A Perfect Trilogy Taken a Step Too Far

Rating: 7/10 (29 June 2019)

The "Toy Story" trilogy is a touchstone in every way. Starting with the first ever computer animated film, moving to the best Rotten Tomatoes score ever, and "ending" with an Oscar nomination, it's a nearly flawless story about loyalty, identity, aging and friendship that concludes in a perfectly satisfying manner.
And now, for some reason, there's a fourth. Woody and the gang are getting acclimated to living with their new child, Bonnie, when a "toy" named Forky (a creation made from a spork, googly eyes, glue and other craft box trinkets) enters the fold. From there, the toys go on yet another adventure, where their personal purpose in the world turns into a full-blown existential crisis, and ends with a heartfelt goodbye. Sound familiar?
It's not a bad movie; in fact, as a singular story, it's decent. The plot moves fairly briskly, the ethics are complex, the sweetness sidesteps being saccharine, and the humor is solid. It's also drop-dead gorgeous. The entire series, when watched in a row, really represents the incredible technological advances Pixar has forefronted for two decades.
Still, the movie never quite proves its necessity. Even some of its highest points miss the mark. Forky is a wonderfully and hilariously strange character, but he's sidelined for weaker, more familiar stories. Woody, one of the great cinematic characters, is given little new to do. The psychological-philosophical questions are noble, but never fully developed. Even most of the b-level toys are essentially replaced by cute but unremarkable new ones, a seeming effort to simply sell more toys.
Again, it's not a disaster. Plenty of people will be happy to just spend some more time in this universe. I just think if you're gonna reopen a perfect film franchise, you should have something more to say.