Toy Story 4 reviews roundup: Critics praise 'delightful' Pixar sequel

'This feels throughout like a project that comes straight from the heart'

There has been some trepidation towards Toy Story 4.

Toy Story 3 was a seemingly definitive full stop for the series – one that led to an almost perfect emotional send-off for the plastic character. Would a sequel not ruin that?

Fear not, Pixar fans, as the fourth film in the series has been rapturously received by critics, the film currently holding a 100 per cent score on the aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.

"There is not a hint of cynicism about Toy Story 4 and no sense that the characters are being revived to drive merchandising at Disney and Pixar," writes Geoffrey Macnab in a five-star review for The Independent.

"This feels throughout like a project that comes straight from the heart. It is dealing with love, loyalty and sacrifice. Woody’s undemonstrative nature and Bo Peep’s fiercely independent nature make the film all the more affecting. Adults and kids alike will find its mix of comedy and pathos hard to resist."

Robbie Collin, writing for The Telegraph, was equally as positive: "The last act of Toy Story 4 had me sobbing like a lawn sprinkler, but it juggles this stuff with some of the most purely delightful character animation I’ve ever seen and a script that made me shake with laughter at least once every five minutes.

"That all of these elements combine in dreamy harmony is testament to how much thought and care Pixar is still prepared to lavish on their crown-jewel franchise."

For The Times, Kevin Maher writes: "Sweet Lord, this is good. You know that you’re in the presence of genius when the first five minutes of what is ostensibly the third sequel to a 24-year-old children’s cartoon about talking toys is revealed to contain more depth, more thought-provoking content and more soulful passion than any Hollywood movie released this year so far."

Jamie Graham of TotalFilm was ever-so-slightly more critical of the film, pointing out how Buzz Lightyear gets sidelined for Woody and Bo Peep's blossoming romance.

In a four-star review, the critic surmises: "Toy Story 4 is neither superfluous nor a cash-in. All the way back in 2010, in fact, Pixar announced there might be opportunities to return to the beloved characters in the future, but only when the time, and story, is right. This is that time, that story.

"Because while Toy Story 4 doesn’t quite hit the dizzying highs of the trilogy, it has been lovingly fashioned to offer a tale that is at once separate and a continuation – a canny mix of fresh and familiar."

One of the more negatively leaning reviews comes from The Guardian's Peter Bradshaw, who views the threequel as repeating the same story beats as the very first Toy Story.

"Toy Story 4 starts the same story all over again. Same deal, new kid," he writes. "Toy Story 4 isn’t at all bad. But it’s time to let go."

Toy Story 4 reaches UK cinemas 21 June.