(UTV|COLOMBO) – Rarely has a sequel announcement brought about as much anxiety as that of ‘Toy Story 4’. It was hard to imagine a more powerful ending than the one provided in 2010’s ostensible series finale, and most fans agreed extending the story further was inadvisable. But thanks to a few key decisions, Pixar’s excellent, hilarious fourth chapter steers clear of undercutting ‘Toy Story 3’ the way so many had feared – at least, for the most part.
In some ways, ‘Toy Story 4’ does retroactively make its predecessor’s ending somewhat less emotional, which was probably inevitable but still a bit bothersome. A significant part of the reason Andy passing his toys on to Bonnie wrecked an entire generation emotionally was the meta narrative that we, too, were saying goodbye to our childhood friends for good after growing up with the first two movies.
‘Toy Story 4’ is able to avoid undermining the third movie’s ending in several ways. For one, it thankfully resists the temptation to somehow check in on Andy, allowing his farewell to remain final. It also sidelines nearly every classic character as the adventure revolves around Woody and Bo Peep, with a small subplot for Buzz Lightyear. Ultimately, the most painful betrayal of ‘Toy Story 3’s ending would have been a fluffy sequel that offers nothing new of consequence in its plot or themes, therefore taking back a satisfying finale for no good reason at all. With these meaty new ideas to consider, ‘Toy Story 4’ certainly isn’t that.
Does the movie truly, absolutely need to exist? Maybe not. In a universe without it, no one sees the trilogy as missing anything. But ‘Toy Story 4’ is still great, and it works by respecting its predecessor’s conclusive nature while offering a few additional thoughts rather than attempting to start over with a clean slate. Continuing on with a ‘Toy Story 5’ once again feels like it would be a mistake — but then again, as Woody’s journey demonstrates, we should always remain open to unexpected new sources of happiness. The Week
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