SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – As Toy Story 4 continues to top the box office during an otherwise doldrumatic summer movie season, some activists are calling for its condemnation and boycotting, saying that the movie contains ideas as offensive to eco-sensitive parents as they are dangerous to their vulnerable and impressionable children. Specifically, they are concerned that the movie is sending the message that disposable plastic eating utensils aren’t a threat to the planet, but rather something benign, or possibly even beneficial.

Simon Legree, movie critic for the San Francisco Daily Evening, said that Toy Story 4 posed a “subversive threat” under the guise of children’s entertainment.

“There’s a lot of things wrong with this movie,” Legree said. “First, they went and rated it ‘G’. Who does that in this day and age? It’s supposed to mean it’s safe, but what it really means is that it doesn’t speak a single word of truth to power. It means that it’s an unquestioning tool of societal norms and conventions. Plus, Forky – like the other two main protagonists – is white. Way to toot the racist dog-whistle, Pixar.”

“But that’s not the worst of it,” said Legree. “Here in California, we’ve done a lot of work to stop the deadly plague of plastic straws, or ‘murder tubes‘ as we call them – that kill thousands of people every year with their insidious plasticity. Fortunately, we’ve been able to make a lot of progress in that realm. Most of the forward-thinking people I know just refer to them as ‘the s-word’ now.”

“But it’s not so much the plasticality of Forky as it is the disposability, and that’s what Pixar blatantly glosses over. Instead of being portrayed as an unnatural abomination made of man’s most environmentally deadly material, this disposable piece of pernicious filth is treated like a fun, harmless toy. A TOY! A plastic spork isn’t a TOY! It’s a misbegotten atrocity of man’s technological reach outreaching his sustainable grasp! It’s a nightmare! An outrage! A primeval Lovecraftian horror of doom and madness! Also the tines aren’t very long so it’s hard to eat a salad with one.”

In states where laws are more s-word friendly, however, the opposition to Toy Story 4 tends to be somewhat less strident, with some reviewers actually going so far as to recommend the movie, despite its message of irresponsible profligate mass-consumerism and subtextual promotion of human convenience over environmental responsibility.

Henry Rearden, an online movie reviewer based in Plano, TX, offered his take.

“Yeah, I read Simple Simon’s review,” Rearden said. “He’s a progressive ogre who hates fun like Dracula hates beach volleyball. In 2010, he totally trashed Toy Story 3 because Woody & company got rescued instead of recycled. Anyway, go see Toy Story 4. But only if you like smiling, laughing, and having your heart warmed.”

“As for Simple’s ‘racist dog-whistle’ crack,” added Rearden, “seems to me that if you’re hearing dog whistles, it likely means that you’re the dog. In this case, probably Cujo.”

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