“Toy Story 4” Movie Review

    The original “Toy Story” movie remains one of my favorite animated movies of all time.  It was a cute and simple story which dealt with the building of an unlikely friendship.  The franchise continued to grow with two strong followup films and it appeared as if “Toy Story 3” was the end of line for Woody, Buzz, and company.  Needless to say, the franchise couldn’t stay in the toy chest for long and “Toy Story 4” graced the silver screen this summer.

    This possibly final chapter in the “Toy Story” franchise starts with Bonnie (the girl whom Andy gave the toys to) trying to adjust to life in kindergarten.  With the help of Woody, Bonnie creates a new toy at school made from a plastic spork named Forky.  Forky quickly becomes her favorite toy but Forky is a bit of a handful to the other toys since he has only recently become alive and still believes he is a spork.  Woody takes it upon himself to watch Forky in an attempt to find some meaning in his existence since Bonnie hardly plays with him anymore.  Forky manages to get lost during a road trip and Woody decides to find him for Bonnie’s sake.  Once he finds Forky and the pair head back, he crosses paths with his old flame Bo Peep and the pair end up on an unlikely adventure to rescue Forky from Gabby Gabby. Gabby Gabby is holding Forky hostage in exchange for Woody’s voice box.

    I really enjoyed the movie overall although the ending was a little problematic for some people, including myself (I will get into that in a bit so just be warned there will be spoilers beyond this point).  That being said, the film is still yet another winner for the long running “Toy Story” franchise and provides an appropriate swan song for Woody.

    The voice cast was amazing and it was nice to hear Randy Newman’s score in the film since he provided the music for the other film’s in the series.  The new characters in the film were also compelling and added a breath of fresh air to the film.  Forky and Duke Caboom were among the highlights of new characters in the film.  The humor of the film was accessible to all audience members and everything you would expect from Disney and Pixar.

    Now, let’s talk about the ending of the film...you’ve been warned!!!  So, the film ends with Woody leaving his friends and Bonnie to be with Bo Peep.  Now, as far as Woody finding love again, that part I loved.  Woody had spent so much time in this film series bringing happiness to others, it was nice to see him finally find happiness of his own.  What the ending messed up a little on, in my view, was successfully closing the book on Woody’s friendship with the other toys, especially Buzz.  I understand the moral of the ending was supposed to be that friendship sometimes means having to let someone go for their happiness, but it needed more of an emotional punch to it.  Woody and Buzz deserved it in the film, and we deserved it as an audience.  Since the film focuses so much on Woody and Bo Peep, the other toys felt very slighted as a result.

    Now, while the ending may not have had the emotional wallop I felt the film deserved, the movie was still very good and surprisingly fresh.  It managed to tell a relatable story of how moving on is difficult when you are trying to find your place in the world after you have lost everything (which is definitely a message most older audience members can relate to).  This film has a lot of heart and while it isn’t perfect, it is still pretty amazing.

Grade: A-