SPOILER WARNING!!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!! SPOILER WARNING!!!!
I don't normally rate movies with heavy spoilers, especially when they have just released, but this one needs it.
I love movies in general, and Toy Story movies are some of my very favourite animated films. I always felt the third film ended the series tieing it up with a fairly nice bow, so when I heard about part 4 coming out, I had my reservations immediately.
Apparently, my initial reactions to hearing of the film were accurate. The first half of the movie, really, really felt like a Toy Story movie. The music, the humor, even the action had the same vibe as the original 3. The back half of the film....not so much. It was like a completely different movie at times.
The movie, as was depicted by the trailers, was to be based around finding or saving the new toy added called Forky. The trailers made it seem like the new big bad toy was going to be a toy named Gabby Gabby, and for a small moment, she was. She ends up just not being a bad toy at all, and not due to some redemption plotline, change of heart or some kind of specialized intervention by the other toys, just because she wasn't actually evil. This made me just not care about that whole part of the film because she felt almost unnecessary in the film. That role could have been utilized by absolutely any other toy.
There were so many instances in the film that could have been tweaked ever so slightly to make it fit into the Toy Story world properly; Gabby Gabby could have been really evil from the start, or she could have been evil and then did some grand gesture to redeem herself. Her whole plotline revolves around being kept almost hostage in an antique store, and the little girl that she wants to be owned by won't look at her because her pull-string voice box is damaged. She meets Woody and immediately starts to hatch a plan to take his box and replace hers with it. When I saw this, I thought we were in for a decent storyline. Some danger for Woody, some suspense in his capture and possible surgery to take the box out, but no. None of this happened. The movie eludes at first that either of these could be the case, but sadly, Woody for some reason gives his voice box up willingly to get Forky back (as he was being held loosely hostage by Gabby's goons. Loosely because Forky and she almost seem to be friends at times, so "hostage" might not be the best word.) But I digress. After easily getting her voice box fixed, she tries to be accepted by the little girl that she clearly loves. The girl rejects her, throwing her into an open box. Now, this could have been a part where Gabby Gabby could have snapped from the waiting and waiting to only be rejected. Instead, she simply waits for the Toy Story gang to come to get her and get her almost immediately into the hands of another child. There was no emotion portrayed by Gabby about the loss of this child that she clearly has wanted to own her for years, and was happy enough to just go with anyone. Then, she's never seen again.
During the movie, Woody meets back up with Bow Peep from the first 2 Toy Story movies. She's portrayed as a rogue toy; like someone that has had to survive on her own the last 7 years or so. She comes across as harsh and battle-ridden at first, as she should. By the end of the movie, none of the past experiences she has had in the last 7 years seem to matter. She makes the Antique shop sound like trying to break into Fort Nox; like it's impossible and deadly to even think about it. Then she leads them into the Antique shop, and virtually nothing bad happens to any of them. Its alluded to early on that she and Gabby Gabby are bitter enemies, yet when Gabby is in the box, Bow is the one to help her up without question or comment and send Gabby on her way to a new child. This would have been fine if Bow had gone through some ordeal to make her change her ways, or see the good in other toys again, or anything, but it was more like a switch was pushed, and the world was all ok again.
My biggest gripe with this movie is that all the character development that has happened over the past 3 movies was basically erased or ignored for some major characters. Most of the toys from the original 3 movies, although are present, basically do nothing. Buzz Lightyear somehow became an idiot in this movie, countlessly not knowing what to do unless he pushes one of his buttons on his chest. This is in direct contrast to how his character had evolved in the last 3 movies. Woody, who has always been an advocate that a toy's greatest and most prominent job is to be there for a child no matter what happens, gives up and leaves the group of toys that he has known for years and years, to be with Bow at the end. This could have been a very touching scene, even though again, it goes against his entire character, but the rest of the toys when seen later, act like it didn't happen at all. There were no tears shed by them, there isn't even a mention from them about Woody being gone, by anyone. Again, just another part that could have been set up so differently to give that emotional response that the first 3 movies held.
The jokes were great and the action parts of the movie were fantastic, but for me, it fell flat as a Toy Story movie. If it were with different toys and not called Toy Story, it would have been a fine, or ok movie, but not as a part of the Toy Story world. When you have a series of films, the worst thing you can do is set up world rules in one film, to just break them in another, and that definitely happened.
Overall, it's a fine movie for kids I would assume. The original films were, of course, made for children, but held a lot of weight for the parents as well. To me, it almost seemed like Toy Story 3 was too emotional or too dark, and this time they went super safe, which is a shame. There was so much potential in this film, but unfortunately, was never pursued.
Overall score: 5 out of 10 stars
Pros:
- All the characters from the original 3 movies are back
- The humor is very good
- The action scenes are extremely well done
- The animation is simply breath-taking
Cons:
- Character development done in the last movies are basically ignored
- There is no true villain
- The plot switches completely halfway through the movie
- Many parts in the movie just don't make a lot of sense
I don't normally rate movies with heavy spoilers, especially when they have just released, but this one needs it.
