Toy Story 4 Earns Four Out of Five: Sweet, Creepy, and Not as Strong as the Third Movie

Our verdict on Toy Story 4 is four out of five. "I had fun with it," but it is "not as good as the third movie at all," and it kind of felt like the story was not needed. Put simply: "It was creepy with the dummies, but it was sweet."

Gabby Gabby is not really a villain

The character we kept coming back to was Gabby Gabby. Our first instinct was to call her a villain, but she is just kind of sad. She wants to be played with and is going about it in a very creepy way. She came out of the box defective, so she probably spent her life in that drawer. When she talks to Woody about wanting to be loved, one read was that she's "so manipulative," while the other view was: "I think she actually means all this." "I like Gabby. I like what they do with her." Her dummies, on the other hand, creeped us out.

Woody is selfless this time, and maybe should have gone with Andy

Woody has become better and better as the movies have gone on. Here he is being pretty selfless, trying to keep Forky around for Bonnie, where in the first movie he would have just thrown him out the window. He also wants to feel useful and not be trash. Still, we asked ourselves whether it might have been better for Woody to go to college with Andy. Maybe, though he really missed Bo.

Bo Peep's return kind of explains what the third movie skipped

The movie reunites Bo and Woody, and I kind of like what they do with them. In the third movie, she is just gone; this one at least kind of explains that a lot better. The original voice actress is back, and she sounds younger and different, but she is doing a great job. I also love that they got Keanu Reeves to play Duke Caboom.

Too much comedy, and a slightly dumber Buzz

One complaint is that it leans too much into the comedy. The earlier films have comedy, but not comedy bits. We kept asking whether the stuffed animals were really needed; you could cut them and I don't know if it changes much. Buzz also feels a little dumber. We noticed Mr. Potato Head barely speaks, and I think that is because his voice actor, Don Rickles, passed.

Fun, but forced

The animation looks great in this movie. Even so, "I feel like this movie was forced," though where it leaves Woody makes sense. It is not a bad movie, and for kids and as a continuation of the story, I think it works. But the third one is still more emotional. "That one broke us."

Would Woody have been better off going to college with Andy than staying with Bonnie?