#but it feels like a toy story 4 unnecessary sequel situation

[plexiglasscoffin]

I genuinely thought the last episode of IWTV season 2 was the series finale and I was very satisfied with it, thought it was a great ending.

[kookies2000]

Disney tries to make a sequel, everyone hates it already.

Dreamworks plans a sequel, Shrek 5, Kung Fu Panda 4, and wanting a Puss in Boots 3 and Bad Guys 2, everyone is hyped and dying of waiting!!!

And I fully understand why.

Sequals (Essay because there's a lot of sequels to talk about)

Disney was never the type to serialize their films. Heck, most of their films are stand-alone films because of the fairytales they're based on. You can't exactly make a series out of Cinderella, Snow-white, Beauty and the Beast, etc, without changing a few things from the original. Disney tried and let me just say that Cinderella 3 was most likely their only good sequel. And that's because they retold the story of Cinderella. Even redeeming one of the step sisters. As for the other sequels that Disney has planned or made, 50/50 for me. I'm not looking forward to Frozen 3. Frozen 2 was good until the third act. Elsa just pushed Anna away again, and instead of it being this bad thing, Elsa is rewarded for it. She gets to see her mother and gains an improved version of herself. While Anna struggles by herself. Yes, Elsa did "die," which could've worked as character development if Elsa realized that pushing Anna away was the cause of that death. But no, Anna unites the spirits again, and Elsa comes back to save the kingdom and all it good. There isn't really a punishment for Elsa pushing her loved ones away. Anna was the one with the best development because she had to grieve and push forward without Elsa. And she grew into a better version of herself that way, earning her crown as queen. I can see why people liked the ending, but to me, Elsa really should've reflected on what she did to Anna and Olaf at the end. It's just a little detail that made the film fall flat for me. Toy Story 5.......... what? The first three are masterpieces, really, they are. The 4th was definitely unnecessary, but I liked it as its own stand-alone film. Like a bonus film, a reboot to a possible new chapter for the franchise. But the way they ended it, they separated Woody and Buzz. Bonnie just straight up left Woody behind. I get it. There were hints that Jessie was gonna be her new favorite toy, but Woody should have some value. Yes, I know the film was about Woody accepting that he is no longer in the spot light and must pass down that title to someone else and his new chapter in life doesn't include his old friends. I get it. That happens in real life, too. But a 5th film? How are they exactly gonna do it with the way the 4th film ended. It doesn't seem very possible. Plus, it's not like the 4th film lived up to the first three, I still think they made Buzz a little out of character. And the old toys were underused. Like they could've evened out the roles a little more instead of letting Buzz take the spotlight. The same with Wreck it Ralph. I'm not going into detail about this. The sequel was pretty bad. I get it. Ralph is insecure and doesn't want to lose his only friend. But to put her in a life-threatening situation to get her to stay with you? I'm pretty sure you could've just said you were feeling lonely without her. That was too big of a drastic measure. I know that wasn't his intent, but the writers might want to have rethought about that. Ralph was just a bit too much of a jerk, and the product placement was kinda too much. Cars 2.......... it's a guilty pleasure of mine for a reason. 🤣 Incredibles 2, I thought it was good, but I can see why people have issues with it. The villain didn't make that much sense. The only sequel I am looking forward to is Zootopia 2, and that's because that story has a lot to offer. I'll explain later.

Dreamworks sequals, oh boy, where do I begin!!! Dreamworks serialized their films at the very beginning. Did you know there were at least six El Dorado films planned? If the first film didn't flop, we could've had a whole franchise of the treasure hunting trio. Or the fact that before Shrek was released, they were already working on a Shrek 2. Dreamworks make their films with a franchise in mind. They planned ahead. And each squeal they made only added more and more to their characters.

Shrek 2, Shrek has marriage problems because his in-laws are baiscally racist towards orgers. Shrek 4, he learns to love his life again. I will not mention Shrek the 3rd because that movie should disintegrate and never come back to reality. 😅 And I'm hyped for Shrek 5 because there is still more to write about. The film takes place in a fairytale land. There's hundreds of fairy tales out there that Shrek can make fun of. Hence, more films. The concept itself opens up new stories.

