In recent years, Hollywood and the American film industry at large have embraced the idea of franchises with endless sequels. At first glance, the fourth installment of the Disney-Pixar ‘Toy Story’ series would fall under that umbrella.
The problem inherent multiple sequels, trilogies and so on is the increased likelihood of monotony or failure. Just like sports, it is a “what have you done for me lately” problem.
Thankfully with ‘Toy Story 4’ the notion of been there, done that doesn’t exist.
There are familiar characters who were introduced in the previous films, 1995’s ‘Toy Story’, 1999’s ‘Toy Story 2’ or 2010’s ‘Toy Story.’
Although the names and, for the most part, voices of the protagonists have remained the same, it is apparently early in ‘Toy Story 4’ that time has passed since we last saw them.
As you may recall, the toys, Woody (voiced by Tom Hanks), Buzz (voiced by Tim Allen) and their crew got a new owner named Bonnie (voiced by newcomer Madeline McGraw) in the previous movie.
‘Toy Story 4’ quickly establishes a new reality for the original group of toys: they are in a new place and at least one of them is no longer a favorite.
Watching this sink for said character (no spoilers) is very human and satisfying from an artistic standpoint.
The toys eventually go on a road trip with a new toy named Forky (voiced by Tony Hale of ‘Arrested Development’ and ‘Veep’), Bonnie and her family. The trip could be to anywhere. It stops in an unnamed town that has a visiting fair and its own antique store.
Both venues provide great settings for comedy and drama alike.
They also serve as spots to introduce a handful of characters that push the story forward. These include Gabby Gabby (voiced by Christina Henricks of ‘Good Girls’), Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves) and Ducky and Bunny (Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele).
The team behind the ‘Toy Story’ films has always found a way to convey simple yet profound emotions of the human journey through what are essentially cartoons.
While eight co-writers are listed in the film’s credits, three names stuck out: Rashida Jones, Valerie LaPointe and Stephany Folsom.
While Jones is known for her work as Anne Perkins in of ‘Parks and Recreation’, her fellow female co-writers are more behind the scenes types. LaPointe is a long-time Pixar employee who also did story art work on ‘Brave’ and ‘Inside Out’ while Folsom has written a pair of episodes for ‘Star Wars: Resistance’.
The reason for highlighting these writers is the way they wrote both the characters of Gabby Gabby and Bo Peep (Annie Potts), who returns to the series after being absent from ‘Toy Story 3’. Both are strong, complex female characters whose presence expanded the world that is ‘Toy Story 4’ and make it possibly the strongest installment in the series yet.
Rating: G
Runtime: 100 minutes