Toy Story 4 - Review: A Fourth Installment That Will Fulfill You in Ways You Never Knew You Needed
Release date (US): June 21st, 2019
Starring: Tom Hanks, Annie Potts, Tim Allen, Keanu Reeves, Tony Hale, Keagan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Joan Cusak, Christina Hendricks
Starring: Tom Hanks, Annie Potts, Tim Allen, Keanu Reeves, Tony Hale, Keagan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele, Joan Cusak, Christina Hendricks
**DISCLAIMER**: This is a subjective, opinionated article that does not have, nor should have any effect on your opinion. As such, my opinion is entitled to change over time and whatever is written here at this point in time may not and should not be held to me in the future. You are not meant to agree with me 100 percent of the time, because the nature of subjectivity is we see everything differently. If there is something you happen to disagree with, I absolutely respect your point of view if you will respect mine. Please keep this in mind.
The Review
Does this movie need to exist?
That was the question that I was asking myself repeatedly in the months leading up to the release of Toy Story 4. There were many who were beyond ecstatic for the film. There were few who were hesitant. And there was a small population that were completely cynical and wanted nothing to do with a fourth installment. I was part of the latter. Not because I had anything against the franchise. Rather, because I felt so strongly that the third installment ended the trilogy on the highest note it could, that any new addition would forever tarnish the legacy of one of the best trilogies in cinema history.
And while I'm still not quite sure whether or not this film needed to exist, I don't think that matters anymore. After seeing the fourth part in a franchise that changed animation forever, I think questioning whether or not it should have been made is irrelevant at this point. Because Toy Story 4 does nothing to tarnish anything that the third film establishes; in fact, it does its best to honor the legacy of Andy while still carving out its own story.
And the story is beautiful.
After an opening that sets up events and motifs that will become relevant for the entire film, we meet Forky. Let me make something abundantly clear. Forky is a character that the trailers made out to look like a terrible character. He looked awful. The marketing did this film no favors whatsoever. But Forky turned out to be one of the most interesting, dynamic new additions to the Toy Story roster. He was three-dimensional (no pun intended) and the themes that Josh Cooley (director) decided to explore with him were really, really fascinating.
Of course, the original cast are back, along with the additions from Toy Story 3. Woody and Buzz are there to lead the crew, along with Jessie, Rex, Slinky, and many more. One small flaw that the film suffers from, from really no fault of its own, is that the original cast does take a backseat for the majority of the film. The film chooses to focus primarily on Woody, Bo Peep, and the new additions. So if you were expecting much out of the original cast, don't be too disappointed when you don't.
But each and every new addition to the cast feel natural and fit right into this world. Forky, as mentioned above, is one of the highlights of the movie. Duke Caboom, as voiced by Keanu Reeves, is an entertaining, albeit more one-dimensional new addition that doesn't get quite as much time to shine as the film wanted. And Keagan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, long-time comedy partners who play Ducky and Bunny, are absolutely hilarious. They have an amazing recurring bit that pays off at the end in ways that you wouldn't even dream you wanted, but trust me, you do.
Before I continue on with the review, I would just like to reiterate that I am looking at this franchise and this film with my own subjective, personal lens. Which means that this movie may not have the significance to others that it did to me, which is completely and perfectly alright. Film hits each and every one of us in a different, unique way.
So I won't lie and say that the second the film started, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia that I hardly knew I had. I grew up watching the Toy Story films; they were some of my earliest childhood memories. I remember loving these characters, watching the movies as both a child and a teenager and remembering how much I loved the universe. And the second Woody and Buzz appear onscreen together, and the music begins to play as the opening credits begin to roll, I felt a wave of fondness, as if I was meeting an old friend again.
What Pixar does so well is capture your childhood and take you on a journey that makes you remember what makes you human and the good and fond memories that you had. And this film epitomizes that. There are moments in the film that take its time to remind you what it means to be a child, and how hard it is growing up. There are little things that seem so insignificant to us now, but meant the world to us as children, and while some may take that lightly, this film doesn't. It puts a golden, rosy lens on childhood and innocence, and why growing up is hard, but necessary.
These deeper themes bring out emotions that I didn't know were in me. Pixar is one of the best at that. They don't intentionally make you cry (except maybe in Up). But in Toy Story 4, they take you back to when life was difficult when you lost a toy that meant the world to you. When you couldn't find that one thing that made you happy, and because of that, you felt like everything was lost. But when you find that glimmer of hope and happiness, the world becomes a better place.
This movie also understands what real characters are. Woody goes through a journey that, while applicable to toys in his case, can be applicable to any one of us. And the other characters, one in particular, go through events that make them grow up and mature, and eventually find peace with where they are.
As a quick aside, the action (yes, action) in the film is surprisingly intense and interesting. There is some genuine horror elements, especially in the antique store as seen in the trailers. The film never intentionally sets out to scare the audience, but there are admittedly a few sequences that may be too frightening for children.
If I had to give any true criticisms to this film at all, I would just say that the second act is a little slow and wanders a little from time to time. It's all for a grander purpose, and by the end you're able to see that, but there are certain segments towards the beginning that don't quite grab you like the other three films did. The central plot isn't driving forward like you'd want it to be. But the film quickly picks up and ends on a note that can only be described as emotional, yet so completely and utterly satisfying.
