Woody, Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the gang embark on a road trip with their new owner Bonnie, who has made a new toy named Forky in her first day of Kindergarten. However Forky doesn’t understand that he is a toy and so he continuously tries to throw himself in the trash, with Woody there to stop him. The journey turns into an unexpected reunion as Woody’s slight detour leads him to his long-lost friend (and crush) Bo Peep. Together a new adventure ensues where we see the toys go through personal changes and try to figure out what their purpose in life is as a toy.
Like many people I felt that Toy Story 3 was the perfect conclusion to a perfect series so I had quite low expectations and I was afraid that this was some attempt at a cash grab. But thank all that is holy that did not happen here. I loved this damn movie, it was a serious blast.
To start off it’s worth noting that the animation in this movie is gorgeous… I mean GORGEOUS. When you compare how far the animation has come through all these movies you could see how much time and effort was put into this movie to make it feel alive. From the textures of the toys to the overall surroundings, everything was just pitch perfect and you can tell that they were not trying to half ass it any way.
The cast and characters both returning and new are all wonderful, memorable and funny. Tom Hanks as Woody still nails this role as he always has, but you could feel true emotional depth to his character and he has such a fantastic arc in the movie.
Tim Allen as Buzz and the remaining returning characters are also great but they aren’t focused on as much as they were in the previous installments. The focus is mostly on Woody, Bo Beep, Buzz, Forky and some of the new characters which I am honestly fine with. The other characters aren’t forgotten by any means but we have already had plenty of time with them in the other movies that they didn’t need to be focused on.
Bo Beep was seriously improved for this movie. Unlike the first two films where she lacked any character or depth they really fleshed her out in this and the relationship she has with Woody is really solid and believable. She serves as a great part of Woody’s journey, as does the new character Forky. Woody takes the role of a fatherly figure to Forky trying to explain his purpose and importance to their owner Bonnie. It plays a lot with the theme of fatherhood in many ways and is done so beautifully along with the other themes in the story.
To me the story was so well written and executed and one of the best parts of it is that it took risks. It takes risks with character choices, humor and actually trying something unique and fresh, unlike some movie sequels that are formulaic and predictable. This movie surprised me at every turn, especially with the antagonist. I say antagonist rather than villain because they do something really unexpected with this new character that makes it stand out from the other movies.
There were also surprising moments of horror in this film which I did not expect. It is sort of humorous horror but it’s something that is extremely risky to handle, especially when in a film that is directed at kids as well as adults. There is actually a surprising amount of adult humor in this movie and I loved it. Key and Peele play as two stuffed toys that provide some great laughs. Also serious props to Keanu Reeves as a Canadian stunt driver toy who had some great moments of his own.
One of the strongest parts of this movie is definitely the emotional aspects. While I do feel Toy Story 3 had a stronger emotional impact, this film still had moments that really hit home for me, especially at the ending where I won’t lie, I actually teared up a bit.
And with all that said I have to admit it is extremely hard to pick out any flaws with this movie except for maybe one. The Woody & Buzz dynamic was always something that was a major part of the Toy Story movies, and Buzz would usually have quite a special arc in each movie. In this film he didn’t really have that much of an arc and had bit more of comedic purpose to him. He was still good, but I just wish that he could have had more scenes with Woody.
This felt like a justified sequel, which is not something you can find that often these days. And shockingly enough by the end of it I kind of wanted more, but the truth is that this is the last time we will ever get to see these characters on screen. It is honestly heart wrenching when I think about it, but at the same time I also feel really satisfied that the series has ended on a real high note. I’m going to give Toy Story 4 an A.
Find more of Hugh Verheylewegen’s work on instagram and youtube!