I recently rewatched the Toy Story trilogy on a whim, and I was astonished at how well they held up. Though, I did come to the realization that the third, while still a great film, and – up to this point – a stellar cap to the trilogy, it isn’t quite as masterful as the previous two, if only because of certain ideas and plot elements felt like they were being repeated from the other movies. There is only so many times Woody can say something only for the other toys to not buy into it, but later realize they were wrong, and should’ve trusted Woody’s judgement after all before it gets kinda stale. But still, that’s ultimately a nitpick.
With Toy Story 4, it really seems like Pixar is starting to push it. While I don’t think any of their other sequel/prequel projects were bad (I haven’t seen the Cars sequels, so I can’t speak for them), they do often have a feeling of obligation to them, with Toy Story being the only real exception to that. Thankfully, this new doesn’t break that pattern. The film is wonderful, and while I wouldn’t immediately call it a masterpiece on the level of the first or second, what helps elevate it above the third is its willingness to go to new places in terms of theme, structure, and overall weirdness.
The basic setup is simple enough. After Woody (Tom Hanks) sneaks into Bonnie’s (Madeleine McGraw) backpack for her first day of kindergarten, he finds out she made a new favorite toy out of pieces of trash, which turns into the now sentient – Forky (Tony Hale). Forky is struggling adjusting to the mere concept of life, much less life with Woody and the gang. When Bonnie’s family goes on a road trip, Forky uses the opportunity to jump out the window of the RV, and escape. Woody jumps out to rescue him, and both he and Forky go on a quest back to Bonnie, and enlisting the help of Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who has been living for years as a traveler after she was given away by Andy’s sister.
Initially, there are moments where you can see the Pixar formula begin to take form. Two characters with diametrically opposed goals being forced to travel a long distance together to get back home, and getting in hijinks along the way before they help each other reach a greater truth and understanding that serves as the big message of the movie. However, Woody and Forky are quickly separated when they encounter the strange and eerie doll, Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), in an antique shop. I was worried they’d fall into the often repeated trope of introducing a seemingly unassuming character, only to have them be revealed as the villain later on like they do in plenty of Pixar films, and in the last two Toy Story film with Stinky Pete and Lotso. Instead, they practically do the opposite. The film introduces her with a sinister tone, invoking The Shining at one point, which technically wouldn’t be the first for this franchise, but it later proves to be far more empathetic to her character as the film goes on spending more time with her, which I found refreshing.
The main ideas explored here revolve around learning to take the time to care for yourself, about finding a purpose in life, and learning when to let go. Woody takes center stage here, and it’s appropriate enough since the film actually brings a natural yet beautifully realized conclusion to his four movie arc. So much of the payoffs here are so meticulous in their execution that it wouldn’t have worked had it not been for the work put into the previous three films. It doesn’t feel like an epilogue or just a random, new adventure, it feels like the best realization of where the series should go thematically, and building it on top of everything that has come before.
Of course, the film also succeeds in all the ways a Pixar movie usually succeeds. The animation is energetic and unfathomably well detailed on all fronts, the voice acting is spectacular, it knows how to balance the fun, adventurous tone with the sincere emotional beats, and it’s also really funny. We meet several new characters here that made the crowd go nuts, not just Forky, but also characters like the eccentric but insecure Canadian stuntman figure, Duke Kaboom (Keanu Reeves), or the carnival game prize stuffed animals, Ducky and Bunny (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, respectively). It works on all the levels you would want out of a Toy Story movie while also throwing in some genuine surprises along the way.
While it can be frustrating to see the talented people at Pixar pull from the same well, making sequel after sequel, as opposed to exploring original territory (which they seem to be moving towards in future projects, thankfully), it’s hard to get annoyed when they continue to craft stories so thoughtfully and skillfully, managing to reach audiences of all ages while digging into big, heavy ideas. The central drama and character work with Woody in Toy Story 4 rivals most movies I’ve seen this year, and it’s been a pretty rock solid year so far. Director, Josh Cooley, and writers, Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom, really impressed me with what they did here, which on some level, I expected for a new Pixar release, but what I didn’t expect was how surprised I was by the film, and as a potential conclusion to this series, I can’t imagine a more perfect note to end on.