HTTYD. I haven't seen this one, but I know enough. I love the idea of Hiccup growing up and learning something new every film. Finding his mother, dealing with the loss of his father, dealing with being separated from his best friend at the end. Each film gave a new element to his story. A new gain and a new loss. I can't see the film going beyond three films, though. Unless it's gonna be about Hiccups kids, they kinda closed the book, and the concept isn't very open to anything. Unless a new threat comes and Hiccup has to learn to be the new village leader. Which he kinda already did. So I'm glad there isn't a HTTYD 4 planned.

Kung Fu Panda. This franchise has 6 films planned since the very beginning. SIX! And they always add a new element to Po's story. Earning the Dragon Warrior name, finding inner peace and dealing with his PTSD, becoming a teacher and chi master. And there's still more to Chinese culture that can be added to this franchise. The concept opens up the franchise to new ideas. The number of characters they have adds to the story. We got Shifus back story, we got Po's back story, we got Oogways back story, and the fandom is now expecting Tigress's back story soon. The concept and the characters are the reason why this franchise is loved and why we're dying for the 4th film!!!!

Madagascar. Fun fact, Madagascar 3 was, in fact, not the final film. 😅 Yeah, shocking. After the Penguins of Madagascar in 2014, Madagascar 4 was supposed to be released in 2018. So they did plan more films but got delayed with Kung Fu Panda 4 and Puss in Boots 2 because of the reconstruction of the studio. How many more films? I think the 4th one was supposed to create a reboot situation. I have no idea how the story is supposed to continue. I really don't, but at the same time, I do. The first three films had one story. The three wanted to go home to the zoo. Each film took place in a different setting, with each character learning something new about themselves. In the first film, they learned how to be in the wild, just like animals in Madagascar. Second film, they reconnect with their African roots. 3rd film, they realize what they really want is to see the world, so they move in with the circus. In Europe. That's why the sequels worked. Different settings = different discoveries = new story. Yes, their story about getting to the zoo is over, but we can't forget about the situation their in now. They're traveling the world now. The point of Stefanos and Gias character in the 3rd film was that the two were tired of staying in one place. They did the same acts to the point where they lost passion and meaning. They wanted something new and to improve the circus. And now that they have that, new stories can be told. In other words, the new concept opens up a door to a new story. They can travel the world and discover new things and new characters. New culture and even back stories to new characters. As far as I remember, Vitaly has a father like relationship with Gia and Stefano. Why? What's their past? Or we can get new pasts from new characters to come from different parts of the world. The concept of a circus traveling the world is what opens up the door to new stories.

Trolls, I know people don't like this film, and I agree it's for a much younger audience. Like 8 and under. But I can still appreciate the franchise for it's story telling. Poppy has to learn to be queen before becoming queen at the end of the film. She had to learn where happiness comes from and how having others you love in your life can improve on that happiness. Trolls 2, she had to learn about being a good queen. And I do love the metaphors they used in the 2nd film. Using different kinds of music a metaphor of tribes at war with each other. Poppy learned that it was her kingdom that caused the war in the first place. She had to learn that she can't push her own culture onto the other tribes because you can't just think your culture is superior. Like she wanted to make the country trolls happy with her own music simply because she believed the country trolls music was the wrong way. Which makes me love her interactions with Coopers family so much. Learning that her kingdom tried to erase the other tribes culture by replacing it with theirs. That her tribes scrapbooks are just cutouts and glue ons by the winners to rewrite history so they feel comfortable with it. And I love that the king and queen of funk explain it to her. That differences do matter, and no, we are not all the same deep inside. Our culture, our lives, and our experiences are different, and they make us who we are. Harmonizing with different cultures is what makes a good queen. And that's why the sequels work. Why I'm excited for my little sisters to see the franchise. There's so much you can do with a story about a queen trying to do good for her kingdom. And YES, I know Frozen is the same. Like I said, I did enjoy Frozen 2. It's just that the third act fell hard on its face. Like, why is ice the 5th element and not love? There are little details that really made it flop. I can understand Trolls being kiddy and cute because they are made for children and babies. I would much rather have my sisters watch Trolls than Coco Melon any time. I appreciate Frozen for what it is as well. Loved the films, wish it reached its potential and that's why I'm not looking forward to Frozen 3.

