Movie Review: Toy Story 4
nicolasb5194 Toy Story 4 is the fourth film in the Toy Story franchise. I love the Toy Story films. The first three films are amazing. I think we can all agree that the third film ended the franchise so perfectly that there’s no way it can come back. I was really skeptical about a fourth film since I felt it would be an unnecessary cash grab. But as news came out like how its ending would be very emotional, I started to give it a chance. So I saw it and this film exceeded my expectations!The film follows Woody, Buzz and the rest of the gang with their new owner Bonnie. One day at Kindergarten, Bonnie creates a new friend named Forky, who is also conscious like the rest of the toys. But Forky thinks he belongs in the trash, so he tries to run away from Bonnie. So Woody has to go after him, and find him, and bring him back, but along the way he runs into an old friend of his named Bo Peep, and the rest of the film continues from there. Unlike the Ice Age and Shrek franchise, this franchise doesn’t go downhill. It delivers something new, while staying true to what made the franchise work. And it succeeded again! First, the animation is top as always! It really gets better with each film! The backgrounds in this look so realistic and it’s mind blowing looking at the first film compared to this and how far 25 years of animation perfection have happened! This film had excellent and more developed world building. I loved the set design of the carnival and antique shop and the film did a really good job with going into detail about the characters surroundings which were new to them. The film had a lot of great emotional weight to it. The whole franchise is known for its tear jerking and heartwarming moments. The ending of the film made me cry again! Although, I think Toy Story 3’s ending is better. The voice acting is still phenomenal. Tom Hanks and Tim Allen’s performance still hasn’t dulled one bit. I loved the relatable themes and ideologies that this film gave to the audience. The fact that Bonnie was so nervous to start Kindergarten and it reflected on her parents will reflect to a lot of parents who will go to see this film with there children. This film was also hilarious! Most of the humor came from the new characters, but we’ll talk about them in a bit.
The characters were still unforgettable as they were before! The new characters were really great! I was most surprised by Forky! He’s one of those characters that could potentially be super annoying if overused. Luckily, he is used very well in the film and I liked his role in the film very much! He didn’t annoy me in the slightest! Ducky and Bunny were hilarious. They had great comedic chemistry and stole many scenes with their interesting ways of retrieving. In my opinion, the best new addition was Duke Caboom. I thought he was awesome! He’s voiced by Keanu Reeves! He has an interesting backstory. He’s by far my favorite new character in the film. Gabby Gabby was a pretty good sympathetic villain as well. I understood what she was trying to do and why she’s trying to do. There’s a scene involving her that was executed very well and it was heartwarming! I thought Bo Peep was awesome here, as well. They made her this strong, independent woman who can handle herself quite well in troubled situations, and I really liked how they handled that. It didn’t feel forced at all and it didn’t feel like the creators were trying to push feminism for the sake of it. (Lookin at you, Captain Marvel!) My only minor flaw with this film is that the pacing feels rushed at certain points. At the beginning of the film, it felt fine and then more towards the middle of the film, it started to feel rushed a bit. Like in one scene, they would be doing something and then would just transition to something for a bit and then to something new. The film is one hour and forty minutes and I think a longer run time could’ve helped out a lot.
Overall, this is clearly a step backwards from the third movie. But, it’s still another amazing entry in this franchise. Is it necessary? No. But I’m quite glad this was made. It really captures the heart of the other films. If they decide to make this officially the final one, I would be perfectly fine with that. I definitely recommend seeing this if you love the first three movies. Bring some tissues with you.
Score: 9/10