Toy Story 4 Review

Toy Story 4 Review

This week we’re finally getting a new Toy Story movie. That means my Toy Story review series is ending. This means we’re reviewing Toy Story 4, a very polarizing film that has a lot of passionate fans but also a lot of people that despise this movie simply for existing. Where do I land on this film? Do I like it? Let’s talk about it!

The Good

Just to cut right to the chase, I really like Toy Story 4 and I like the fact that it exists. Toy Story 3 was a very satisfying conclusion to the franchise and had the franchise ended there I would’ve been perfectly fine with that. They found a way in Toy Story 4 to continue the franchise in a way that makes sense and adds to the Toy Story mythology. Toy Story 3 closed out the Andy trilogy where the toys’ journey with Andy ended with that film. But there’s still more adventures to tell with these toys, with Woody. Woody’s journey in this film I think is what gives this movie purpose. Where it explores this idea of Woody was a beloved toy of Andy, because Woody is a cowboy and boys connect with cowboys more than girls do. When the toys are with a new owner, how would certain toys be treated? Woody now must find a new purpose in life, and he finds through going on this adventure and reuniting with Bo Peep. The common argument that people have against this film is that they don’t like how Woody abandoned their friends. I don’t think Woody abandoned his friends at all. Woody is at a different phase in life where he’s having to adapt and change to what’s happening around him. It’s a very relatable idea to have this character who changes this life path because his old life path doesn’t serve a purpose anymore. I like that about the film; they really found a profound way to continue the Toy Story franchise in a way that doesn’t undermine the ending of Toy Story 3. 

Speaking of the ending of movies, I think Toy Story 4 can come to another emotionally satisfying conclusion. Toy Story 4 has an ending that gets me more emotional then the third film. Despite the third film being a better movie, I get teared up watching this movie more than I do watching Toy Story 3. The reason for that is because all these movies do a great job of building the relationships between the toys and when you see their leader in Woody part ways, it’s emotional because you care about these characters. Especially when you have that final farewell between Woody and Buzz where they hug and then say, “to infinity and beyond,” that moment always hits the feels for me. This was my fifth time seeing the film, I saw it three times in theaters and now twice at home. Every single time I watch this movie, the ending of the movie packs that emotional punch that you expect from both a Toy Story film and a Pixar film. Both endings are fantastic, and I love both, but this felt like a more definitive ending to the franchise. Therefore, I was more skeptical of Toy Story 5 because I wasn’t sure where you would go with the film after you had Woody separate himself from the gang. The trailers we’ve gotten for Toy Story 5 with a focus on technology I think makes sense and they found the right way to continue the franchise. 

While the film delivers on the big emotions you expect from the franchise, the film also delivers on the fun that you’d expect. The film has plenty of laughs and plenty of moments where our toys get caught up in hijinks that put a smile on your face. The third act goes all out with this, where you have the toys trying to get the RV back to the amusement park, but since they’re toys it’s not easy for them. I love how creative they get and how much fun the toys are having fun doing all of this. You get the running gag of Buttercup wanting to send dad to jail and the payoff of that in the third act. It’s a joke that gets me to laugh every single time I watch it. It’s very much a Woody story, where he’s front and center. But they give Buzz plenty of fun moments in here that put a smile on your face. Where he’s using his inner voice to guide him throughout the film or when he’s teamed up with Ducky and Bunny in the back half of the film and trying to get back to the rest of the gang. Tim Allen has said some quotes that he’s disappointed that Woody got more screen-time and focus as the franchise went along. I think there’s some truth to that statement, but I feel like Buzz gets more standout fun moments. With this film, and in Toy Story 3 all the Spanish Buzz stuff is hilarious. Toy Story 2 you get the stuff with Zurg is great. Woody gets more focus in terms of story and character arcs; Buzz gets the more fun standout moments. In simple terms, Toy Story 4 does what all great Pixar and animated films do which is balance the heart and emotions while also having the fun and entertainment, so both adults and children can have watched this film. 

