Woody and the gang are back once again in Toy Story 4. Taking place two years after the events of Toy Story 3, Woody, once again voiced by Tom Hanks, finds himself in an amusement park on a rescue mission to recover his new owner Bonnie’s latest toy Forky, voiced by Tony Hale. He’s soon reunited with the long lost Bo Peep, once again voiced by Annie Potts, where they soon find themselves on an adventure with a whole new set of toys without owners, all while Buzz Lightyear, once again voiced by Tim Allen, on a rescue mission of his own to get Woody back to Bonnie.
In what was seemingly an impossible feat, Pixar once again nailed it with the Toy Story series. The idea of a fourth entry into the franchise made this one of the biggest films that fans were most skeptical about going into 2019. Toy Story 3 seemingly ended things on a pitch-perfect note, making for a nearly flawless trilogy, and in many people’s eyes, there was no way that anything done after would do the series any justice. And boy, were they wrong.
On paper, Toy Story 4 seems like it’s just going to be another episode in the lives of these toys. Now that they have a new, young owner and have plenty of great years ahead of them, anything now seems like it’s just another crazy adventure and the whole mission is to just get back to Bonnie and live happily ever after. And there are times every so often where it feels like it’s going down this road. Forky makes Bonnie happy, Forky goes missing, Bonnie’s sad, and now Woody’s doing what he can to get Forky back and make Bonnie happy again. And that idea is revisited many times throughout the film.
But what’s touched upon even more is the idea of fulfilling one’s own happiness, and not living a life that’s meant just to service others at the expense of appreciating one’s own life. Woody’s sole purpose has been to make sure his owner is happy, whether it be Andy or Bonnie. Now, he’s reunited with Bo Peep, who’s now become a “nomad toy,” helping others but putting her own happiness first, living life without an owner and doing what suits her. And the movie explores the differing philosophies of the two once their worlds collide once more.
And because the movie focuses more on the lifestyle of a nomad toy, it shifts its focus away from the many supporting characters that everyone’s grown to love over the past three films and instead focus on a new set of characters. Sure, Jessie, Ham, Rex, Slinky, and the rest of the gang are still seen all throughout the movie, but their roles are significantly reduced. And while it’s a shame, it does at least help shake off the mindset that this is just another episode in a seemingly never-ending series of Toy Story movies, and keeps this series feeling fresh.
What’s uplifting about this change in direction is the fact that all the new characters are absolutely fantastic. At a glance, nearly all of them run the risk of just being obnoxious, but once they’re seen in action, this couldn’t be further from the truth. And what helps them ease the pain of not seeing as much of the old fan-favorites is the fact that they’re all so funny.
And that’s easily one of this movie’s biggest strengths. This may easily be the funniest Toy Story movie, right behind the first one. There’s an incredible focus on physical comedy and visual gags, all stemming from many of the newer characters. One of the biggest scene-stealers is Duke Caboom, a Canadian daredevil toy found in the depth of an antique store voiced by Keanu Reeves, who’s simply a total joy to watch. His chipper positivity infused with excessive rambling make for some truly funny moments, with a ridiculous catchphrase and some over-the-top attempts at showing himself off.
Even more wonderful to watch than Caboom are Ducky and Bunny, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, respectively, who are without a doubt, the highlight of this entire movie. They may yell a lot, and they may dominate every scene they’re in, but just about everything they say hits. And when it comes to the visual gags, they have a brief running joke which leads to what is easily the single funniest moment in the entire movie.
The character that’s most surprisingly enjoyable, though, is Forky. This character was easily one of the most divisive aspects of the film when the trailers first dropped because, well, it’s a toy made out of a spork that somehow came to life. Many dismissed him as being a dumb concept. And the movie does acknowledge just how ridiculous of a character he is and uses that to get in some really funny moments of physical comedy.
But what makes the Toy Story series stand out from other animated films is the fact that it’s never once mean-spirited in its treatment of the character. While he’s a silly character, he still has a very distinct personality, and he also makes Bonnie happy, which makes him one of the most important characters in this movie. And the film never loses sight of either aspect of the character, giving him plenty of great quips, and using him to show how much joy anyone can bring to someone else, no matter how they look.
