Toy Story 4

Toy Story 4

Starring Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Annie Potts, Tony Hale

Directed by Josh Cooley

The Story:
After Andy gives his toys to young Bonnie, Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) and the gang grow accustomed to the new routine, except for Woody, who's often left behind in the closet.  On Bonnie's first day of kindergarten, he sneaks into her backpack and helps her create a new friend - a spork named Forky (Tony Hale), who suffers an existential crisis because he feels he's destined for the trash because he's not an actual toy.

While on a road trip, Forky runs off and Woody goes in search for him, and in the process finds his old friend Bo Peep (Annie Potts) at a traveling carnival.  Bo Peep has become self-sufficient, and doesn't want to be another child's plaything, but Woody is still holding to wanting to be Bonnie's toy.  The two band together to rescue Forky from Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), an older doll who doesn't have a voice box but wants Woody's so she could find her own child, and pulls in new toys including Canadian daredevil Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) and Ducky and Bunny (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele) to rescue Forky and make it back home to Bonnie.

The Synopsis:
The "Toy Story" franchise has been the linchpin in the Pixar world, as the original was the first the company really produced and transformed the animated landscape forever.  The subsequent sequels were both hailed and heralded as masterpieces, and for a film about growing up with your favorite toys, managed to do something that (intentionally or not) was rather remarkable: for those who watched the first "Toy Story" as a child grew up with Andy and once "Toy Story 3" hit theaters, were the same age as Andy as he embarked on his new adventure at college, putting away childish toys.  It was an emotional sendoff to our favorite toys, and left many adults with tears of nostalgia in their eyes.  So when word came that a fourth film was being made, many people (myself included) wondered why since the trilogy ended so perfectly, and feared that another dip in the well would produce a dry result - and while "Toy Story 4" doesn't capture that same emotional resonance as "Toy Story 3," it still proves that the boys at Pixar know what they're doing in delivering a beautifully animated, wonderfully acted, and strongly written film that'll again tug at the heartstrings of the children in all of us.

Many sequels that hit theaters make me wonder why they didn't just make a made-for-TV movie instead, and that's one of my concerns going into this film, but it tells a story that's geared for the big screen, and balances adult themes that us older generations can appreciate and value along with sight gags, comedy, humor, and beautiful animations that'll make the kids squeal with glee.  The film does follow a bit too many different subplots, but brings them all together to tell us a story about the importance of things once gone, and much like the classic saying goes, "not all who wander are lost."

"Toy Story 4" focuses on three major characters and their journeys - Woody, Forky, and Bo Peep.  For Woody, he goes from being Andy's most cherished toy to Bonnie's throwaway, the relic who's confined to the closet while she plays with the other toys (in a striking moment he converses with other "forgotten" toys, voiced by the greats Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Carl Reiner and Betty White), and wants desperately to belong again.  He sneaks into Bonnie's backpack and goes to school with her, where he throws her the ingredients to make her new toy Forky, and becomes the caregiver of this new life as he sets out to protect him and keep him from wandering off for Bonnie - or is there more to it?  Tom Hanks voices Woody again to perfection, balancing his always-do-good attitude with a sense of desperation that anyone over the age of thirty can really relate to.

For Forky, he offers some of the best comedic moments of the film, especially in the beginning as he longs to live in the trash, since essentially that's where he came from.   Tony Hale voices Forky with a quirky sense of continual fear and also existential crisis, as he often asks questions but also longs to just be forgotten, since he knows that he's not supposed to be a toy.  Woody takes him in under his wing (much like he did with Buzz in the first film) to show him the importance he has in Bonnie's life, and we get to see his transformation from a nearly schizophrenic thing to an actual toy.

Then there's Bo Peep, who mysteriously disappeared between the second and third films and was never mentioned again, and basically a character we all forgot about as well.  We learn what happened to her, and how she became a self-sufficient forgotten toy who now showcases a headstrong attitude and brave demeanor that makes her someone who doesn't want to be another child's plaything but rather help other toys in different ways.  This new Bo Peep is dressed differently, confidently carries her staff and uses it for more than just herding wayward sheep, and answers to no man - and we get to see the relationship between Bo Peep and Woody blossom, as Annie Potts gives her a powerful voice that she didn't have before.

There's new additions to the film that are a welcoming sight to the franchise.  Keanu Reeves (who's basically owning 2019) steals the show as Duke Caboom, a Canadian daredevil (obviously modeled after Evel Knievel) who loves to pose.  Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele return to their roots as Ducky and Bunny, two carnival game prizes who will keep you laughing from start to finish, especially during their inner thought moments.   Even the villain - this time Christina Hendricks' Gabby Gabby - has a deeper sense than just being bad for the sake of being bad, but has her own sentimental moments that make you actually feel bad for her.

If there's one major flaw the film has it's that it relegates the other toys we've gotten to know and love to the background.  Buzz Lightyear doesn't have a lot to do, but it's much more than the rest of the toys (including Jessie, Rex, Hamm, Slinky, and the rest) who pretty much spend the entirety of the film on the RV.  I wish they would've found more for these staples of the series to do, but ultimately the film wasn't about them - and I was fine with that.

The ending of the film was reminiscent of "Toy Story 3" in that it really feels like the finality of the series, and hopefully Pixar really ends it here, before it becomes like another toy that we're obligated to play with years after we grew tired of it.


The Summary:
Offering another fitting conclusion to the franchise, "Toy Story 4" teetered on the edge of being unnecessary, but managed to deliver another memorable film that'll more than delight old and young alike.

The Score: A+