Are there any DreamWork films that would work as a franchise? Yes, Megamind can learn how to handle being the towns new hero. Bad Guys, this screams franchise!!! It's like Suicide Squad. Former criminals help to save the world!!! Puss in Boots. Puss, Kitty, and Perrito are three out laws going on adventures. How many new adventures can you write for them to go on? HUNDREDS!!! And this is why I'm excited for Zootopia 2!!! That story DOES have something to look forward to. The concept is great. A cop and a former criminal fighting crime together? HELL YEAH!!! That's why Toy Story worked, too!!! The life of a toy is creative. They watched their owner grow, and each stage of their owners life affected them. When a kid moves houses, they can lose toys on the way. What if a toy gets broken? What if the kid is no longer a kid? What do toys feel about being lost or replaced. The concept is incredible and leaves tons of opportunities to continue the story or create new ones. So I'm a 50/50 on Toy Story 5.

Conclusion

Disney doesn't plan ahead when they make a film. They clearly start to make it up as they go with no plan. DreamWorks does plan ahead. A lot of Disney's concepts don't work for sequals. I can not see a squeal to any of the Disney princesses. Bell? Ariel? Cinderella? Not really much to their story except they lived happily ever after. It's a closed book for good unless they take a Cinderella 3 route and rewrite their stories. Dreamworks do have concepts in their stories that open opportunities. And the #1 reason why we don't get excited about Disney squeals. Reputation. Disney has a horrible reputation when it comes to sequals. Dreamworks have a perfect record. As long as we burn Shrek the 3rd from our minds. Not talking down on Disney. I know they have the ability to create great classic stories. But only stand-alone stories. While DreamWorks has a gift in making franchises and taking risks in their stories.

Ps. SHREK 5 IS OFFICIALLY ANNOUNCED!!!!!

[comet-ribbon]

My Fix-it for Ts4

I've collected my thoughts and ideas that could have made Toy Story 4 a decent (yet then again an unnecessary sequel) in my take since sometimes this movie gives me headaches and wishful thinking that my true characters were there.

If some of you liked how this movie went, I respect your opinion. I, in my case, didn’t so this is for those who didn’t like it or just indifferent by it.

First of all, the starting point is Bonnie. If they followed up her love about Woody, then it would have easily respected everyone’s characters as they should be and the plot would have been better.

At this point everyone has commented how it went off character with her too so I won’t elaborate it here.

So, if Bonnie cared so much about Woody in ts4, it might have been a parallel to Andy missing him and Buzz when he was like 7(?)

Bonnie would be stressed and sad that she doesn’t know where Woody or Forky is. As shown in the montage she seemed happy playing Woody with Forky, being this new duo sort of pals.

And probably TS first all over again. But the thing is! That Woody's learned SO MUCH from the first movie and all that jazz.

He would have totally taught Forky About how being a toy is. Not in the funsies way in which the first TS did, they were obviously fun humor when it needed to. But with the falling point of Buzz' arc, it was a big deal and Woody helped him about his purpose.

Including Buzz and Jessie being now more experienced in this thing. Probably they could have become a stronger couple in assessing the toys and would have been cute af.

Forky wouldn’t be throwing himself away every damn time, in my take he would be confused in everything. He doesn't know why he's here. He doesn't even know why he has the form of a spork.

In my rewriting, he's literally a first-born, like Pinocchio.

Now ppl might be wondering, what would actually happen if Forky would have thrown himself away from the window? And the sidewalk thing happens?

Well. I have an idea. Instead of Bonnie cuddling Forky in her sleep. It’s Woody. Her parents would have told her that sleeping with her fork would be dangerous as it can hurt her when she doesn't know it.

Or it can be Jessie! since Bonnie is showing her sweet love to the cowgirl as well without making Woody being “neglected” She gets more appreciated in a good way, without shadowing Woody.

But I believe Woody has to be the focal point of this otherwise we wouldn’t get the talk on the sidewalk lmao.

If it’s the former, Woody has to make a quick decision whether stay in place with Bonnie or just going to bring Forky back.

Since we know our favorite doll and his great loyalty, he just tells Buzz they’ll be back soon, not knowing that he might see Bo again, delaying his mission and all that.

Probably Forky would still don't know about the dangers and he gets curious of going to the window. Again, his conscience is not developing yet. Bc he genuinely doesn't know anything yet.

Maybe and probably, once he gets sucked in, for the first time he's got a sense of fear and danger. Probably adding more personality than before.

For the first time ever, he developed the feeling of fear.

So, probably Woody would have told him in his experience, how when he was with Buzz, he saw the mutilated toys from Sid. And how they weren't able to speak or talk. Bc the actual body proportions were out of place, must have caused abnormalities in them.

