Any of those factors might have felled another movie, and it’s entirely possible that Toy Story could have stumbled in heartbreaking fashion at the finish line, but Toy Story 4 still came out smelling like roses.
Toy Story 4 was not an entirely smooth production.
The fourth entry in Pixar’s crown jewel franchise endured director changes, script rewrites and delays, as well as a major shakeup behind-the-scenes at Pixar.
That greatness, though, was not a foregone conclusion, no matter how expected it may have been.