Toy Story - The Continuing Adventures

Rating: 6/10 (23 June 2019)

SOME MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

"My overall feeling for this film having just walked out of it was a bit of disappointment. And its actually a solid movie. However solid is not good enough for a franchise like Toy Story. Now I am of the perhaps minority opinion that the first two Toy Story films were the best ones, exercises in near perfect storytelling. I liked the third one. Everyone talks about the ending with Andy or the scene where the toys almost get incinerated. But to me the rest of the film was mainly serviceable. Ken was great. But overall I feel it didn't quite live up to the very high standard of the original two.
Toy Story 4 feels more in the vein of 3 as well. So if you're one of the many people that absolutely love TS3 you will probably love this one.
Its weird because TS3 felt like a fitting send off to all of these characters, so to see them back again is strange. It feels more like a sort of toy story dlc if you will, or the "continuing adventures of" if you will then a full on true sequel.
Here are the pros of the film... as a whole its an entertaining 90 minutes filled with humor and good storytelling, and what's more you get to revisit these wonderful characters again. I liked the idea of bringing back Bo Peep and addressing her absence in the last film. The new characters are the best part of the movie, Forky, Duke Kaboom, and the Key and Peele duo...
Now for the cons... I found it to be very emotionally manipulative and exploitive, much like Toy Story 3. Every other scene is trying to make you cry, it just kind of wallows in sappy emotions. The first two had great emotional scenes without seeming manipulative or manufactured in any way. I don't know it just felt laid on a little too thick for me... also Woody is so clingy in this one to the point of annoyance. He's not as heroic or dashing as he has been in the past, more whiney and honestly kind of a pushover.
Also Buzz Lightyear. The once great character has been, for the second film in a row, relegated to merely a supporting player. He has a sort of arc, more of a running gag really, about him learning to listen to his "inner voice". But its not enough. Its honestly a tragedy to see this iconic character being given so little to work with, static, no longer evolving or being as active in the stories.
Bo Peep was cool and it was great to see her again... BUT at the same time it really takes some suspending of disbelief to accept such a significant transformation of the character we know from the first two films. She was never really a go-getter take action type in the others. Of course I can see see how she might have evolved having been on her own for so many years, and I do realize she was more of a side character before and they had to flesh her out... still I couldn't help but feel she was a different person to the point of even betraying who she has been established to be.... its really more of a gripe than a true negative.
The Gabby Doll voiced by Christina Hendricks literally forces Woody to give up his voice box and we're supposed to turn around and feel sorry for her. I mean that was pretty clunky handled I think.
A lot of the original toys are back and yet they are simply just... there. You see their faces but they contribute almost nothing. Why even include them in the film? I just see the first two films as having more depth and nuance with these characters. They were firing on all cylinders creatively. And now, to a degree, Toy Story has been reduced to nostalgia and trying to milk all of those tear jerker moments.
But I have to say, I enjoyed a change of scenery. The highways, an antique store, a carnival... and I did enjoy the Woody and Bo Peep stuff overall, it was really the soul of this movie. I was so glad to see them together again..."
TOY STORY 4 is a decent movie, I liked it. Its just not quite on par with the originals.