That could make Forky more aware of his physical proportions. He also listens to his adventures of how Woody got his arm accidentally pulled off and how it even harmed him by the prospector when he threatened him.

Forky gets very fascinated by his storytellings and learn that strangers having to take things from you by force is morally wrong because of what Woody told him.

Heck, he even would have told him about Lotso! And how they were in the trash. Making Forky very scared, and just terrified of being there being useless.

So that situation happens when he sees that Gabby wants his voice box but remembers Woody's saying.

Might have changed the plot for the better.

So yeah, here are my thoughts so far! Would have loved to see my favorite trio work together in saving the spork and more suspense in facing the villain. Woody and Bo would have better off stayed being friends instead of a couple in the end because sometimes things don’t work anymore and could have been a good message for the audiences about relationships.

What do you guys think?

[lacquerware]

Devil May Cry 2 Reflections

Now here’s a head-scratcher. How does a sequel to a very strong IP debut, helmed by a creator with an incredible pedigree, turn out to be one of the worst games ever developed by the developer in question?

I’ve heard fragments of an explanation—that the first and second Devils May Cry were developed (at least partially) concurrently, and with insufficient communication between the two teams; that Hideaki Itsuno was only pulled onto the project very late in its development cycle, after it was already clear it was a steamer. I’m sure there is a good reason, but looking at the series as a whole, or even Capcom’s internally-developed library at large, Devil May Cry 2 stands out as an anomaly. I can think of no other internally-developed, numbered installment in a Capcom series that has deviated so abruptly or presented such a nosedive in quality. I mean JESUS. Even Plasma Sword was pretty cool, if ya ask me.

Here are some things that Devil May Cry 2 did worse than its predecessor, Devil May Cry.

The combat. Controlling Dante feels like trying to throw feathers at a bullseye. Slashing your sword through an enemy feels about as meaty and satisfying as batting at a balloon with a flyswatter. Shooting feels like firing loud blanks out of two unwieldy prop guns. The combat often feels laborious; there are too many situations where the only viable approach is to boringly fire off seven-hundred rounds from your pistols while repeatedly jumping into and falling out of range like an adorable red panda trying to reach a human door knob. Some of the enemies have absurd amounts of health but present no evolving threat. The Infested Tanks, for example, mostly just sit there pivoting their enormous cannons slowly and firing at the wall behind you while you slash away at them for actual multiple minutes, your sword swooshing through them like a firm L.L. Bean catalog through thin air. Watch your style rank climb as you flail an ornate metal rectangle mindlessly at a brown public domain asset. Smokin’ Slick Style!

↑ Don't worry.

Speaking of which:

Style ranking. This didn’t really get sorted out until DMC3, but here it seems deliberately configured to discourage improvisation. It seems that only certain moves are deemed stylish enough to even initiate a combo, let alone sustain one, and these are left for the player to guess. So you could be dishing out a lot of damage to a lot of devils before you ever see your first “Don’t Worry,” which by the way, “Don’t Worry”? Tall order, Devil May Cry 2. Tall order. 

If you’re good, eventually you’ll claw your way up to “Are You Ready?” Let me assure you that the answer is “No.” Nothing could have prepared us for the banality of Devil May Cry 2, least of all the dazzling, timeless bliss of Devil May Cry.

Dante. I don’t know where they took the real Dante, but he sure as hell doesn’t appear in Devil May Cry 2, unless maybe that’s him disguised as Trish. Trish moves almost identically to the Dante who charmed us in the first Devil May Cry, while this new “Dante” is entirely different and worse. He also has a different voice actor, who has all the personality of a cutting board. I’d take the voice-cracking, LiIGht-hearted delivery of DMC1’s VA over this smoldering gym sock any day. It’s as if they were deliberately trying to illustrate that this Dante is a fraud. Even his looks are an unnecessary departure from the well-liked thing they’d just established. We’re given a whole new Dante model that’s weirdly smooth and blank. He’s like a celebrity lookalike you pay by the hour to make your lame party seem more interesting. Except, as with a celebrity lookalike, it doesn’t work.

Story. No Devil May Cry game has a great story, but 1 and 3 at least have catchy premises. I played all the way through DMC2 and I don’t know what it’s about. I don’t care.  

