A GOOD Film, But Not So Special

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2019)

Non-Spoiler:
Toy Story 4 is a great film! It's great to see the gang back together one more time - or at least for a scene or two. That's my main problem with the film: there's not enough of our favourite characters (buzz, bullseye, slinky and the aliens). The film does provide an enjoyable watching experience with a story that is exciting and interesting. Woody is back again and with some new friends, but these take the place of the old favourites leaving the audience with a feeling of lacking, a lack of toy story's magical charm. This feels like a forced and unnecessary spin-off of sorts, yet is still a greatly enjoyable film that I would still recommend watching.
Spoilers:
The film opens with a fantastic scene, arguably the best scene of the film. This is the one part that really captures the old charm of all the toys teaming up to save the day. It's so fulfilling to see slinky and the monkeys, and RC's appearance really brings back nostalgia for the original masterpiece. The film then attempts to make the audience cry with the departure of Bo Peep, which, whilst not tear worthy, is moving.
The first half of this film is a very good experience with enough callbacks to the original trilogy whilst mixing it with a new story. Our first introduction to the fair and the playground with the return of Bo Peep is a truly heart-warming. Unfortunately the film becomes lack-luster after this.
The plot here-on is repetitive, and eventually repetitive and boring, with woody rescuing forky from the antique store 3 times! I heard genuine groans when he went back the third time. The sacrifice of his voice box seemed out of character and uncalled for, as Gabby Gabby did not deserve it.
Finally, the heartbreaking ending is sad and disappointing to me as a toy story fan. I do not believe that Woody would ever leave the gang for Bo and the new toys. This was totally contradictory to the message repeated throughout the the toy story saga! The importance of having a kid and making them happy - "the duty of a toy" - is completely bypassed and left me feeling genuinely disheartened leaving the film.
There are many great things about this film that do partially make up for its many disappointments. The score by Randy Newman is phenomenal and there are countless hilarious gags spilled throughout the film. The new characters (Ducky and Bunny, Forky, Duke Kaboom and the new and improved Bo Peep) are all fantastic additions to the toy story world. Unfortunately, this film feels out of place as a forced addition to the series after the beautiful ending of Toy Story 3. The lack of older characters saddens me as an audience member and many story points feel unnatural. Toy Story 4 does not live up the magic of its predecessors.
Toy Story 4 starts off very promising but ends leaving us feeling disheartened. I would recommend the film, but do not expect it to be the spectacle that the originals were.