By Jackson Cooperman
Rating: 3/4
The original Toy Story was quite magical and was a type of movie we’d never seen before. Toy Story 2 improved over its predecessor, as it contained intelligent in-depth views to the characters’ world and made you see toys differently. Toy Story 3 didn’t contain quite as much comedy and originality as the first two but worked on its own level and was quite flawless as well. Now comes Toy Story 4, which is not a bad movie at all, but I wouldn’t say it’s in the same league as any of its predecessors. One of its biggest faults is the story and the characters that have been spun out so many times, that it all doesn’t feel quite as magical as it once did.
The film begins in flashback on the night poor Bo-Peep (voiced by Annie Potts) is thrown away. Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks) and the gang try and rescue her, but Bo says her life with Andy is over and insists it’s time to move on, and leaves. Woody is heartbroken. Jump ahead, we pick up just about where Toy Story 3 left off. Bonnie is playing with all her toys and everything is jolly, but Woody is beginning to feel neglected by Bonnie. She doesn’t play with him every day, and if you’re feeling this is kind of a repeat of the first Toy Story, you are correct. But luckily, the film doesn’t suffer because we are seeing this through a new story design and in the presence of new characters, namely, Forky. Bonnie creates him during a pre-school activity and he’s made from a plastic fork and other kinds of throwaways. Thus enters this character that ultimately sets the plot into motion.
Bonnie and the toys embark on a road trip, with the addition of Forky, who sadly, is one of the few major flaws of the plot. Since he is made from trash, he desperately wants to return to his trash-family, therefore, it gives him an excuse to make every attempt he can to break away from the group and dive into the nearest trash bin. He unfortunately makes the opening act into an idiot plot. We know Forky is bound to get the toys in trouble the way he carries on, and it’s no surprise when he does. And before we know it, Woody and Forky are separated at a rest stop. Luckily for the film, this is where the idiot plot ends and the movie starts getting better. We get a very nice scene between Woody and Forky as Woody explains what it means to be a toy and to be loved by a kid. This movie nicely finds the time to break away from the action and examine its characters.
Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen) and the rest of the gang, plan a rescue after the family RV breaks down near a carnival. Woody and Forky catch up, but to their surprise, run into the long-lost Bo-Peep. Woody is stunned, because her outlook on being a toy is different; she’s happy to be out on her own and living her life. Woody can’t understand this, but the two agree to disagree. So, they band together, in an attempt to get Woody and Forky back safe. Later, they end up wandering into an antique shop and find a creepy set of dolls. One of the dolls is bored with her life up on the shelf and wants Woody’s voice box, so a child might have the desire to play with her. Then Forky gets kidnapped. And so, from there on out, the action begins.
Toy Story 4 is surprisingly darker than the first two. The vibe we get in the creepy antique shop feels almost like it occupies the world of Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining”. The movie smartly incorporates this material, unlike most kids’ movies that play on auto-pilot and are desperately filled with so many clichés and such a lack of creativity. Toy Story 4 does borrow material from its prequels, but does enough imagining of its own to be original. The movie deals with fearful circumstances at times, some that are usually only reserved for horror movies. But, it finds a gentle way to tell it so it won’t come off as too scary for a young child. It contains quite thoughtful messages for a kids’ movie, I suppose because, like most Pixar movies, TS4 is appealing to kids and adults alike. TS4 is not a landmark in Pixar’s filmography, or even a great film for that matter, but it’s good, well-crafted, with an undeniable charm and genuine appeal for its themes. It was not as groundbreaking as expected, but that’s a problem caused by the advertising of today’s movies. Modern cinema teaches us to expect everything to be bigger and better than it possibly can be, which makes our disappointment inevitable. The best scene of the entire movie is the ending, which hits the audience with a big surprise even I did not see coming. The last minutes give TS4 an endearing aftertaste and I think Pixar has spun this story out as far as it can go and should quit while they’re ahead. Who knows though? By the time Toy Story 5 rolls around, we’ll be criticizing everything it borrows from its prequel and be praising Toy Story 4 for how profoundly original it seems in comparison.
