“Well, then you watch ‘em grow up and become a full person. And then they leave. They go off and do things you’ll never see. Don’t get me wrong, you still feel good about it. But then somehow you find yourself, after all those years… sitting in a closet just feeling…”

“Useless?”

“Yeah.”

“Your purpose fulfilled?”

“Exactly.”

I hadn’t seen Toy Story 4 since theaters in 2019, and didn’t really remember what I thought about it at the time, so I had no idea what I would think about it this time around. I knew that I was definitely on the train of “It should have ended with 3,” but whether or not a sequel should exist doesn’t necessarily reflect the actual quality of it, so I went in very open minded. Overall, Toy Story 4 was pretty underwhelming, but I’ll talk about my positives first.

Woody is definitely the one carrying this movie, and is the only thing really keeping it from being worse than just mediocre. In fact, this might as well be called “Woody: The Movie,” as he is front and center more than any character ever has been in this franchise. This is his movie, and while I might not be super positive on it at the end of the day, his character arc here is undoubtedly very good and hits pretty hard. This is easily the most we get to see him internally, far more than the previous three where he was already technically the central character, however there were many side characters in the spotlight in those movies as well. Besides Bo Peep and the central antagonist, Gabby Gabby, none of the other characters, including Buzz, really get their time to shine in a significant way. While that might not sound like a good thing, more focus on Woody actually makes this film stand out a little more, and the conclusion to his arc is by far the most powerful thing here.

There is also the new side character Forky, a spork made by Bonny during kindergarten orientation. Funny enough, he is both the comedic relief and the macguffin of the story, and while his rescue mission isn’t incredibly exciting, he is a very fun and nice addition to the franchise. Seeing through the eyes of a toy that has quite literally just been brought to life makes for a fun new spin on things, and his dynamic with Woody creates some compelling as well as funny moments.

As you might expect from a Toy Story film, there is definitely a lot of heart to this entry as well. It definitely isn’t as emotionally gripping as Toy Story 3, but it probably is the deepest out of the series, especially with its ending. These movies always find hope and levity, especially by the end, and this is certainly no exception, but it also surprisingly has a bit of a sadder tone to it, which is another thing that definitely helps it stand out, and another thing I think it executes pretty well.

Even though Pixar’s animation over the years has always been top notch, Toy Story 4 looks so remarkable that it almost feels like a tech demo at some points (that is a compliment). It’s definitely not as bright as any of the other Toy Story movies, but it’s the first movie out of the series where you can really tell that a lot of effort went into the, dare I say it, cinematography. This film is lit and composited just like a very well crafted live action film. Also, the animators were definitely showing off with how insanely good that cat looked.

But while there are definitely things to highlight about this movie, it most definitely is what people feared it would be: a sequel that doesn’t really justify its existence at the end of the day. It doesn’t really mess with the impact of the ending with the previous installment, but that ending is still so perfect that there is a bit of a feeling of disappointment that this doesn’t come anywhere close to being as good as any of the other movies. It really only seems that the purpose of it at the end of the day is to flesh out Woody just a little more, and nothing else. While that would make doing yet another sequel in the form of Toy Story 5 sound ridiculous, I actually think that movie has a much more compelling purpose, in that it’s using the premise and established characters of the IP to tell a story about something that’s really going on in the world, with kids growing up with screens. We’ll see how it actually turns out, but reactions are looking pretty good so far.

This also has by far and away the weakest antagonist of the series, in the form of the doll, Gabby Gabby. Gabby Gabby’s goal is to get the working voice box from Woody to replace her broken one, so that she might finally find an owner and be loved. This film’s attempts at making her compelling fall pretty short because since she’s never had an owner before and never felt loved by someone, there isn’t really anything that you can feel sympathetic about her towards. If she’s never experienced love, then she obviously doesn’t know what it feels like, therefore there isn’t anything that makes her either a fun or tragic antagonist like Sid, Stinky Pete, or especially Lotso. Not to mention she’s also a bit annoying and doesn’t feel all that threatening to our main characters, especially with how everything eventually turns out by the end.

So while there are highlight moments, especially the ending, I wish we lived in a world where Toy Story 4 went for something more along the lines of 5, where that film is very clearly trying to relate to something in the real world.