Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4 is directed by Josh Cooley, and is the fourth installment of the foundation franchise for Pixar. Just as the toys are about to set off on a road trip, their new owner, Bonnie (Madeline McGraw), makes a toy out of a spork, named Forky (Tony Hale); unfortunately, HE’S not too keen on the idea, and only wishes to be thrown away. While helping him realize his purpose in life, Woody (Tom Hanks) reunites with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) on a rescue mission, all while questioning what his own life is worth.

I’m among those people who were hoping this movie didn’t happen, mostly out of fear that it would not live up to the previous three movies. Toy Story was the first major hit for Pixar, earning both massive critical and financial success, to even becoming the first animated film nominated for a Best Screenplay Oscar; it was a revolutionary film, and for a story about toys coming to life, it worked. Toy Story 2 was just as big a gamble that had twice the success; originally planned for direct-to-video, the team was confident in the project making it to theaters, despite going through redo after redo and several delays. We got to see these characters develop further, realize more of the dilemma they face later in life, and also debate whether fame is worth it for family. By the time we got to Toy Story 3, it was a bit risky to see if these characters could still connect with us as before, especially after Pixar had a decade of films to work off of; thankfully, it surpassed almost all expectations, and rightfully sits next to Beauty and the Beast and Pixar’s prior feature, Up, among the only animated films nominated for Best Picture.

With how three films wrapped the story together so nicely, I didn’t see the need to make a fourth film at all. John Lassetter, one of the founding fathers at Pixar and co-creators of Toy Story, admitted in interviews that the only way a fourth film could ever happen is if they got the story right; in fact, when my brother visited Pixar Studios in 2014, when Lassetter was still directing it, he overheard the team say they had finished this movie by then, but were then told to start all over. The perfection towards this film even went as far as to affect their other films, such as Incredibles 2, which this film switched release dates with; Brad Bird has expressed in interviews that he lost a year of production on his film, due to the schedule change, and it’s made him hesitant on when he’ll come back for another film by the studio. 

It was a little bizarre going into this movie, because even with the kinds of ideas this film wanted to do with this world, I was still hesitant on whether this should have happened. However, after letting it sink in for a few weeks, I can safely say, the team does it again. With each passing Pixar film, the animation only gets better and this film is no exception; the details on each of the toys is perfectly realized, the outdoor scenes are absolutely gorgeous, but the antique store is where I was mesmerized; from the porcelain nick-nacks, reflective metal, and even to the cat that roams around, it was so beautiful looking. It’s especially fitting, when this film and the previous film start and bookend the decade of progress. 

I was especially pleased with the character of Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), who grows a particular interest in Woody, due to both sharing generational makings. Not to give away spoilers, but Disney over the years has been abusing the twist villain trope way too often, and has often affected the credibility of most of their films that I still rather enjoy (Frozen, Zootopia, Coco, Incredibles 2); it’s a cliche that’s really becoming too common, especially with Disney. Thankfully, that wasn't the case with Gabby Gabby, as her story while intentionally selfish, still manages to draw in empathy to anyone who tries to MAKE ourselves perfect for other people, and Christina Hendricks brought a perfect balance of that to her performance.

A lot of the new cast members are a delightful addition to the crew. Keanu Reeves as Duke Kaboom, this 70’s Kenivel toy; Keagan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele as a pair of stuffed animals that follow Buzz (Tim Allen) around; and Ally Maki as this “Polly Pocket” cop, all manage to leave a good impression on you, and even when they mess up, it never felt like they weren’t useful. The only downside is that the film seems to put the rest of the cast aside. I understood the reason for some characters, such as Mr. Potato Head, whose voice actor, the great Don Rickles, passed away in 2017 before recording even began, but after the previous two films of being more involved, to see Jessie (Joan Cusack), Slinky (Blake Clark, formerly Jim Varney), Rex (Wallace Shawn), or the rest get sidelined, was a little disappointing. I mean, the whole bit with the Unicorn trying to get Bonnie’s dad arrested was so out of nowhere, I wanted to know what prompted him to resent the guy. Also, the bit with the RV, while I was laughing, did seem a little far fetched. 

Although, I get the intention, considering this is more of Woody and Bo’s story; the time gap between them shows a great sense of progress that can come from going solo, contrasting against Woody’s one-track lifestyle of a toy. He’s lived his life as the alpha dog with Andy, and now that he’s living with a little girl of a younger generation, there comes that conflict that Jessie went through and warned Woody was going to happen; so much like how Forky questions his purpose existing, Woody’s able to learn from Bo about what his purpose is, now that Bonnie doesn’t play with him as often anymore. And while people are divided with how he deals with Gabby, I found it a very fitting move to bring Woody full circle.

Much like with Toy Story 3, the ending is a reminder about how we all need to grow up eventually, but this is especially geared toward adult fans who pester the Hollywood business. As someone who’s become burnt out with sequels and continuations of all kinds, it feels as though this movie is trying to say “you can’t keep living in the past forever.'' And with this being a generation so hooked on nostalgia, that’s something important we really need to do.

Toy Story 4 is another solid hit from Pixar in their flagship franchise, and Josh Cooley did a great job directing this. Not to mention, the writing is deeply moving, with some clever dialogue by Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom, it’s also one of the funniest movies I’ve seen this year. There wasn’t a moment where I didn’t feel emotional, but I do hope this is the last one; with how emotional Tim Allen and Tom Hanks got recording it, it’s easy to say that even they would probably want this to be the last.

Rating: A