Andrei Girard’s review published on Letterboxd:
I think it teaches children some valuable life lessons such as the importance of working as a team, facing your fears, learning to ask for help when you need it, and making the most of the time you have with your family and friends because the passage of time is inevitable, and we are not eternal. It's an effective, family-friendly way of approaching these anxiety-inducing themes. Also, I really appreciate the animation style, vocal performances, the lovely characters, sound design and - of course - the LGBTQ+ representation on-screen. However, in terms of story, this is one of Pixar's weakest and most uninspired narratives. It was actually disappointing to see how derivative of other sci-fi adventure animated films it is. There's nothing really outstanding or special regarding the story, and it even becomes a bit muddled towards the ending, despite it playing relatively safe. Still, it's got its charm, it's very enjoyable. I genuinely had some fun at the cinema. The main reason this film is quite decent is SOX, Buzz's robotic cat, which is the most adorable thing you'll see. I really want one of those. The rest of the characters are fine, especially, Darby Steel, who's an explosives expert and ex-convict old lady, such a cool character, but, SOX completely steals the screen every time it's in. I honestly don't think this film would be this decent without SOX. That gorgeous cat is the main reason I enjoyed this film. Whoever came up with the idea deserves an award for saving the film. This would be quite average without SOX. Anyway, I'm sure most kids are going to love this. I'd also like to point out the fact that I didn't see almost any kids at the cinema. Most of the audience were adults, which is interesting, considering we aren't exactly the target audience. We are definitely moved by nostalgia, though.
