Did we really need “Toy Story 5”? I used to look forward to every movie released by Pixar, but they are now obsessed in making sequel after sequel.
The sheer brilliance of “Toy Story 3” and the way its ending seemed to resonate so perfectly, so deeply, made it, by all senses of the term, a perfect trilogy capper. “Toy Story 4” injured the integrity of its predecessor. There was no sense of relevance. Just very familiar theatrics.
It’s not that puzzling to believe that Pixar/Disney want to milk this franchise for whatever it’s worth. A fifth movie is in the works, according to Variety. No release date has been set, but I assume it’s top priority.
This coming off the disappointment that was “Lightyear,” a prequel to “Toy Story”. An origin story that was was not needed, and, much like many Pixar’s these days, was not great. Reviews were also mediocre.
The words “sellout” and “cash grab” will be uttered by detractors, but it pains me to firmly plant myself in that direction — mostly because Pixar’s animation is always staggeringly rendered.
The narrative of “Toy Story 4” rang hollow at almost every turn — each ‘Toy Story’ movie built up on the momentum of the previous installments, but this was the first time in the franchise’s 24 year history where irrelevance had very much entered into the equation.
Can we just pretend like the franchise ended with “Toy Story 3”? One of the great trilogy cappers of the 21st century.