Toy Story 4

photo courtesy of usatoday.com

SPOILER-FREE REVIEW

     Pixar continues its beloved flagship franchise with Toy Story 4, the first Toy Story film in nine years. The movie finds Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the gang adjusting to life with their new child, Bonnie. When Bonnie’s new favorite toy, a spork named Forky (Tony Hale), escapes during a family road trip, it’s up to Woody to track him down. But Woody gets some unexpected help from an old flame, Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who has experienced a whole new side of life since she left Woody.

     Toy Story 4 might not be essential viewing—the franchise can exist without it—but it sits proudly alongside the previous installments. Pixar’s choice to make a fourth film was viewed with skepticism by some (myself included), because Toy Story 3 seemed to bring the series to a near-perfect conclusion. Anything else would surely be a shameless cash grab, right? But Toy Story 4 earns our attention by making savvy, worthwhile storytelling choices.

photo courtesy of indiewire.com

     4 includes most of the toys we know, but it narrows the narrative focus down to just a few of them. Some of the main characters in previous installments get relegated to supporting roles here (like Jessie), and even Buzz Lightyear has much less to do. A few new characters (Keegan Michael-Key and Jordan Peele’s Ducky and Bunny, Keanu Reeve’s Duke Caboom) step up to fill the gap, but Toy Story 4 mostly invests the freed-up space in Woody. It proves to be a wise decision, because by the movie’s close, it’s clear that Woody, not Buzz or Andy, is the real narrative and emotional heart of the series.

     Thematically, Toy Story 4 retreads a few of the series’ hallmark ideas… only to repackage them and, in a respectful way, challenge them. This comes as a product of the movie’s bolder character choices surrounding Woody, and it adds a new and welcome dimension to the world of the story. Of course, it also introduces the character Forky, who serves as 4’s outlet for casual existential despair. It never ends up being quite as dark as Toy Story 3, but Forky does poke somewhat disturbingly around the edges of Toy Story’s premise, if you think too much about it.

photo courtesy of cinemablend.com

     At the end of the day, Toy Story 4 impresses in all the ways we’ve come to expect from a Pixar film. The animation is stunning, both in intimate detail (like the texture of Woody’s arms and face) and in visual treats (like a chandelier scene that rivals Coco’s Land of the Dead). The screenplay keeps the laughs coming, thanks in large part to the addition of Key and Peele, and it also knows how to turn on the waterworks for the adults. The emotional arc may not be quite so heavy or as resonant as in some of the previous films, but I think, given the scope of this little adventure, that it feels appropriate.

     FINAL VERDICT: Fun for kids and adults alike, Toy Story 4 is a worthy and surprising addition to the series.

Toy Story 4 is rated G.

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