Another fun aspect of the film are the new characters introduced. All the Toy Story sequels have introduced new characters and toys. This film is no exception, where the main one being Forky. I think the logic of Forky doesn’t fully make sense as to how he comes alive since he’s trash and not a toy. The film even acknowledges that during the credits. But besides the logic leaps in the film aside, Forky is a fun character that has all the fun hijinks that you want from a Toy Story film. This film also has an interesting villain in here with Gabby Gabby, she’s the most sympathetic of our Toy Story villains. Her motivation is the opposite of the lesson that Woody learns by the end of the film. Gabby Gabby is a lost toy that wants to be loved and played with by a kid. She learns that Woody has that and has a voice box and so she’s doing all that she can to carry out that. That’s the magic of Pixar and these films, where they craft these villains that perfectly tie into the themes of the film and what our heroes are having to learn over the course of the film. It all comes together in a very satisfying way as we feel for Gabby Gabby and by the end of the film, she gets what she wants. Normally in movies, you don’t want the villain to succeed because it means our heroes lost. But in this case, our villain wins and our hero's win. Gabby Gabby is one of the more interesting Pixar villains that has more depth and layers to her. From there, Duke Kaboom played by Keanu Reeves is another fun character. Like most people, I adore Keanu Reeves so getting to see him in a Toy Story movie is a real treat. I think he’s the funniest of our new characters that gets the best laughs and the most memorable moments. 

Finally, simply because this is the most recent of our Toy Story films (that have been released), this is the best animated of the bunch. The technology was on point and able to make this gorgeous looking animated movie. The scenes at the beginning with Woody and Bo Peep in the rain are gorgeous shots and the use of color in those scenes is great. The dated animation holds the original Toy Story back just a little bit because the human characters don’t look great and there’s just a certain lack of detail in those films. With this film, whether it is the humans, toys, environments, or animals they look more realistic while keeping the cartoonish and playful look of the Toy Story franchise. 

The Bad

The first thing here is the film can rehash some of the plot points and plot lines from the earlier films. Part of this film involves our characters accidentally going to this place that turns out to be dangerous, where toys in this place are trying to figure out a plan to escape and not be caught by the villain and then at a certain point Woody has to go back in to rescue people. That’s the plot of this film as well as the plot of Toy Story 3. It’s something that I didn’t even notice until rewatching it this most recent time, and I do wish that there was so much creativity in the storytelling. They did have nine years between films, and so when you have that big of a gap between films they had plenty of time to come up with a more interesting story that doesn’t feel like a rehash of the film that came before. Now, the films are different and how they play out are different. But there are a few similarities between the films and especially how some of the plot mechanics works do feel familiar to a film that came before and a film that I think is better. 

The other thing is that I think it’s a bit of a shame that the side characters from the earlier films are sidelined in this film and don’t really have anything to do. Jesse was one of the prominent characters in the past two films and looks like she’s the lead of Toy Story 5. In this movie, she doesn’t really do anything besides pop the tire of the RV. Hamm, Rex, Mr. Potato Head, and Slinky play no outcome in the story. You could’ve cut them from the film, and it wouldn’t have changed that much. I think the thinking process behind this was that they wanted to focus the film on Woody and make it clear this is Woody’s story. But they populated the film with other side characters that easily could’ve been Jesse and all the other characters. It’s not a massive thing, I think the film as a whole and the adventure works without them. But there is some of the fun and magic lost when some of the fan favorite side characters are absent from this film. 

Final Thoughts: Overall, I love Toy Story 4. I think it’s a great movie where they found an interesting new story to tell in this world. They focus the story on Woody and make sure that Woody is front and center in this adventure. It might not be as fresh and as original as some of the past films. But it’s still a great movie that I think gets too much hate and people need to give it a rewatch. 

The Score: 9.1/10 (A-)