they hear or think about CG animation the first company that comes to mind is Pixar, and with countless instant-classics, there's a reason for that. Of course, Pixar first hit the limelight with its flagship franchise "Toy Story". Back in 2010, the film series wrapped up its trilogy on a sad but heartfelt ending with next to no loose ties, making news of a fourth movie all the more concerning. Lucky for myself and countless other fans, Disney and Pixar know how to live up and surpass expectations.
The movie picks up off the heels of its third entry and involves the toys embarking on a road trip only for the newest toy, Forky to get lost along the way. Woody seeking purpose after losing Andy goes after the toy on his own. "Toy Story 4" (2019) is Definitely Woody's story, with the other characters taking a major back seat for much of the film. While I must say, the new characters introduced are instant favorites, as is the newly introduced Bo Peep, it does stink that classic characters like Buzz and Jessie became background characters in possibly the franchise's last installment. Personally, I would have enjoyed the film's B plot to be a tad longer and have it feel more important. On the topic of characters, this film's villain is probably one of the best in the series. Gabbing Gabby like previous antagonists in the series is bitter in part of not having the ideal toy life and feels that fixing her voice box by using Woodys will fix that. There's never a point in the film where you don't understand her motives or pain, and while it's not overly different from what we've seen in the past it does come off better than ever.
While this movie's plot and script are incredibly well crafted, I feel the most important thing to address is its animation. While watching the movie there are so many amazingly well-designed scenes, filled with just the tiniest details. Whether it's the fur on a cat, blades of grass, or branches separating on distant trees you can't help but be in awe of it all. Then when you think about the animation of the first movie, how far we've come since then, it's just remarkable. This realization even brought a tear to my eye upon realizing how young I was and how old I am now in relation to the progress of the animation. At the moment of writing this, I can't imagine what the future of this art form will look like but I'm all for it.
The fact that "Toy Story 4" (2019) isn't just a mere cash grab, but instead a story that had every right to be told is just a huge testament to how amazing Pixar is. While I do wish some of the other characters got a better send-off, this is definitely an amazing ending to Woody Pride's story (and yes that is his official name. I just saw an article about it prior to writing this.) Growing up with this franchise I'm so happy to see it end on another high note. Without a doubt, this gets a 9/10 as it's incredible from Infinity to Beyond.