Despite my previous desire not to have the series continue, I got curious when I saw the new plot element in ads. Having seen all the other entries (not counting Lightyear) in theaters, I soon talked my parents into joining me -- followed by my sister, brother-in-law, niece, and reluctant nephew. This would be a new experience on that level at least, enough to make up for nearly half an hour of ads. Good thing the movie itself moves along at a fast clip.
Bonnie (Scarlett Spears), now 8, has trouble making friends because all the same-age kids in her neighborhood would rather play online. Her parents buy her a tablet called Lilypad (Greta Lee), much to the consternation of her soon neglected toys. Her longtime favorite, plastic cowgirl Jessie (Joan Cusack), sneaks off with stuffed horse Bullseye (no voice) to ensure that Bonnie has a good time at a sleepover with new connections thanks to "Lily," leaving astro action figure Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) to try to keep Lily in check. When things go sideways, Jessie and Bullseye involuntarily return to where she stayed decades ago....
It soon becomes clear to the toys that they will never recapture their glory days in the age of devices; the best they can hope for is that the few kids who don't see toys as babyish will find each other. Jessie's Luddite stance softens a little after meeting dated online kiddie tech suffering a similar fate, including Snappy the camera (Shelby Rabara), Atlas the GPS hippo (Craig Robinson), and Smarty Pants the TP-shaped potty-training device (Conan O'Brien). And Lily is no worse than Anxiety in Inside Out 2, wishing well for her young human but steamrolling anyone who disagrees with her approach, until she realizes what she's done to the human's feelings and social life. Even then, she has some recognized value.
I find that each TS entry has a stronger feminine presence than the one before it, even as some previous female characters get marginalized or omitted. Those who know the ending of TS4 should not be surprised that going-to-seed Sheriff Woody (Tom Hanks) is no longer the protagonist. I'm actually impressed at how much of a role he has, still in contact with Bonnie's toys via walkie-talkie. He and Buzz get plenty of time to bounce off each other in their attempt to rescue Jessie.
Buzz also gets two subplots, after a fashion. First, he keeps wanting to propose to Jessie, for what little marriage must mean to toys. Second, a whole squadron of state-of-the-art yet even dumber Buzzes from a crashed truck is on the move, looking for their purpose. How will they interact with the others?
As you can imagine, all other returning characters have few lines and little effect on the plot. Frankly, I don't miss them anymore, especially Ducky and Bunny. Newcomers don't exactly steal the show, at least if you're not into literal potty humor, but they do add a little freshness.
The moments I like best don't involve comedy or even tiny-scale adventure. They get back to the almost uniquely Disney strength of poignancy. At one point in the third act, I was on the verge of choking up.
My niece loved it. My nephew "kind of" liked it. I find it middling by TS standards, but that's still a high bar. For once, I don't mind the idea of yet another sequel after this. Pixar may yet have more worthwhile material in store.
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