Toy Story 4

Even Pixar could not escape sequel/franchise fatigue, and although “Toy Story 4” was lots of fun - it had the usual laughs, action, heart and moral - but beneath all that beautiful, slightly unoriginal, storytelling laid a sense of fatigue and impatience especially for those of us who had been following the adventures of Woody, Buzz and gang for the past 24 (!) years. 

We are all now older but it seemed that the story never really grew any more older after that fitting end in “Toy Story 3” 9 years ago. This felt more like an attempt to relaunch the franchise for a new generation rather than a continuation for the original Andys (and Mollys). 

Nonetheless, this was a fun and absorbing film, maybe a little less heartbreaking/heartwarming, a little less exciting and a less laugh out loud, but like the previous three entries, it introduced new characters to the universe without ever feeling overcrowded, although the adventures of Rex and Ham were missed. But Tony Hale’s Forky was a delight, Christina Hendricks’ Gabby Gabby was sympathetically scary and Keanu Reeves’ was very Keanu -esque. Annie Potts’ Bo Peep has been missed and gotten a whole new image fittingly in-line with Disney’s new girl power princess movement. Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key’s wisecracking Bunny and Duckie were thankfully restrained to a minimum, although they did get a great mid-credits scene. 

And stay till the very, very end for a little funny Easter egg.