I'm so glad they made this movie

Rating: 9/10 (23 June 2019)

Like so many other kids, I grew up with the Toy Story movies. The first Toy Story is probably one of the films I've seen the most, simply because I used to play it endlessly on repeat on VHS when I was a kid. For me, the first three Toy Story movies are pretty much perfect, or at least as perfect as I would ever want those movies to be. So naturally, I was pretty nervous when I heard that they had decided to make another one. But I'm really glad they did because Toy Story 4 is a blast. Where Toy Story 3 was a very satisfying conclusion to the story since Andy grows up and goes to college, I was surprised to see the direction they went with in this one. Toy Story 4 is Woody's movie and it's a satisfying conclusion to his character, since this movie is pretty much about him growing up and finding his new place in the world.
First of all, the animation is just brilliant. The opening scene involves nighttime and rain and it just looks amazing, very much real. The animation is easily the best part about the film and the animators definitely deserve a very big shutout. I actually found the opening scene to be surprisingly emotional. And during the opening theme, I liked how it's a little recap of the evolution in going from Andy in the first movie, to Andy going to college and leaving the toys with Bonnie. It really emphasizes how, in Woody's perspective, a toy's purpose is to make a kid happy and the beautiful memories that come with the experiences with them.
In good Toy Story fashion, in this movie we get a bunch of new characters, all of which are great, but let's talk about Forky first. Forky is one of those characters that could potentially be super annoying if overused. Luckily, he is used very well in the movie and I liked his role in the film very much. The duck and the bunny played by Key and Peele are funny, but I do think they overstay their welcome a bit. The ventriloquist dolls are creepy and Gabby Gabby was a pretty good sympathetic villain as well. In my opinion, the best new addition was the Canadian stunt toy Duke Caboom, I thought he was awesome, by far my favorite new character in the film.
I thought Bo Peep was awesome here, as well. They made her this strong, independent woman who can handle herself quite well in troubled situations, and I really liked how they handled that, it didn't feel forced at all and it didn't feel like the creators were trying to push feminism for the sake of feminism (looking at you Captain Marvel).
In my opinion there are some minor flaws with the film, namely pacing during the second act, I thought it got a little slow and I think the movie could have benefited from being a little bit shorter (maybe 5-10 min reduction). And while the Toy Story movies have always been about toys solving problems in a really clever manner, in this one I do think it gets to the point of being a little bit absurd. I mean, instead of solving one big problem, it's like they jump between many different little problems and I think it hurt the focus of the film a little bit.
That being said, the ending was so good, my eyes got watery and although I didn't cry, my inner child definitely did. It was beautiful, and while this is definitely my least favorite Toy Story movie, that really doesn't say much, since all of the movies in this franchise are excellent. I am really glad they made this movie and if they decide to make this the final movie in the franchise I would be perfectly fine with that, since I think this is a really good conclusion. I said that at the end of Toy Story 3 as well, but here's a bonus. If they do decide to make another one, I will happily pay to watch it.