“Toy Story 4” managed this rather more effectively than, say, “Dark Phoenix,” “Men in Black: International,” Disney’s live-action “Aladdin” remake and even the viciously entertaining “John Wick — Chapter 3: Parabellum,” all of which attempted to broaden their female audience with halfhearted gestures that seemed more pandering and performative than fully felt. Does anyone really feel “seen” or “empowered” (words that have themselves become trite from overuse) by the addition of tokenistic female characters and strained “you go, girl” shout-outs? As we’ve seen, meaningful change — and meaningful storytelling — happens when the industry foregrounds women in fresh roles and stories that haven’t been done to death.
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