Yes, I was one of the people who rolled their eyes when this film was announced. And is it as good as the first three? No. But that doesn’t make this bad. At all. In fact, it’s pretty great. The writing is top-notch, and the new characters are incredibly entertaining, memorable, and played by incredibly talented actors (Keanu Reeves in particular being especially great as Duke Caboom). This is also the funniest of the Toy Story films with lots of scenes of genuine hilarity. And while the ending isn’t quite as emotional as it’s been hyped up to be, it still works as a poignant finale (if this is indeed the last film). The animation is excellent, and shows that Pixar is continuing to up the ante with regards to making CG animation look as realistic as possible; and no better example can be seen in the gorgeously animated cat. But still, it does have the most problems out of all the Toy Story films. Plot elements that were built up over the last movies are completely dropped without an acknowledgment, some characters don’t get as much screen time as they feel like they should, and the film takes the concept of the toys not being spotted to rather ridiculous extremes (apparently, all the adults in the Toy Story universe have no peripheral vision whatsoever). Still, these minor issues don’t in any way dampen what’s an otherwise great sequel I didn’t know I wanted, but am very glad exists.
Rating: 4.5/5
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