By Harlly A Lewis
Toy Story 4 directed by Josh Cooley in his feature directorial debut is the fourth feature film in the toy story franchise. The film follows on from the end of the third with Bonnie’s (the little girl that Andy gave the toys to at the end of the 3rd film) first day at preschool where she creates a new toy, Forky, a toy made out of stick on googly eyes, popsicle sticks, a pipe cleaner and a spork. Woody (Tom Hanks) and Buzz (Tim Allen) must find him when he runs away during a road trip that Bonnies family has gone on. During this adventure Woody is reunited with his old friend Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and must wrestle with a life without Andy.
Going into this movie I was concerned. The third film ended so perfectly that I was convinced that to do another film would be ridiculous. How wrong I was. This film was not only an important step for the characters but also for the audience. Like with Woody, we all must learn that there is always a next step. Another opportunity to learn and grow. Another life transition. The story puts Woody to task and by extension the audience when he is confronted with his resistance to change, his inability to embrace the future in fear that he will be letting go of his past.
The animation in this film was top notch. I have come to never doubt the animators at Pixar or Disney as they consistently bring their A games to each film, and Toy Story 4 is no different. The animation was so good at times that some elements looked real. But the film never lets it cross the line into looking completely real, which would place the film in the uncanny valley, especially with the Ventriloquist Dummies, which were creepy and illustrated how they would move without the support of a human arm. The film is also quite funny with actors such as Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele appearing as carnival prizes that have major issues regarding people and the internet’s current favourite person Keanu Reeves as Canadian toy Duke Kaboom.
The music written once again by Randy Newman for the film is also great with many returning songs and character themes such as the song “You’ve Got a Friend in Me” playing over an opening montage. Newman has created two new songs for the film “The Ballad of the Lonesome Cowboy” performed by Chris Stapleton which is a country song about embracing friendship and seeking others to spend time with, and “I Can’t Let You Throw Yourself Away” which is a jaunty number about never giving up on a friend that plays during a montage of Woody preventing Forky from throwing himself in the garbage where he believe he belongs as he was made from trash.
Toy Story 4 is a great film. It is perhaps the funniest of a series that has never had a bad feature length entry. I would say that this would be a great place to end the series, but to be fair, I have been wrong before.
On The Brightside 