I'll be honest, after the amazing end to the trilogy with the last movie, when I first heard about this one I did wonder why they were going back to the well, but Pixar knows how to put a movie together, and this was no exception.
Surprising nobody, I cried at the end... but in more places than I expected.
As I said, this movie's overarching theme is obsession. Not just Woody's obsession with making sure everything is set right for Bonnie (although Bonnie becomes a stand-in for Andy for much of the movie), but also the "villain", talking doll Gabby Gabby (voiced by Christina Hendricks), who is obsessed with the literal storybook version of being loved by a child, a feeling she's never known. Then there's Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) who can't move on from his past. And the way toys react when one of their own reveals that they "have a child"
I did realise at the beginning that Woody's obsessions throughout all of these movies, while they felt apt in context, also seem like they could very easily go to (or are on the road to) an unhealthy place. And the fact that he believes that all toys would be better off if they were owned/loved by a child.
This is much more Woody's movie, even than all the others. The first one is a buddy movie, the second is a rescue movie, the third is a prison break. They all feature varying degrees of the two leads and the ancillary characters, but this is primarily a movie about Woody. You could really take out all of the usual gang of toys and not really lose a ton from the majority of the movie.
It's also Bo Peep's movie though, which is nice that she came back as such a self assured and self reliant character, the opposite of Woody in a lot of ways. Especially given that she was so ignominiously written out of the third movie, and if memory serves is barely in the second one.
Bo is also where the advances in technology are most keenly felt. Now she looks like she's made of porcelain... she's shiny and reflective. In fact lighting and surfaces are where this movie really kick it out of the park. From the opening sequence (and yes, I got a little glassy eyed when they included part of the TS3 ending in the opening) with the rain and water effects, through to the myriad of lights of both the antique store and the carnival, this movie looks amazing.
And yes, I know I say that every time. In fact I say that I say that every time. But it's always true. Pixar kicks it out of the part with each new iteration. Just compare the almost photo-realistic cat with Sid's dog from the first movie to see how very far they've come in the last 24 years.
I didn't see either of the plot lines that make up the end coming either to be honest. And once again, without spoiling things, they make sense. I'm sure they tried out a lot of different options, but the final fates of these beloved characters happen in a way that is both melancholy and triumphant.
yani's rating: 4 skunkmobiles out of 5
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