TOY STORY 4
Is there any reason for “Toy Story 4” to exist? Critics had reason to be skeptical since 2010’s “Toy Story 3” was almost universally adored and seemed to nicely wrap up its story, with Andy’s toys being passed down from one owner to the next in a heartbreaking but uplifting ending that put a nice capstone on the franchise. It even earned an Oscar nomination for Best Picture, which was unprecedented for an animated sequel. So why go back to that well another decade later? Thankfully, the reviews for this latest sequel indicate that the “Toy Story” franchise has managed to escape the scourge of sequel-itis yet again. As of this writing “Toy Story 4” has a MetaCritic score of 84 based on 50 reviews counted — 49 of which are positive, only 1 classified as mixed. That’s lower than the sky-high 92 achieved by the last film. In fact, it’s the lowest MetaCritic score for any “Toy Story” film, but the makers of any franchise can tell you that if a critical score of 84 is your low point, you’r