<Review by: Sailesh Ghelani>

Directed by Josh Cooley. Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Madeleine McGraw, Christina Hendricks, Keanu Reeves, Ally Maki, Joan Cusack, Kristen Schaal, Bonnie Hunt, Wallace Shaw, John Ratzenberger, Jeff Garlin, Don Rickles, Estelle Harris, Blake Clark, Jodi Benson

Running time: 1 hour 30 minutes

It’s been 9 years since Toy Story 3 but the guys behind the series show us they can still turn out a good serious story that’s enjoyable for kids and adults. 

It’s not as dark and serious as Toy Story 3, but Toy Story 4 has a practical message at the end that sees our merry band of toys evolve and move on to live different lives once they’re children have grown out of them.

Little Bonnie is a bit bored of her Woody (Tom Hanks) doll and his friends. She’s growing up and ‘making’ new friends. Her special toy comes in the form of Sporky, a plastic spoon-fork that she turns into a little play figure in class with the help of Woody who follows her to her first day at school. She loves Sporky with all her heart but alas, Sporky being made of pieces of trash and odd-bits thinks he’s meant for the garbage bin till Woody convinces him that it is his duty to be Bonnie’s toy and give her joy. He can’t do it anymore, but Woody feels responsible since without his ‘kid’ he ceases to have any use. This drives him on a quest to retrieve Sporky who ends up captive to a doll called Gabby Gabby in an antique store.

New toys join the rescue mission and the old toys sort of just stay in the background till the end. A new romance blossoms but the most fun part of the film comes in the form of Duke Caboom voiced by Keanu Reeves. He’s daring, he’s cool and he revs up the humour, which is welcome relief in the sometimes very grave dialogue about life’s purpose etc.

Toy Story 4 isn’t a revelation or great animation considering technology has advanced by leaps since the first Toy Story that was ahead of its time in look and feel. But it is a solid story about loyalty, camaraderie and growing up.