Toy Story 4: A Question of Necessity

Let’s just say what we were all thinking when Toy Story 4 was announced – no one particularly wanted it or needed it. Toy Story 3 had wrapped up the sagas of our heroes in such a satisfying way (wringing tears and laughs from us in full), that there seemed to be nothing left to say about Woody and the gang. The little vignettes you could catch as shorts, while sweet, were more about fun than storytelling, and it didn’t detract from the wonderful ending we already had. The thing with Toy Story 4, after watching it, is not that it is a bad movie – thankfully the Toy Story saga has no bad movies – but that if you have been following the story, it’s not really necessary. The choices made, the path taken at the end, it’s all part of the same lesson as Toy Story 3. It’s all about learning to move on. It’s ironic, really, considering that the audience who has grown up with the story has not been able to do that and clings to the story ending that we all loved. So, is Toy Story 4 a bad movie? No. Should you skip watching it altogether? That’s up to you. It’s really the first time that for those of use who have grown up with the characters must face the reality of our age – these movies, while part of our childhood, are not always intended for us.

After Andy leaves Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), and the rest of the gang in the hands of Bonnie (Madeleine McGraw), the toys are adapting to a new owner and a new life. Woody in particular is struggling, since he is used to being a favored, and Bonnie doesn’t seem to need him as much as other toys. On Bonnie’s orientation day for Kindergarten, Woody sneaks along to ‘help’ her, and witnesses as she creates her new favorite toy: Forky (Tony Hale), a spork with popsicle stick legs, googly eyes, and pipe cleaner arms. As Bonnie and her parents embark on on the last road trip of the summer, Woody finds a new purpose in keeping Forky from harm. Forky considers himself trash, and Woody tries to teach him the meaning of being a favorite toy. But when the two are separated from Bonnie, Woody runs into his long-lost flame Bo Peep (Annie Potts), and he starts to learn about how large the world is for a toy, and must consider what he wants his purpose to be now that Andy has grown up.

It is astounding to compare where this series started in 1995 and where we are now. The leaps and bounds that have been made in animation and movie storytelling are enormous, and it’s a reminder of everything that Pixar has done well to see how the ability to make the Toy Story films are huge. The leaps forward are present in every element of the film – from the way that the toys can move to the level of detail in their surroundings to the way the characters look. A video circulated back when the trailers were originally coming out comparing Scud, the dog from the first film, to the cat that prowls the aisles of the antique store where the toys spend all their time. In the fur alone, you see the advancements in filmmaking over the last 24 years, but there are all sorts of other little details. There’s dirt under the fingernails of the carnival workers; Woody’s right arm is larger than his left, a callback to Toy Story 2. There are also enough Easter Eggs in the Antique Store to rival Ready Player One for the movie people will be watching for years to try and track them all down. All these advancements makes the world that the toys inhabit that more interesting. We’ve left the safety of a child’s bedroom for the wild world of an outdoor carnival; for the dusty and slightly claustrophobic but brimming with adventure antique store; for the world that toys without owners can make their own. Even in the last few movies after we leave the safety of Andy’s room, we were hanging out in another enclosed space – Sid’s house, Al’s Toy Barn, Sunnyside Daycare – but now we are able to get to see the outside world, and it’s a huge part of the story. The possibilities for a toy in this wide open space are endless, and it’s part of how Pixar does their best work. Their storytelling relies a great deal on the story, but also on taking the audience to a new perspective.

There are a couple of clever things done in the story (such as pointing out that not all kids are satisfied with their toys and yes, sometimes they can be jerks to them), but there are other things that don’t quite track, especially if you’ve been watching the movies all your life. They might not be such a big deal to casual or younger viewers, but fans will be a little bent out of shape. Buzz’s arc especially was a little annoying to someone who has watched all of the other films, because he fell into the same trap that got Ant-Man in Ant-Man and the Wasp. In order for him to function in the story, he had to lose some of the street-smarts that he’s gained after years of being a toy by a former owner. He’s gone through the whole “I am a toy” revelation; so why is the concept of an inner voice so easily confused with his toy voice-box? He’s had those buttons pushed probably hundreds of times, both by either Andy or Bonnie and by himself or his fellow toys, so I find it hard to believe that he would confuse it for his inner voice like he does, but that seems to be the only way to get him in on the action with the rest of the cast. He and Woody also barely interact, which is a huge part of the rest of the films – their friendship is part of the magic, and it’s odd to see so little of it. But this story is more about Woody and Bo’s relationship, leading up to Woody’s big decision in the finale, and spending time with his old partners might have shifted his priorities. As for Woody’s big decision, I have mixed feelings. While I don’t necessarily agree with what he did, I do understand why he did it, because Woody has had a long life as a toy. While there is no specific time suggested for when Woody was made (his character from Woody’s roundup was back from before the space race, and he’s at least old enough to recognize a record player as something he “hasn’t seen in ages”), and it has been remarked by multiple characters that his bond with Andy was far stronger than any of the other toys had. If he can’t be Andy’s toy, and he isn’t completely satisfied in his relationship with Bonnie (which is another annoyance, since she was marking him as a favorite however long ago Toy Story 3 is meant to be set), I can see him finding happiness by making sure other toys find owners right for them. It’s less about Bo Peep than it is about making kids and toys happy, and that is something I can believe that Woody would want to spend his existence doing.

The way the majority of the characters are used actually reminds me a lot of the show Glee – in their fourth season, after half of the main cast had “graduated”, the story had a hard time switching between following old favorites and introducing new characters efficiently. There is a similar situation at hand – because of the new environment in which the Toy Story gang finds themselves, there is ample opportunity for an abundance of new characters, and many of them are plenty interesting enough to hold the story themselves. This does mean, however, that some of the old characters get shunted to the side – actually, this happens to most of them. Of the main gang, Woody and Buzz are the only ones who really get a chance to be a part of the story; Jessie (Joan Cusack) is used briefly two or three times, and a couple of other characters will get an occasional one line to remind us of their personalities, but after that, it’s all on the backs of the new characters. And like I said, it’s not like the new characters aren’t interesting. Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks) is an fascinating villain to get to know, especially since her story could easily have led her into becoming another Stinky Pete or Lotso, but she still manages to be her own character and have her own story arc. Duke Kaboom (Keanu Reeves) is funny, but also a poignant example of how children sometimes treat their toys. And the Bunny-Ducky pair (Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key) gives insight into the lives of toys from a more non-traditional background – rather than being bought out of a store in a box, they hang in their game booth watching little kids walk by, waiting for the day they can go home with a kid of their own (it definitely makes my trips to Six Flags a little more thought-provoking). I was most surprised at Forky’s level of involvement in the story though; the trailers and story make it seem as though his character is going to be the cornerstone of the entire thing, but he’s more of a motivation than a character, and while his existential crisis of being a toy made out of trash is a fun idea, it’s not the main point of the story. It just kind of happens to separate Woody from the rest of the group. A part of me wonders if introducing all these new faces is a way to do what Marvel is doing – giving us a new wave to take over as the original faces leave – but I hope that I am wrong. 

If Toy Story 3 was not the end, then Toy Story 4 definitely should be.

3 / 5

Toy Story movies always make me feel super guilty about my old toys. Are the ones I lost still looking for me? Are the ones boxed up in a storage unit waiting for me patiently? Did I make them upset when I put them in a garage sale? Oh the guilt…