I’ve long felt that the Toy Story films were something of a close to perfect trilogy. The first film addressed the imagination that many children have about their toys coming to life when they aren’t around, the second looked more into the aspect of toy collectors, and the third movie focused on growing up and letting go. There are definitely more themes to each of these films, but these seem to be the basic ideas. Outside of the short films and specials, I didn’t believe Toy Story needed to continue any further. When Pixar announced a fourth movie in the series, I was seriously doubtful. What further story could they tell, what else could be done? However, the first trailer did kind of sell me although that’s been the case with many of their trailers and not every Pixar release has been amazing.
Toy Story 4 find Bonnie getting ready to enter kindergarten and although toys aren’t supposed to be brought to school, Woody sneaks into her backpack. During her orientation Bonnie makes a new toy during craft time; a spork that she has named Forky but since he’s comprised of things that were in the trash, Forky believes that’s exactly what he is leaving Woody to try and keep him from throwing himself away. This continues when the toys are taken on a road trip and still not over his obsession of being garbage, Forky tosses himself out the window while they are on the road and Woody quickly follows. He manages to find the spork and sets out to meet up with the other toys a few miles away but is sidetracked when he sees a familiar light that belongs to Bo Beep.
Bo isn’t anywhere in the antique store but a doll named Gabby Gabby claims to know her. Gabby however soon reveals her true intentions; she wants Woody’s voice box and although he escapes, Forky is left behind. In his quest to recover Bonnie’s new toy, Woody does meet with Bo Beep who agrees to help him. Meanwhile, Buzz decides to find Woody who hasn’t met with the other toys yet, meeting a pair of stuffed carnival prizes, Ducky and Bunny, along the way. The toys band together to try and rescue Forky but fail, leaving Woody to try on his own before Bonnie and her family leave.
Bo Beep was last seen in Toy Story 2 and while mentioned, she was conspicuously absent from the third film and only briefly mentioned. The film reveals what happened before the third film and why she was missing although quite a bit has happened to Bo along the way. Toy Story in the past has addressed the idea of missing or lost toys and to an extent, that’s what happened to Bo although not quite as you’d think. Instead she has become very independent and is no longer stuck with the lamp. She made a decision to see the world and helps toys along the way. She’s taken her sheep, Billy, Goat, and Gruff along with her as well as a new friend, Giggle McDimples, a miniature police officer who is essentially Polly Pocket. We also meet Duke Caboom, a stunt cycle character who lives in secret with a number of other toys in the antiques shop and those who know Pixar’s films extremely well will catch at least one blast from the past in the form of Tinny.
While the other Toy Story movies have focused on the toys as a group, Toy Story 4 really feels much more like it’s Woody’s movie. In terms of time, I would place it as being roughly a year after Toy Story 3 considering Andy was going to college and Bonnie was still in daycare with the shorts and specials filling in some time in-between. What we find is that Bonnie has taken to playing with most of the toys but Woody seems to be getting left out during playtime. Although he says he’s fine with it, that’s not the case. He also clearly hasn’t gotten over Andy since that was the kid he was with the longest and being the favorite, he was close to. Woody has also lost his place as being the one who is in charge since it’s a new place. The role of helping the other toys and knowing what’s right and wrong falls more to Dolly so Woody it seems is without a proper place. When Forky comes along that at least gives him something to do with his time but during conversations, Andy still seems to come up.
What we see is the Woody truly is without a place, at least in his mind. Andy is gone and it’s doubtful that Woody or the other toys will ever see him again. He’s no longer the one in control and that’s completely the contrast to Bo. Now that she’s “lost” she has decided that she doesn’t need the love of a child. She’s much more content with seeing what life has to offer outside of playtime and she questions Woody about if he’s ever considered the same thing. In his mind however, being a part of a kid’s life is the most important thing and it’s this same concept which is at the heart of Gabby Gabby. While many have considered her to be the villain of the movie, I don’t feel that’s true. Gabby reveals that she was broken out of the box and thus was never played with. She also states that she was produced back in the 50’s meaning that this toy has spent over fifty years not knowing the love of a child and to her, that’s the one thing she wants the most. She has her heart set on Harmony, the granddaughter of the antique stores owner but even when Gabby thinks she’s finally going to have her dream realized, it doesn’t happen.
The ending of Toy Story 4 isn’t quite what I would have expected and I think most fans wouldn’t have either although in the final act of the film, you can certainly see the direction that the film is heading in. While we’ve had the same assortment of toys sticking together for the duration of the series, that isn’t going to be the case moving forward if in fact there is another Toy Story at some point. There have been statements going both ways, claiming this is the final installment while others have said there more than likely will be something in the future. Pixar in the past has stated that their only interest in sequels was if it continued to tell a good story although that doesn’t explain the Cars sequels which were unnecessary. To some extent there is more Toy Story planned which will show up on Disney+ and I don’t believe it’s out of the question for Pixar at some point to make another short as they have or perhaps ever a special.
Toy Story 4 includes a number of bonus features which are found on the accompanying blu-ray discs. This time there are two of them, one of them being completely bonus material. Most of these will also be found with the digital copy of the film. The bonus material includes:
Bo Rebooted
Toy Stories
Audio Commentary
Let’s Ride with Ally Maki
Woody & Buzz
Anatomy of a Scene: Playground
Carnival Run
View from the Roof
Toy Box
Deleted Scenes
Trailers & Promos
Even though I originally felt another Toy Story movie wasn’t necessary, the fourth installment in the franchise works just as well as the others before it have although I still feel that the other toys who have long been a part of the stories could have used a little more screen time. But again, this is Woody’s movie. He’s at the center of everything and Pixar makes certain to throw in that one, important moment as they have in almost all of their films that aims to tug at your heartstrings. As far as this being “the end” though, I still believe we’ll have to wait and see.
Mike is the resident reviewer for Couponing to Disney and his own site Underland Online. He has a young daughter and is obsessed with Haunted Mansion and all things Disney. You can read Mike’s complete bio here.