Toy Story 4 movie review.

The Toy Story films are some of Pixar's greatest entries. Since putting the studio on the map back in 1995, the classic original film was followed up by two strong sequels in 1999 and 2010, considered by many among the few sequels as good as, if not better than the first. As their audience has matured, and are likely raising their own children, these films have grown up right alongside them, lacing in progressively mature and thoughtful ideas and character depth, becoming a franchise that only seems to improve thanks to the existence of its sequels.

In fact, even though the franchise had seemingly reached a natural stopping point with Toy Story 3, I guess there was more potential to be mined from this franchise. At least, that's what Pixar believed, with the release of this summer's Toy Story 4, a movie that by all accounts shouldn't work. Strong though the Toy Story franchise is, 3 just felt like a perfect ending, and with the added stigma of being the fourth entry, it screamed easy cash grab. But by some miracle, Toy Story 4 utterly shatters the fourth entry curse, continuing to add onto the legacy and depth of its franchise, with another witty, clever, heartfelt, excellent sequel.

Having adjusted to their new life with young toy owner Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw), the rest of the toys led by sheriff doll Woody (Tom Hanks) welcome a new member to their family, a spork named Forky (Tony Hale) who has come to life. While on a road trip, and after Woody rescues Forky following an escape attempt, the two come across the Second Chances Antique shop, where Forky is held hostage by pullstring doll Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) and her legion of ventriloquist dummies. Rediscovering his old flame Bo Peep (Annie Potts) who's been living as a lost toy for several years, and joined again by old friend Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen), the toys band together to rescue Forky from the antique shop, and make it back to Bonnie before she leaves.

With each entry of Toy Story, they've tackled various stages of maturation into adulthood, via their "Toys as best friends" angle, with distinctive strength and style. Marking the directing debut of Inside Out screenwriter Josh Cooley, this fourth film continues that trend, placing more emphasis on its humor and intimacy, and its own set of weighty ideas: Namely those of an existential variety, and finding new purpose after drastic changes. I will say one thing about this movie; For those hoping it to go full on down the existential rabbit hole, what with a googly eyed spork being able to come alive (could toasters come alive, too?), those questions aren't the ones the filmmakers are most interested in. Toy Story 4 is all about bringing Woody's character full circle, which it succeeds in spectacularly.

Every entry has specifically went to great pains to further develop Woody's character, work him past his insecurities, and find comfort and stability in his uncertain future. Especially needed in his readjustment, where he's retained some of his compulsive patriarchal anxiety, in his incessant desire to cater to Bonnie's needs. Even though he's switched children, and Andy and Bonnie aren't the same, he's still so insistent on throwing himself into the role of protector and group leader, and has in some way forgot to take care of himself. With the introduction of Forky, he becomes even more restless, as the little spork - questioning his own reason for existing - always looks to bury himself in the trash for comfort. Woody has intrinsically tied himself to his owners so much, he's lost sight of his own sole value, trying desperately to fill some long lost void in his life.

But he gets a new zest for life when he's reintroduced to Bo Peep, having lived as a lost toy herself for years now. It's a significant turnaround for her character, given in the first two films, she was there as a literal romantic object, and now has become a tough nomad scavenger, helping out other lost toys around the area. She's the main figure to help Woody ease up, to teach him that kids losing their toys are only the next step in a toy's life, and that there is happiness beyond it. Bo becomes one of the big breakout characters of the film, tackling the scenery with charm and command to spare, especially when paired up with Woody in the main romantic plotline. The two share in an easy chemistry that feels like we've picked up directly where they left off, especially with how sweet Tom Hanks and Annie Potts play off of each other, where the film gets the most mileage out of its intimacy.

