Superb, but still somewhat expendable.

Rating: 8/10 (7 July 2019)

I was pretty tough on this movie because I loved TS3 and believe it is the best in the series with a perfect ending. I was pleasently surprised at how they managed to include new characters in a meaningful way, with Bo-peep's return and character evolution being a highlight. Unfortunately, all these new ideas take away from the old characters screen time considerably. Rex, potatohead, ham, slinky and friends have a disappointingly limited role in this movie. A shame because I think had they made this movie longer and more complex, they could have included them in an active role, perhaps one similar to TS2. Buzz's role and character is also strange and I don't know what they were doing with him. Why so doubtful when we've seen him step up and become a leader at other points in Toy Story 2 and 3? As for Woody, this movie cements him as one of the most complex characters I've ever seen. After you see it, compare him at the end of this one to him in TS1, it's completely transformativee, yet still believeable (and a tearjerker). While some story/character arcs could have been done better, I still am okay with the ending they presented, as it doesn't undermine the ending in 3. It's a well done movie in of itself, but unlike Toy Story 2 and 3, I felt the story would have still been complete without it.