We thought it was the end of the line for Woody, Buzz and co when they said goodbye to their owner Andy at the end of Toy Story 3, so when Pixar Animation Studios announced it would be releasing a fourth installment of Disney's Toy Story franchise, we were skeptical to say the least.
But if the blockbuster's initial reviews are anything to go by, it looks like this could be the most emotional one yet.
Toy Story 4 follows Woody and the gang as they set out on a road trip with Bonnie and her new toy, Forky, who wastes no time in branding himself "trash".
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Woody makes it his mission to show the plastic fork why he should embrace being a toy and in doing so ends up reuniting with long-lost friend Bo Peep. We won't reveal any spoilers, but they soon start to realise they're worlds apart when it comes to what they want from their lives.
We might still have a week to wait until the Pixar animation hits cinemas, but first reactions have been posted online following its LA world premiere and we're already booking our tickets. Read on to see why...
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Toy Story 4 currently holds a perfect 100 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes, with the critics' consensus reading:
"Heartwarming, funny, and beautifully animated, Toy Story 4 manages the unlikely feat of extending - and perhaps concluding - a practically perfect animated saga."
"It takes some kind of genius for the Pixar animators to give such a searing emotional charge to a story in which one of the main characters is a single-use plastic spork retrieved from the trash."
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"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."
"Quite simply, if you're a Toy Story fan and you're planning to avoid Toy Story 4 because the trilogy ended so perfectly, you'll be missing out. It's a hilarious and heartfelt movie that reminds us why we'll always have a friend in Toy Story."
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"Toy Story 4 delivers a cinematic grand slam, a nine-years-later sequel that's wholly equal to the high expectations raised by the terrific trio it follows."
The Times
"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."
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It was all kicking off on Twitter too, with critics and social media users sharing their love for the movie's third sequel:
"Toy Story 4 made me cry with laughter and then just straight-up cry", tweeted The Independent's Clarisse Loughrey.
"#ToyStory4 takes audiences down so many pleasant emotional avenues. You'll laugh, you'll think about your own life, reminisce...maybe even shed a tear," gushed Mark Daniell
Alisha Grauso was equally as touched, tweeting: "#ToyStory4 has an ending as lovely and warm and heartbreaking as Toy Story 3. In between the genuine belly laughs (thanks, Duke Caboom) is a story that has the heart that Pixar is know for. Loved it."
Toy Story 4 is released nationwide on 23rd June, so get your tissues at the ready.
Featured Image Credit: Credit: Disney - PixarTopics: Disney, TV News, TV Entertainment, Toy Story 4
