Toy Story 4
Directed By: Josh Cooley
These stupid toys! Why? Why are they better at pulling the emotion than almost any other movie I’ve seen this year?
I spent most of this movie contemplating the likely fate of a spork, being annoyed with a toy and wishing he would grow up and thinking that another toy could do a heck of a lot better in the guy department.
Yeah these characters are more human than the human characters in some recent movies and shows.
No matter how much Woody wanted to protect Forky for Bonnie (who seemed a bit of a brat really) all I could think was how sad it was Forky is not a toy that would get donated. Woody needed to find a grip on reality (yes, I did think that about a toy) cause he’s going to get binned eventually.
So after being annoyed by that the movie definitely picks up when Forky escapes and Woody rescues him (cause Woody has more issues than most characters) they wind up in an antique store caught by Gabby Gabby an antique doll who never really had a chance at happiness- but Woody has something that could help and she’s determined to take it from him.
So after the suicidal undertones with Forky we get some low-grade horror stuff here and finally Woody is reunited with Bo Peep- a great character in her own right. Donated and stuck in the store for years she escaped with her sheep built a found family of her own and can literally pick up her own pieces and put herself back together again.
Naturally I couldn’t help but think girl can do better than selfish obsessive Woody I mean sure Duke Caboom has performance anxiety issues but he remembered the name of your sheep Bo!
Buzz is off to rescue Woody himself along the way accidentally making life harder to two stuffed carnival toys and the three of them along with Giggles get what’s probably the funniest bit of the whole movie.
The end surprised me and maybe it shouldn’t have. I can see why some people might not like the ending but Toy Story, for me, has always been about life, growing up and accepting that things and people change. The character work across the series is really something a lot of currently popular writers should take into account. The animation was top notch…
The voice work all great. Keanu seemed like he was having a blast. Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michal Kay were great as Ducky and Bunny. I especially thought Christina Hendricks was a good pick for Gabby Gabby that smooth soft voice does have this lulling you into a false sense of security about it.
Save the stuff with Bonnie I enjoyed Toy Story 4. Did we need another one? Probably not. Is it nostalgia baiting? Maybe.
But in the vast amount of movies we get that we don’t need and don’t hold up Toy Story 4 was a fun, entertaining and fast film that stayed true to the beauty and characters of the first three. It was a lovely visit with old friends.
Recommend: Yes.