Main cast: Tom Hanks (Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear), Annie Potts (Bo Peep), Tony Hale (Forky), Keegan-Michael Key (Ducky), Jordan Peele (Bunny), Madeleine McGraw (Bonnie), Christina Hendricks (Gabby Gabby), Steve Purcell (Benson Dummies), Keanu Reeves (Duke Caboom), Ally Maki (Giggle McDimples), Joan Cusack (Jessie), Bonnie Hunt (Dolly), Kristen Schaal (Trixie), Emily Davis (Billy, Goat, Gruff), and Wallace Shawn (Rex)
Director: Josh Cooley

Did anyone ask for Toy Story 4? I know, I know, these days the people in Hollywood are just churning out unnecessary reboots and remakes, so maybe I shouldn’t be surprised that this franchise came back from the dead. They even refuse to let Don Rickles rest in peace, using his old sound bites for Mr Pickles in this movie. So yes, nothing stays dead in Hollywood.

I may like this one more if I hadn’t seen the previous movies though. This time, Woody and friends once again undergo existential angst, as a few of them (Bo Peep, notably) are separated, and Woody of course has to tag along when Bonnie goes off to school like the creepy dude with attachment issues that he is, and along the way, we meet Forky, a fork turned into a toy by Bonnie who feels that, as someone who used to be trash, it is not worthy of being a toy or something like that. Meanwhile, Woody gets separated some more, meets another bad toy who will experience some epiphany to be kinder, and Buzz searches for Woody. Woody meets Bo Peep again, who is now living as an independent owner-less toy, and once again he has to decide how he can let go of the human owners. Dude, didn’t we do this at least two times already?

Sure, this movie is fine. I feel a little choked up in the final moments. For a long time, though, I feel like I’m watching an unnecessary retread that makes the characters go through the same old issues all over again – just change up the names and add new toys. Woody’s inability to learn anything from the last few movies actually cheapen those movies, but then again, that shouldn’t be a surprise. Toy Story 4 is, after all, a money grab.

I wish they had done something more interesting here, though. As it is, this one feels way too much of a retread, and frankly, I’m bored most of the time. Good for Woody for finally getting a girlfriend for real, and I can only hope he won’t have to go through the same motions again in the next movie. Come on, you know there will be a next movie. Frankly, I’d rather they just let this series end on a high note, instead of milking it into its last legs, but I won’t be holding my breath in the meantime.