Enjoyable but forgettable

Rating: 5/10 (4 November 2019)

My review title pretty much sums this one up. Before I wrote this, I glanced at the movie poster, which features Woody, Bo, Buzz, Forky, the two stuffed animals from the fair whose names I forget (see my point?), and Gabby Gabby with her minions.
It's a good popcorn movie for the family. I saw it during a movie night at the house with my two year old, four month old, and wife. My kid, I think, enjoyed it, and I wasn't bored. So, the movie accomplishes that end.
I grew up with the TS series. I remember when the first came out in theaters. So, I have seen each one since then. The first three were solid. The stories were good, and the characters had solid arches.
This one just...didn't. It felt like a big step backwards. By the end of the film, Woody parts ways with the whole gang, choosing a life with Bo at a carnival. Throughout the film, his new mission is to babysit Forky, reminding/teaching him who he is as a toy and what his purpose is, to be there for Bonnie, which is pretty typical for Woody's character, given the last three movies.
What I don't understand is why Woody backtracks on all the growth he made over the course of the past movies. TS 3 basically sends off Andy, with Woody and the gang making peace with their time with Andy being finished.
Now, in TS 4, Woody is forgotten in the closet while the other toys are played with, and it is as if all his growth from the first movies never happened. He seems to have lost his purpose, but this nullifies TS 1, where he learns to share the spotlight with other toys, in that case Buzz, and I believe one of his lines specifically said it didn't matter how much they were played with so long as they were there when Andy needed them.
On top of that, it makes his entire arch in TS 3 pointless. Why did he chose to stay with the gang instead of going with Andy to college, which is what Andy originally wanted? The reason is because he knew his time with Andy came to a close, and he needed to move on. However, this is a major struggling point for him in TS 4. He can't let go of Andy. So much so that he abandons his principle of being there for his "kid", in this case Bonnie, no matter what, to go live his own life with Bo.
I know I am getting deep on that, but part of what makes Woody so lovable is he always stuck to his principles. This movie throws that out.
Plus, the gang is split up at this point. I am not sure how they plan to make more TS movies, if they even intend to.
The villain, Gabby Gabby, was forgettable. She had a good set up but just didn't deliver in the end. Her lair, henchmen, and even her motivations were good.
By the way, I thought her lair was a nice touch and clever, but it was SLIGHTLY creepy with the dummies for henchmen. They reminded me of Slappy from Goosebumps, if you know what that is. That being said, if your kid gets scared or even creeped out easy, just an FYI.
After that, Gabby Gabby falls short. She gets what she wants but doesn't. Woody helps her and that's about it. There is no real climactic conflict between the characters or confrontation like with Buzz, The Prospector, and Lotso the Bear.
Anyway, there are a few moments that made me chuckle and one heartfelt scene near the end. The rest of the cast was enjoyable but, again, forgettable, leaving no lasting impact, which is such a shame, considering some of the talent they had.
Like I said, It's a good popcorn movie with the family. I just grew up with the franchise and thought TS 3 was a good stopping point but also a good cliffhanger, if they ever wanted to come back to it.
I'm just disappointed that this was the next adventure for the crew. In my opinion, TS 3 is the true final TS movie.

Random side note: the opening scene bugs me. Lol!
It's a downpour outside, and the toys make a daring rescue when Andy's mom comes into Molly's room to gather toys to give away. She sees the window open with all the toys posed around it, and one of them is dangling (Slink) out of it. She just shuts the window on Slink and walks out of the room.
I literally said to my wife, does she not find it odd the window is open during a storm with all the toys dangling out? I mean, what??? Haha!