While the movie is very joke-heavy, it also has much more of a horror aspect to it. While each of the Toy Story movies always had at least one scene that came off as somewhat dark or unsettling, this is probably the first time since the first film where it went into some truly dark territory. And that is due to the many scenes that take place in the antique store, revolving around the film’s antagonist, a doll named Gabby Gabby, voiced by Christina Hendricks.
When Woody first meets Gabby Gabby, she reveals her voice box is broken and wants to forcefully remove Woody’s to use as her own. She’s domineering and has a sinister, commanding presence, and also has a group of henchmen dummies called the Bensons, who eerily resemble Slappy the Dummy from the Goosebumps books. While these scenes aren’t flat out scary, the Bensons’ hive-mind team work and Gabby Gabby’s intimidating tactics can all send a shiver down one’s spine, especially when they are first introduced, where a background music contains a tribute to the horror classic The Shining sets the mood for all their scenes to come.
But what’s also great about Gabby Gabby’s story line is that while her scenes are the closest to being the most frightening in a Toy Story movie, she is easily the most well-rounded antagonist of all the ones seen in any Toy Story movie. Not that any of the antagonists in previous movies were necessarily uninteresting. But while Sid Phillips was essentially just a nasty bully, and Stinky Pete and Lotso were once-nice toys that just snapped, Gabby Gabby doesn’t always act based on just one extreme way of thinking, and can be somewhat reasonable and humane at times. And when the film explores her backstory, she comes across as much more three-dimensional and just as relatable as Woody and Buzz could be.
And like the previous movies, Woody and Buzz are two of the driving forces that make Toy Story 4 so enjoyable to watch, being two of the only three returning characters with a prominent role here. The only slight downside is, like in Toy Story 2, they don’t have as much screen time together as they do in the other entries, spending much of this movie apart. And it’s their friendship that’s usually one of the more charming, heart-warming aspects of the series. But despite this, they both get plenty of moments to shine.
Tom Hanks and Tim Allen once again do fantastic jobs as the two. Hanks in particular is phenomenal. There’s a hint of a worn-down feel in his voice, which feels deliberate, considering the themes of living a life based around servicing someone else. While Woody seems happy doing what he’s doing, it’s clear it’s beginning to wear on him. Allen is also at his funniest as Buzz here, getting some of his best moments since Toy Story 2. While there are certain moments that seem like a bit of a regression for his character, especially after some of the smarter decisions he’s made in previous movies, he has plenty of great laugh-out-loud moments, especially a particular running gag that is easily one of the film’s highlights.
And while the film mostly keeps Woody and Buzz apart, it allows for more opportunities for the film to show off its gorgeous animation. The first Toy Story was the very first computer-generated animated film, with some really well-done graphics that still outdo other films of that time period. This movie puts that one to shame. The set pieces are breathtaking, with both the carnival and antique shop feeling so huge that they feel like their own worlds in and of themselves.
While that feel has always been conveyed in previous Toy Story films, there’s a finer attention to detail this time around. Everything feels grander in scope and larger in scale. And even when the film sometimes focuses on a real human or animal, for a brief moment, it feels bone-chillingly real. There’s one particular moment where the film cuts to a shot of a cat, and for a split second, it appears like an actual cat was placed into the film before it’s realized it’s just another animated cat. It shows just how far Pixar has come with their technology and how they continue to be an innovator in animation.
Toy Story 4 somehow did it. After what seemed like the end of a perfect trilogy, it managed to keep the story going and not just be another episodic tale of the gang everyone’s grown to love. It contains just as much of the heart and just as many of the laughs as the previous films did. It has a great cast that still managed to make solid use of the older characters - even if they weren’t seen as much - while shifting the focus on some much welcome newcomers. It’s beautifully animated, sometimes unsettling, laugh out loud hilarious, and tugs at the heart strings. If this is the end of the Toy Story series, it couldn’t have gone out on a better note.
Recommendation: Must-See
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