In Conclusion: Pixar films always have that moment where the tears begin to well up and you feel all your emotions come to the surface. But when that moment arrived in Toy Story 4, they weren't tears of sadness at all, but tears of fulfillment. This movie reminded me what a memorable, exciting, and fulfilling childhood I had, and that through all the ups and downs, I always had people by my side telling me it was going to be okay in the end. This film is just the next installment in the long line of successes at Pixar, but more importantly, it's a fourth installment in a franchise that will go down in history as truly legendary.
That was the question that I was asking myself repeatedly in the months leading up to the release of Toy Story 4. There were many who were beyond ecstatic for the film. There were few who were hesitant. And there was a small population that were completely cynical and wanted nothing to do with a fourth installment. I was part of the latter. Not because I had anything against the franchise. Rather, because I felt so strongly that the third installment ended the trilogy on the highest note it could, that any new addition would forever tarnish the legacy of one of the best trilogies in cinema history.
And while I'm still not quite sure whether or not this film needed to exist, I don't think that matters anymore. After seeing the fourth part in a franchise that changed animation forever, I think questioning whether or not it should have been made is irrelevant at this point. Because Toy Story 4 does nothing to tarnish anything that the third film establishes; in fact, it does its best to honor the legacy of Andy while still carving out its own story.
And the story is beautiful.
After an opening that sets up events and motifs that will become relevant for the entire film, we meet Forky. Let me make something abundantly clear. Forky is a character that the trailers made out to look like a terrible character. He looked awful. The marketing did this film no favors whatsoever. But Forky turned out to be one of the most interesting, dynamic new additions to the Toy Story roster. He was three-dimensional (no pun intended) and the themes that Josh Cooley (director) decided to explore with him were really, really fascinating.
Of course, the original cast are back, along with the additions from Toy Story 3. Woody and Buzz are there to lead the crew, along with Jessie, Rex, Slinky, and many more. One small flaw that the film suffers from, from really no fault of its own, is that the original cast does take a backseat for the majority of the film. The film chooses to focus primarily on Woody, Bo Peep, and the new additions. So if you were expecting much out of the original cast, don't be too disappointed when you don't.
But each and every new addition to the cast feel natural and fit right into this world. Forky, as mentioned above, is one of the highlights of the movie. Duke Caboom, as voiced by Keanu Reeves, is an entertaining, albeit more one-dimensional new addition that doesn't get quite as much time to shine as the film wanted. And Keagan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, long-time comedy partners who play Ducky and Bunny, are absolutely hilarious. They have an amazing recurring bit that pays off at the end in ways that you wouldn't even dream you wanted, but trust me, you do.
Before I continue on with the review, I would just like to reiterate that I am looking at this franchise and this film with my own subjective, personal lens. Which means that this movie may not have the significance to others that it did to me, which is completely and perfectly alright. Film hits each and every one of us in a different, unique way.
So I won't lie and say that the second the film started, I was hit with a wave of nostalgia that I hardly knew I had. I grew up watching the Toy Story films; they were some of my earliest childhood memories. I remember loving these characters, watching the movies as both a child and a teenager and remembering how much I loved the universe. And the second Woody and Buzz appear onscreen together, and the music begins to play as the opening credits begin to roll, I felt a wave of fondness, as if I was meeting an old friend again.
What Pixar does so well is capture your childhood and take you on a journey that makes you remember what makes you human and the good and fond memories that you had. And this film epitomizes that. There are moments in the film that take its time to remind you what it means to be a child, and how hard it is growing up. There are little things that seem so insignificant to us now, but meant the world to us as children, and while some may take that lightly, this film doesn't. It puts a golden, rosy lens on childhood and innocence, and why growing up is hard, but necessary.
These deeper themes bring out emotions that I didn't know were in me. Pixar is one of the best at that. They don't intentionally make you cry (except maybe in Up). But in Toy Story 4, they take you back to when life was difficult when you lost a toy that meant the world to you. When you couldn't find that one thing that made you happy, and because of that, you felt like everything was lost. But when you find that glimmer of hope and happiness, the world becomes a better place.
This movie also understands what real characters are. Woody goes through a journey that, while applicable to toys in his case, can be applicable to any one of us. And the other characters, one in particular, go through events that make them grow up and mature, and eventually find peace with where they are.
As a quick aside, the action (yes, action) in the film is surprisingly intense and interesting. There is some genuine horror elements, especially in the antique store as seen in the trailers. The film never intentionally sets out to scare the audience, but there are admittedly a few sequences that may be too frightening for children.
If I had to give any true criticisms to this film at all, I would just say that the second act is a little slow and wanders a little from time to time. It's all for a grander purpose, and by the end you're able to see that, but there are certain segments towards the beginning that don't quite grab you like the other three films did. The central plot isn't driving forward like you'd want it to be. But the film quickly picks up and ends on a note that can only be described as emotional, yet so completely and utterly satisfying.
In Conclusion: Pixar films always have that moment where the tears begin to well up and you feel all your emotions come to the surface. But when that moment arrived in Toy Story 4, they weren't tears of sadness at all, but tears of fulfillment. This movie reminded me what a memorable, exciting, and fulfilling childhood I had, and that through all the ups and downs, I always had people by my side telling me it was going to be okay in the end. This film is just the next installment in the long line of successes at Pixar, but more importantly, it's a fourth installment in a franchise that will go down in history as truly legendary.
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