Toy Story 4 (2019)

We are in the middle of a summer of endless sequels, each week bringing a new entry in a different franchise. This is nothing new for summer; sequels have been a given at this point for almost every piece of media that exists, and it seems that studios won't make a big investment if they can't milk the property over several films. But this summer in particular has been delivering some real duds; besides Avengers: Endgame and John Wick Chapter 3, the sequels have been lifeless, uninspired cash grabs that have also largely failed to capture audience interest.

When Toy Story 4 was announced several years ago, I was staunchly opposed to its existence. After all, Toy Story 3 (2010), while an imperfect film, delivered a satisfying and touching conclusion, passing the toys on from owner Andy to a new girl, Bonnie. It made Toy Story a great trilogy that dealt with existential crises surrounding the nature of no longer being useful.

So I am happy to admit that Toy Story 4 satisfyingly carries on the story. Picking up soon after Toy Story 3 (it seems, Bonnie is basically the same as she was in the last film), Woody (Tom Hanks) and the gang are integrating into their new environment well, save that Woody is not necessarily Bonnie's (Madeleine McGraw) first choice for playtime. Never one to let rejection hold him down, Woody sneaks into Kindergarten for Bonnie's first day, and it is there Bonnie constructs Forky (Tony Hale), a plastic spork with googly eyes, pipe cleaner for arms, and popsicle sticks for feet. Amazingly, he springs to life, bringing up for the first time the question of what does bring these toys life.

This moment isn't really explained (nor does it really need to be), and the movie proceeds with Forky continuously trying to throw himself away because he came from trash. Eventually Bonnie's family goes on a road trip, and before long the plot spirals out of control as Bo Peep (Annie Potts) re-enters the picture (she was absent from 3), as Forky gets trapped in an antique store. Several colorful other characters enter the fray, including a talking doll named Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) who wants Woody's voice box, two carnival stuffed animals voiced by Key & Peele, and Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves), arguably the best new character of the bunch.

The plot hurdles along at a breakneck pace, moving from problem to problem and scene to scene. Many of the toys that supported Woody and Buzz (Tim Allen) in previous films are mostly sidelined here, and even Buzz is given pretty short shrift. Woody has always been the star of Toy Story but Buzz usually gets a strong second billing. The film has no less than 8 credited story writers, including John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton, and Rashida Jones, as well as screenplay credit to Stanton & Stephany Folsom. The film's pace reminded me a lot of the recent Finding Dory (2016), which given Stanton's involvement here (he directed Dory), is not too surprising. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but the other Story films were a tad more focused, and this one is a bit more scattered.

Like Toy Story 3, the film lands its ending and elevates the film for me. Without spoiling too much, the film isn't afraid to change the status quo, to move the story forward in a logical direction. Pixar usually isn't risk-adverse (they did put the toys in an incinerator last film, one of the most terrifying moments in children's animation), and I was satisfied that the film moved things forward. I wouldn't be surprised by a Toy Story 5 one day, although I will face that one with the same reservation I did this.

I guess I was so opposed to this film not only because I felt the story was already concluded, but because Pixar has not been up to the gold standard this past decade that they were from Toy Story (1995) through Toy Story 3. Almost every film in that run was stellar, and since then only Inside Out (2015) has managed to enter the upper echelon. Finding Dory and Incredibles II (2018) have not satisfied me, and while both were good, both did not live up to the bar set by their predecessors or by Pixar.

Toy Story 4 comes the closest to reaching that bar again. I'm not entirely set on this, of course, and only time and more rewatches will cement this films' place. But as someone who has highly skeptical of the film, it exceeded my expectations. It's funny, heartfelt, and surprising. It's worthy of the Toy Story name.