Character progression. I guess there’s an argument to make for giving players the entire suite of moves from the outset—it’s more in line with fighting games, which formed the bulk of Director Itsuno’s resumé at the time—but I don’t remember anyone criticizing the original DMC for continually providing meaningful incentive and evolving the combat through purchasable moves. In DMC2 you still get orbs, but you only really use them to upgrade your weapons’ damage output, so your only incentive for earning lots of orbs is the prospect of ending each boring fight sequence more quickly.  

Devil Arms. I don’t think they even call them that in 2, but basically Dante has one melee weapon, disguised as several. The swords you find over the course of the game all function identically, with only nebulous differences in attack power and range. I appreciate that they tried to get you thinking about using different swords for different encounters, but the differences are so slight that it’s hardly worth the trouble of fiddling through menus. 

Guns. There’s a special pleasure to be found in a game that lets you attack as fast as your finger can push a button. Capcom built an entire series out of that idea in Strider. Ebony & Ivory offered that pleasure in the first Devil May Cry, bolstered by the satisfying spurts of blood which accompanied each shot. In DMC2 your pistols lack this responsiveness and can only fire at a fraction of the speed. You can also just hold the button down, which makes the player feel considerably less connected to the weapon (pistols don't auto-fire), and firing while moving produces echoey two-shot bursts with a strange syncopated rhythm like a limping horse in a mineshaft. 

↑ There is a significant drop in Dante's rate of fire between 1 and 2. 

I appreciate that the game gives you so many guns, but no one of them is interesting. They also no longer have distinct Devil Trigger properties, since shooting with DT activated now causes Dante to unleash this game’s bastardized version of Air Raid, wherein his hands turn into lightning uzis. (The lightning hand-uzis are kind of cool, but at what cost?!)  

Environments. More disjointed, more linear, less awe-inspiring, and just about as drab as possible, with few exceptions.

All in all, DMC2 is as my friend (who likes this game) often remarks: “The bad-supermarket-toy version of Devil May Cry.” (He likes bad supermarket toys.)

All that said, this is the first time I’ve really given the game a fair chance, and I will give it credit for introducing some good ideas to the series. It also has a way of sneaking up on you with some very visually striking moments amid all the brown, brown…brown.

↑ Welcome to Brown Town.

↑ Better.

Here are some GOOD things about DMC2:

It introduced real-time gun-switching. This was such a good execution of a good idea, it hasn’t been altered since. It seems to be an evolution of the sluggish but handy Devil Arm-switching in DMC1, so it’s a little ironic that they didn’t apply the idea to Dante’s swords, but of course, the prospect of switching between near-identical metal slabs with identical move sets is no prospect at all.  

It has some stylish animations. I sure don’t feel at all cool when I take control of Dante in DMC2, but he at least has a superficial visual flare that required talented animators and makes for a game that looks better than it ought to in stills. Dante’s hair is subtly imbued with dynamic physics that add a nice bit of detail. We wouldn’t see that out of Capcom again until…Bionic Commando (2009)? That can’t be right, but it was certainly special in 2003. The Wall-Run, Rainstorm, Twosome Time, and various shotgun tricks (including Fireworks) are all very cool-looking and would later evolve into meaningful moves that also felt good to perform. With all these fancy animations, you’d almost forgive DMC2 for dispensing with Taunts altogether.

↑ The Rainstorm is strikingly similar to Ken's backflip shot in Street Fighter 2010, another maligned sophomore installment in a fledgling IP. 

It introduced the multiple playable character thing. Lucia feels like she's straight out of the PS2’s most generic third-person action game, so it makes good sense that she wound up in DMC2. She’s actually kind of a cool design, and I guess more fun to control than Dante. The idea of the double protagonist seems like a delayed inheritance from Resident Evil, and would be used to better effect in future sequels.

It introduced Bloody Palace Mode. I can’t be bothered to try out BPM in this game, but it was the seed of a nice idea.

Some of the bosses are cool. Not fun, per se, but they look cool. And a couple of them reference DMC1, which is some of the only evidence that the creators of DMC2 had even heard of that game.

Trish. It is, as Dante would say, “strange and ironic” that Trish, not Dante, plays exactly like Dante did in the first game, but I’ll take it. She actually does have a couple unique mechanics, such as the ability to stick her sword in the ground, freeing up her mitts to do some pummelin’, and this iteration of Trish set the template for her future appearances in Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 and Devil May Cry 4 Special Edition.  

