Toy Story 4
I mean, “Toy Story 3” was the perfect ending for Pixar’s first franchise, was it not? There was no reason for them to continue on after it beyond the short films and TV specials they did, correct? And yet, here we are, at the end of the decade, and Pixar has made a fourth “Toy Story” movie. It felt, before watching it, like a gratuitous money grab. This being Pixar, however, they found a way to wring some more emotion out of the continuing adventures of Woody and Buzz Lightyear, and come up with what is probably a more satisfying conclusion to their story.
Josh Cooley’s film begins nine years ago, and I’ll admit to being a bit surprised that Andy was still a kid in these flashbacks, when- on a dark and stormy night- Woody and the rest of the toys are making a search and rescue for RC, the car, who is caught in a drain outside. That night, Bo Peep (Annie Potts), her sheep, and the lamp she came with were sold by Andy’s mom, and Bo Peep disappeared from the lives of Andy and his toys. Cut to the present day, and Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), Jessie (Joan Cusack) and the rest of Andy’s toys have settled in with Bonnie and her toys as she gets ready for kindergarten. She’s anxious about going, but even though Dolly (Bonnie Hunt) isn’t worried about a toy going with her for orientation, Woody sneaks along, feeling the itch to be there for Bonnie as he has been relegated to the closet too often recently. When he comes home, he has a surprise for the rest of the toys- Bonnie has made a new friend in Forky, which she has made out of art supplies, and has come to life. What Woody was to Andy for a long time, Forky (voiced by Tony Hale) inexplicably is for Bonnie. When they go on a road trip before the school year begins proper, Forky is coveted, and when he disappears, Woody has a sense of responsibility to Bonnie to reunite them. There will be some bumps along the way when they find themselves in an antiques shop near the campground, however.
This is now the third sequel in the “Toy Story” franchise, which is kind of mind-blowing when you consider that the previous two had endings that would have perfectly wrapped things up for Woody and friends. If the series had ended in features in 2010 with “Toy Story 3,” it would have made sense because Andy’s toys found a new life with Bonnie as Andy was getting ready to go to college, and it was as perfect a trilogy as we’ve seen. I will give screenwriters Andrew Stanton and Stephany Folsom, and the rest of the story writers, all the credit in the world, however, for finding a genuinely emotional story with which to bring the story of these toys, and in particular, Woody, to a conclusion that is satisfying and as entertaining as the previous films in the series. The film sets aside the Frankenstein’s monster questions raised by Forky’s very existence- though it plays with them is hilarious ways- to focus on the responsibility Woody feels to be played with by a single child. Bonnie hasn’t been playing with Woody much, and it poses an existential question for Woody that he is confronted with by the toys he finds in the antiques shop, and a surprising reunion with Bo Peep, whose life since being gotten rid of by Andy’s mom opens up an entire new way of life for Woody, which is foreign to him, but ultimately something he finds has freed Bo in a way being played with by just one child doesn’t offer. There are a lot of fun new characters introduced here beyond Forky, and they each have specific parts to play in order to lead to the choice Woody finds himself making at the end of the film, which is as good as any ending Pixar has come up with.
There’s a lot of nostalgia played with in this film- including Randy Newman’s “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” at the beginning, and the scenes in Andy’s room- but Pixar know that you need to give audiences something new for a film like this. That they managed to do in with a third sequel to their inaugural feature film, and a film that is light years away from the stunning animation that first film had in 1995 with a brand new state-of-the-art that is breathtaking, might be one of the best magic tricks this studio will ever pull on audiences. I hope this is the end of the road for this franchise, but if it isn’t, I will surely not be questioning Pixar’s decision again until I see the movie for myself.
