Toy Story 4

Not entirely necessary, but <em>'Toy Story 4'</em> still produces goods worthy of being attached to the initial trilogy. Tom Hanks, I'm sounding like a broken record but..., is still tremendous as Woody, I love hearing his voice in this role. Tim Allen is solid as Buzz Lightyear, but I kinda feel they don't use him - or the other originals - enough considering who they are. It is, though, cool to see an old face return in Bo Peep (Annie Potts). There are some more new characters and yet again, like in the past films, they strike the right chords. Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele are, entirely unsurprisingly, funny in the roles of Ducky & Bunny. Christina Hendricks is a good Gabby, while Keanu Reeves amuses as Duke Caboom. The film focuses on giving the viewer(s) extremely heartfelt moments and for the vast majority it hits as intended, though they do try to tug on the heart too much in parts. The animation is stunning, especially in the early scene with RC. Is it a thing everyone wanted? Most probably not. Yet is there fun to be had? Most definitely. For a third sequel, you gotta give respect to Pixar & Co.

I remember my dad telling me that when I was much younger, I was given a big toy tractor for Christmas, and spent the whole day playing in it's box! This time, it's "Bonnie" who shuns her established toys so she can play with "Forky" - a plastic canteen fork with a few hastily improvised appendages. "Forky" has a few self esteem issues, but luckily, the long-suffering "Woody" and the rest of the gang are on hand to help walk him through his new life. The plot centres around an escaped-laden road trip with "Woody" hooking up, again, with "Bo-Peep" and having a bit of a reminisce. There are plenty of fun adventures, the new characters - especially "Key" and "Peele" - who have a lovely, slick, comedy timing add an extra layer of enjoyment, and there is a script that still delivers plenty of humour and a just a little food for thought. The characterisations retain their traits of loyalty, silliness and mischievousness as we head to what I can only assume is closure for the series. Their future is presented with a tinge of sadness, but also with a considerable degree of optimism as the toys demonstrate that they, too, have grown up over the years. It's a fitting conclusion to this franchise that retains the generous spirit of the preceding three and ends on an high note.