Toy Story 4 2019
Toy Story is the gold standard of computer animated movies, from the first one in 1995 and all of its sequels. The three previous movies are all ranked close to the top of the pantheon of Pixar movies. Despite somewhat lackluster movies from Pixar of late (Cars 3, Incredibles 2), they have reinvented the magic with Toy Story 4, even without John Lasseter and some of the other geniuses behind that first Pixar movie. There has always been a heaviness to the Toy Story movies as toys become neglected and may be thrown away. This movie embraces that and seems a little lighter, but also gives new story lines with very adult themes of the purpose of life and fulfillment. In the meantime, there is some great caper stuff going on as certain lost toys are recovered and Woody has a mid-life crisis. Not as frantic as some of the earlier movies, nor as emptily sentimental, this is a more mature movie, though still for kids, sort of. Honestly, some creepy dolls might give kids nightmares, but mostly I heard laughs on the opening weekend. Do not leave when the credits start rolling: the movie still has a couple of stories to tell and one final payoff at the very end as the Pixar logo appears.
Written: 22 Jun 2019
Owned on: UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, Digital