But comedy becomes the true strength of the film, and in fact, this may well be the funniest Toy Story film yet. Cooley had already made great strides in comedic writing with Inside Out, and here he continues to hone his strength with that same comedic bite. A lot of that comedy comes courtesy of the newcomers, the first one we're introduced to being Tony Hale's Forky. This character, in and of itself, is incredibly amusing just from a cosmetic standpoint. He's such a bizarre creation, with a gangly physical demeanor, and this childish appearance, accentuated by his early scenes where he struggles to form words like a toddler. There's some obvious metaphors tied to his reason for existence, namely the always prevalent idea of toys being as valuable as we see them. In this case, one man's literal trash is another's treasure. And he's such an adorable creation, garnering a huge number of laughs through his innocence, and blesses the film with such a sweet soul.

We also have other newcomers, namely the conjoined duo of Keegan-Michael Key's Ducky and Jordan Peele's Bunny. These characters gave me the most laughs of the film, mainly down to the strength of their chemistry, which feels like Key and Peele were given a lot of freedom to riff with each other in the recording booth, and they sound like they were really enjoying themselves. I dare not spoil some of the best gags, but one such gag, that they dub as the "Plush Rush," had me howling with laughter. But speaking of voice actors enjoying themselves, we also have Keanu Reeves joining the cast, as Canadian motorcycle stunt toy Duke Caboom. Reeves is having the time of his life in this movie, single-handedly stealing scenes with his showoffish posing and catchphrases, and a hilarious running gag involving his prior owner's disappointment, that becomes a recurring obstacle for him through the film.

As a result, some of the legacy characters do get relegated to background characters, aside from Tim Allen's Buzz Lightyear, who again accompanies Woody on his journey, with a recurring gag about following his "inner voice," that becomes both a humorous and vital character tool, eventually making way for a sentimental final note between him and Woody.

But Toy Story 4 is also the smallest in scale of the films. It perhaps knows it can't do anything to top the prior films in that regard, so instead it opts for a more intimate focus, both on character interaction and in thematic depth. Fear of abandonment and neglect has always been a mainstay in the Toy Story series, but as I brought up before, there's also the continued exploration into the value of a toy being what a child sees in them. We see that with how Forky becomes so beloved by Bonnie, more for what he represents than what he looks like. On the other hand, even the most perfect looking of toys could be seen as worthless to someone else. This becomes a huge defining trait for Gabby Gabby, an antique shop pullstring doll voiced by Christina Hendricks, a fantastic new addition who for much of the film serves as primary antagonist, obsessed with fixing her defective voice box, so that she can be taken home by the store owner's granddaughter.

And so the film finds a nice balance between earnest sweetness and layered complexity, matched with well-timed fits of laughter inbetween the headier moments. Aside from character interaction, there's a lot of laughs to be mined from all the inventive visual gags, and some occasionally uproarious dialogue. There's only a few gags that truly outstay their welcome, mainly in the climax with its shenanigans, and if so, only briefly.

But whatever imperfections the film has, it may be almost entirely rendered moot by the film's ending. Admittedly, the climax does feel like a necessary evil shepherding us to that point, but when those final moments play out, it's yet another perfect, bittersweet send-off to these characters, and the journey we've shared with them for 24 years. And when I say send-off, I mean it. In hindsight, Toy Story 3 - with its tearjerker ending - felt like a film that still had enough wiggle room to make another sequel happen. 4 is as final a film as you could possibly get, as it further wraps up and closes off those remaining dangling threads, with satisfying results. On a side note, don't leave until the end of the mid-credits, otherwise you'll miss out on some of the best gags of the film.

Toy Story 4 isn't the best entry of the franchise, but that's simply because of how consistently great these movies have been. However, for the appropriately bittersweet, humorous, nostalgic final goodbye that it is, it's another winner. I feel very content in calling this the definitive end of the franchise, another worthy addition to its lineage, and a fitting final chapter to cap off the Toy Story mythos (Saga? Timeline? whatever). Then again, maybe Pixar can find more wiggle room to make a Toy Story 5. At this point, I wouldn't bat an eyelid if they did. Just when you think this series can't keep going, they find a new avenue to keep surprising you. The mark of a truly great franchise of films.


****1/2 / ***** (could go up on second viewing)