{"id":7483,"date":"2019-06-13T16:14:46","date_gmt":"2019-06-13T20:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7483"},"modified":"2019-06-13T18:01:00","modified_gmt":"2019-06-13T22:01:00","slug":"review-toy-story-4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/?p=7483","title":{"rendered":"Review: TOY STORY 4"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The best comedy of the summer is a Pixar sequel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Not quite a parody of the historic \u201cToy Story\u201d franchise, \u201cToy Story 4\u201d is funnier than it is impactful. For some, the tears will flow without reservation, but I questioned how much of that engaging sentimentality is just the byproduct of Pixar goodwill. Anything from the blockbuster animation house is bound to evoke a range of emotions, and in sequels, there have been diminishing emotional returns. It\u2019s hard to duplicate the gripping narrative power that worked its way into our collective psyche with original stories like \u201cUp\u201d and \u201cInside Out.\u201d Yet another helping of \u201cToy Story\u201d is, at some point, just not going to resonate.

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The toys are back, but following Woody might prove to be difficult.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Taking place after the events of 2010\u2019s \u201cToy Story 3,\u201d Bonnie (voice of Madeleine McGraw) has taken over ownership of the toys. With the emergence of a new highly organized rag doll leader, Woody\u2019s (Tom Hanks) authority over his tight-nit group has shrunk. To make matters even more dire, he\u2019s not a priority to Bonnie. But when she goes off to kindergarten, Woody sees an opportunity to help his little girl adjust. After all, we all need a friend to help us get by, right?

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Not all toys are made in a factory. Meet Forky!<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In kindergarten, Bonnie, with Woody\u2019s clandestine assistance, makes a toy using a combination of art supplies and trash. This new toy she understandably names Forky (voiced by the great Tony Hale), and it\u2019s up to Woody to protect and educate this new friend. In time, Bonnie and her parents go on vacation renting an RV and taking the toys along for the ride. Once on the road, the toys have a rollicking adventure, and Woody learns about himself, while helping Bonnie in the process.

A typical Pixar production, \u201cToy Story 4\u201d is top-notch from top to bottom. Voice talents are an absolute delight with new comers Hale, Christina Hendricks, Carl Weathers, Keanu Reeves and others adding to the fun. But \u201cfun\u201d is the operative word here. The central morals are obviously told but with less punch than the previous installments. Perhaps taking lessons from the third film, the threatening material is handled with less menace, managing to resolve things without going too dark. Parents need not worry, there\u2019s no Lotso in this \u201cToy Story.\u201d

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Keanu Reeves’ stellar year continues, as he nearly steals the show as Duke Caboom.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But, I suppose, while most audiences will find number four to be immensely entertaining, the question some will be asking is why is this movie even necessary? The somewhat maligned third movie brought to a close to the trilogy, complete with a moving conclusion. This movie might frustrate \u201cToy Story\u201d purists, because it does leave open the possibility of continuing adventures, although maybe focusing on individual toy stories. And admittedly, absent all the toys being annihilated (as almost happened in the last outing), I suppose ending a franchise this lucrative is impossible.

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While this might be the last “Toy Story” film, new characters offer a future path.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Money first, story second. Even less cynical critics than I will have to recognize the profit motive here. It\u2019s hard to deny that Pixar turned back to the hit film and characters that gave rise to the studio in order to ensure continuing financial returns. One way to justify this mercenary business strategy is the hope that the profit from this sequel might help finance other original projects. And the major accomplishment shown here is that the team at Pixar are so talented that they figured out a way to make another \u201cToy Story\u201d work. That\u2019s quite an achievement.

While not as dark or sweeping as previous entries, the often hilarious \u201cToy Story 4\u201d will tickle your funny bone with slightly less emotional import.

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Our old friends and some new ones make us laugh in latest Pixar sequel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19],"tags":[999,1485,1553,1551,1552,1540,1550],"class_list":["post-7483","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reviews","tag-animation","tag-keanu-reeves","tag-pixar","tag-tom-hanks","tag-tony-hale","tag-toy-story","tag-toy-story-4","no-thumb"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7483","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7483"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7483\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7494,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7483\/revisions\/7494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7483"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7483"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyfilmfix.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7483"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}