WatchSeeLookView - Toy Story 4

Alright, it has been relatively Disney-themed around here but this is Pixar - it’s a subtle distinction given that they are a wholly owned subsidiary of Disney but a distinction nonetheless.

Toy Story 4
Dir. Josh Cooley / Dur. 100 mins

In A Nutshell:- The final film. Again. For real this time. Until the next time.

The Good:- Pixar know how to craft films. In the twenty four years since they kicked off with the first Toy Story, there is no doubt that they have honed that craft with each successive release. Back for another instalment after what very much seemed like the last film (which featured quite the emotional gut punch at the point where it looked like they might - just might - go out on a surprisingly bleak moment), it features all the characters you love with a beefed up role for a returning cast member (absent from Toy Story 3 and you find out why here) and some welcome new additions, particularly in the form of Key and Peele’s Ducky and Bunny and a selection of creepy ventriloquist dummies (who move like they’re being operated in the same way as Thunderbirds-style marionettes). 
Forky makes a fun addition and the filmmakers slyly sidestep the question of what makes a toy “live” in the world of Toy Story and what doesn’t. Tony Hale is clearly also having fun in the role as is Keanu Reeves as Duke Caboom, the Canadian answer to Evel Knievel.
It is, as you would expect from a Toy Story film, funny, exciting, heart-warming and emotional and it definitely feels like this is the end point for these characters - if Toy Story 3 was about Andy growing up and moving on then Toy Story 4 is about Woody doing the same.

The Bad:- If I do have a criticism of it, it’s that it doesn’t quite have the same emotional heft as Toy Story 3. It feels very much like an extended epilogue to the trilogy rather than a necessary end point. While it does offer a definitive feeling full stop to the franchise, you could still watch the first three and still get the same sense of closure.

The Verdict:- Is it worth a watch? Definitely - it’s funny and entertaining in a way that’s consistent with the other Toy Story films. Is it necessary? Probably not as Toy Story 3 was also a fine finish to the series so there’s a slight sense that this is a little superfluous. Fortunately, Pixar’s standards are such that their films are always worth watching. If you’re after another fix of Woody, Buzz and the rest, this will hit the spot.