I love movies in general, and Toy Story movies are some of my very favourite animated films. I always felt the third film ended the series tieing it up with a fairly nice bow, so when I heard about part 4 coming out, I had my reservations immediately.
Apparently, my initial reactions to hearing of the film were accurate. The first half of the movie, really, really felt like a Toy Story movie. The music, the humor, even the action had the same vibe as the original 3. The back half of the film....not so much. It was like a completely different movie at times.
The movie, as was depicted by the trailers, was to be based around finding or saving the new toy added called Forky. The trailers made it seem like the new big bad toy was going to be a toy named Gabby Gabby, and for a small moment, she was. She ends up just not being a bad toy at all, and not due to some redemption plotline, change of heart or some kind of specialized intervention by the other toys, just because she wasn't actually evil. This made me just not care about that whole part of the film because she felt almost unnecessary in the film. That role could have been utilized by absolutely any other toy.
There were so many instances in the film that could have been tweaked ever so slightly to make it fit into the Toy Story world properly; Gabby Gabby could have been really evil from the start, or she could have been evil and then did some grand gesture to redeem herself. Her whole plotline revolves around being kept almost hostage in an antique store, and the little girl that she wants to be owned by won't look at her because her pull-string voice box is damaged. She meets Woody and immediately starts to hatch a plan to take his box and replace hers with it. When I saw this, I thought we were in for a decent storyline. Some danger for Woody, some suspense in his capture and possible surgery to take the box out, but no. None of this happened. The movie eludes at first that either of these could be the case, but sadly, Woody for some reason gives his voice box up willingly to get Forky back (as he was being held loosely hostage by Gabby's goons. Loosely because Forky and she almost seem to be friends at times, so "hostage" might not be the best word.) But I digress. After easily getting her voice box fixed, she tries to be accepted by the little girl that she clearly loves. The girl rejects her, throwing her into an open box. Now, this could have been a part where Gabby Gabby could have snapped from the waiting and waiting to only be rejected. Instead, she simply waits for the Toy Story gang to come to get her and get her almost immediately into the hands of another child. There was no emotion portrayed by Gabby about the loss of this child that she clearly has wanted to own her for years, and was happy enough to just go with anyone. Then, she's never seen again.
During the movie, Woody meets back up with Bow Peep from the first 2 Toy Story movies. She's portrayed as a rogue toy; like someone that has had to survive on her own the last 7 years or so. She comes across as harsh and battle-ridden at first, as she should. By the end of the movie, none of the past experiences she has had in the last 7 years seem to matter. She makes the Antique shop sound like trying to break into Fort Nox; like it's impossible and deadly to even think about it. Then she leads them into the Antique shop, and virtually nothing bad happens to any of them. Its alluded to early on that she and Gabby Gabby are bitter enemies, yet when Gabby is in the box, Bow is the one to help her up without question or comment and send Gabby on her way to a new child. This would have been fine if Bow had gone through some ordeal to make her change her ways, or see the good in other toys again, or anything, but it was more like a switch was pushed, and the world was all ok again.
My biggest gripe with this movie is that all the character development that has happened over the past 3 movies was basically erased or ignored for some major characters. Most of the toys from the original 3 movies, although are present, basically do nothing. Buzz Lightyear somehow became an idiot in this movie, countlessly not knowing what to do unless he pushes one of his buttons on his chest. This is in direct contrast to how his character had evolved in the last 3 movies. Woody, who has always been an advocate that a toy's greatest and most prominent job is to be there for a child no matter what happens, gives up and leaves the group of toys that he has known for years and years, to be with Bow at the end. This could have been a very touching scene, even though again, it goes against his entire character, but the rest of the toys when seen later, act like it didn't happen at all. There were no tears shed by them, there isn't even a mention from them about Woody being gone, by anyone. Again, just another part that could have been set up so differently to give that emotional response that the first 3 movies held.
The jokes were great and the action parts of the movie were fantastic, but for me, it fell flat as a Toy Story movie. If it were with different toys and not called Toy Story, it would have been a fine, or ok movie, but not as a part of the Toy Story world. When you have a series of films, the worst thing you can do is set up world rules in one film, to just break them in another, and that definitely happened.
Overall, it's a fine movie for kids I would assume. The original films were, of course, made for children, but held a lot of weight for the parents as well. To me, it almost seemed like Toy Story 3 was too emotional or too dark, and this time they went super safe, which is a shame. There was so much potential in this film, but unfortunately, was never pursued.
Overall score: 5 out of 10 stars
Pros:
- All the characters from the original 3 movies are back
- The humor is very good
- The action scenes are extremely well done
- The animation is simply breath-taking
Cons:
- Character development done in the last movies are basically ignored
- There is no true villain
- The plot switches completely halfway through the movie
- Many parts in the movie just don't make a lot of sense
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