Inevitable despite Lightyear (2022) and Toy Story 4 (2019). Co-written and co-directed by (Mc)Kenna Harris and Andrew Stanton (Finding Nemo (2003), Wall-E (2008), Finding Dory (2016)). No more John Lasseter! — but still plenty of retro nostalgia.
This one is yet another ode to consumption, of loving stuff and needing to escape from even the most halcyon suburban family. Girls are foregrounded which I guess makes sense as present-day tech has had the most pernicious effect on them, though the most malevolent thing here is an under-analysed group of mean girls. (Surely they need liberation from their screens too.) Just maybe it functions as a bit of a mental health PSA but overall it is accepting of technology, exactly as you'd expect from a company (Pixar) whose movies used to showcase the state of computer animation art. Now that anything can be CGI and/or deep fake the aesthetic becomes more important (which they acknowledge by shifting styles for the girls' imaginative play) but this is not Studio Gibli or The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021). The emotional manipulation remains masterful however.
Perhaps realising that the well is running dry, the auteurs have loaded it up with references: Woody's poncho obviously evokes 1960s Clint Eastwood, the arc of the fleeing toys E.T. (1982), various aspects classic Star Wars (1980s), the fleet of Buzz Lightyears Iron Man 3 (2013), etc. The Lightyears replay Martin Sheen's big move at the end of Apocalypse Now (1979). And I'm sure a lot more. Other issues of the day, such as the environmental impact of plastic toys/packaging and lack of room to store all these toys or play outside, is completely ignored.
Peter Sobczynski: big thumbs up despite the major themes being respins of those of the first two Toy Storys. Dana Stevens: "the premise recalls that of the original movie." Manohla Dargis: "[T]he proceedings [..] never achieve liftoff. It's fine, pretty and amusing, but if no one's heart seems in it, perhaps it’s time to make way for other toys."