I’m glad the game exists, because it highlights how special the surrounding games in the series are. The line between masterpiece and dud ain’t that thick.

[weekendwarriorblog]

TOY STORY 4: Ed’s Very Important Thoughts on Pixar’s Latest

Imagine what it must be like to work at Pixar Animation these days. You are coming off two of your highest-grossing hits to date, both sequels to already hugely popular movies. Your company is in flux due to key players departing, some for reportedly unsavory reasons. And you’ve decided that you’re going to see how far you can push the sequel thing by going back to the well with one of your very first properties, one that had a hugely successful Oscar-winning sequel less than ten years ago.

That’s what’s at stake with Toy Story 4, except that it’s coming out in a year where your parent company Disney is so far ahead of the curve that even if this sequel ONLY matches the successes the success of its predecessor ($415 million domestic, a billion globally), you’ll be in good shape.

I don’t think Disney or Pixar have anything to worry about. With Toy Story 4, they have another mega-hit on their hands, and a really good animated movie to boot.

I saw the first 17 minutes of Toy Story 4 at CinemaCon a few months back and much of it was used to introduce Forky, a new “toy” made by the toys’ new ward Bonnie… literally made, as the odd character voiced by Tony Hale (Veep) is an actual spork with pipecleaner arms and googly eyes. First, we flash back nine years for a daring rescue mission of a toy before Woody’s love interest (of sorts?) Bo Peep (voiced by Annie Potts) is taken away, which is probably why she wasn’t in Toy Story 3. Honestly, it’s been so long since I’ve seen the first two movies, I barely remember her. Years later, Bonnie is heading to kindergarten and Woody (once again voiced by Tom Hanks) feels the need to watch over her. When she ends up making Forky, her new best friend, Woody feels the need to protect the toy that thinks it belongs in the trash and does everything he can to get there.

Bonnie and her family decide to go on a road trip in an RV and of course, they bring all of Bonnie’s toys, which seems rather unnecessary to me, but hey, I don’t have kids.  As usual, I’m not going to get too heavily into the plot of the movie, because it’s something you’ll want to discover for yourself, but the movie does get very weird and pretty wild from time to time.

First of all, it’s important to know that the movie is definitely Woody’s story, as he goes on a new adventure trying to repeatedly save Forky from various situations. Because of this, Tim Allen’s Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the toys, while each has their moment or an ongoing gag, are very much backdrop to Woody finding Forky and reuniting with Bo Peep.

There’s so much to like about Toy Story 4, but Bo Peep’s transition into a kick-ass heroine who seems thrilled to be on her own rather than attached to a single kid is going to be one of the bigger takeaways, especially for young girls.

There are a LOT of new characters and many take a little getting used to, whether it’s Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) sort of the villain of the film, an old school antique doll who wants Woody’s voice box. Her ventriloquist doll henchmen are scary enough to be in a James Wan movie. And then there’s Keanu Reeves’ Duke Kaboom, an Evel Knievel-like toy which delivers some great laughs. Key and Peele voice Ducky and Bunny – odd plush toys stitched together that Buzz encounters at the fair where much of the movie takes place.

Things get pretty crazy as the film goes along with action that’s sometimes so wild it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on, but it’s just part of what keeps the movie so on point with entertaining its audience that you can’t even fault it for the craziness.

Director Josh Cooley is the latest Pixar vet to move through the art and animation departments to finally direct his own movie, and he does a killer job. First of all, the animation looks so amazing in its detail that you frequently forget that you’re watching a “cartoon” – is it possible that Pixar has finally cracked the equation to create the most realistic animation possible? But just as importantly are the vocal performances because Hanks, Hendricks and Potts do so much to humanize the toys they play that it makes the animators’ job that much easier.

The most important thing about Toy Story 4 is that it has tons of heart as it explores the idea of every toy wanting to have a child play with it, something that can be the metaphor for so many things in life that adults will tear up for different reasons than their kids. More importantly, it finds a way to continue and conclude Woody’s story in a satisfying way that doesn’t completely feel like a corporate money grab.

No, I’m not going to be the crank to trash the latest “Toy Story” as a “kiddie movie,” because it’s not, and frankly, I don’t have to.  Toy Story 4 is a more than worthy finale to the series that’s as funny, entertaining and emotional as the first three movies.

Rating: 8.5/10