Great, but not better than 3.

Rating: 8/10 (23 June 2019)

As soon as Toy Story 4 was announced, I said that the third one was going to be hard to beat. And after seeing the fourth entry, that statement is still true.
This film should not be considered as a continuation of Toy Story 3. It takes place two years later with Bonnie finally entering Kindergarten. Woody, to his dismay, is one of her least favorites. He gets left in the closet, and even has his sheriff badge torn off only to see it being placed on Jessie. He still cares about Bonnie, and sneaks into her backpack to see how she does at kindergarten orientation. Without realizing it, he essentially helps Bonnie create Forky, a plastic spork that she now considers her favorite toy.
Is it a good film? Absolutely. The story itself is good and the animation is top notch beautiful. Does it capture the essence of the previous films? No. Which is why I think it shouldn't be compared to the other three. This Toy Story focuses on the new characters while the original characters, aside from Woody and Buzz, get left in the dust. Rex, Slinky, Potato Heads, Hamm, Bullseye, and Jessie are hardly seen in the movie and the only time Jessie is relevant is when she makes the tire on the RV go flat. I realize they had to make room for the new characters, but they could've made the original characters have some relevance instead of having them stay inside of the RV the whole time. Especially since they've been, for the most part, crucial characters in the previous films.
Now, the ending. It was emotional, but it did feel kind of rushed and out of character. The whole reason Woody didn't go to college with Andy in TS3 is because he didn't want to leave his friends. And the reason he didn't go to Japan in TS2 is because he didn't want to leave his kid and wanted to stay with his friends. In this one, he abruptly decides to leave Buzz and the rest of the gang so he can travel the world with Bo Peep, who he hasn't seen in 9 years. This film takes place over the course of a day. Woody even mentions loyalty in this film. You call that being loyal? For once I have to disagree with Woody. You're gonna leave your friends that you've known your whole life for a Toy you haven't seen in nine years? I realize, if he went with Bonnie, he just would've been thrown in the closet again. It just seems out of character for Woody to make that kind of decision in such a small amount of time.
I did enjoy it. I enjoyed the quick flashback at the beginning followed by You've Got a Friend in Me. I'd rank it the third best. 3 2 4 1. Thats how I rank it.