LIGHTY YEARS AHEAD
It’s not as good as the last one, but so perfect are Toy Story’s characters that this fourth outing is still far superior to anything else in cinemas
WOODY and Buzz Lightyear make a triumphant and tearful return in this terrifically fun-packed and gorgeously animated sequel which is guaranteed to win the toys a whole new generation of fans.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen are back again to voice our loveable heroes, and the new characters are funny and adorable, especially the new baby of the group, Forky (Tony Hale).
Meanwhile, Keanu Reeves speeds by to deliver a wonderfully comic turn as the Evel Knievel-style stuntman, Duke Caboom.
While on a road trip, one of the gang is captured by some very sinister dolls in a creepy old antiques shop and the friends rush to the rescue, aided by a revitalised Bo Peep, whose absence from the previous film is fully explained.
Her newly independent spirit is a great example of how these characters have been allowed to grow since first appearing in... gulp... 1995. Many of the parents who took their
kids to the first film
will be grandparents now, and the script is careful to speak to members of every generation, with a powerful emphasis on the importance of loyalty to family and friends.
Plus, it works as a standalone adventure so little kids will enjoy it even if they haven’t yet seen the first three films.
The practically perfect previous movie so comprehensively exceeded the bar for a five-star film, it left enough leeway for this one to be not quite as incredible but still qualify as superb entertainment in its own right. Rather than go bigger to try to blow our cinematic socks off, this gorgeously animated adventure goes a little smaller to focus on the characters, but still provides as much giddy excitement, joyous humour and heart-melting charm as you’d expect.
It also delivers an emotional finale which will have you in tears. You have been warned.