Toy Story 4: Film Review

Synopsis

They're back! Woody (Tom Hanks), Buzz (Tim Allen), and the gang are back for another adventure. Bonnie's got a new toy, Forky (Tony Hale) and it's Woody's job to make sure he's safe on their road trip. Along the way, Woody reunites with Bo Peep (Annie Potts) and explores his value as a toy.

Review

To start, this film is beautifully animated (this makes the first Toy Story look like it was drawn on an Etch-A-Sketch). It is very heartwarming and funny (it is possibly the funniest entry in the franchise). This film is more Woody-centric (focuses more on Woody’s point of view and his progression through the story). Buzz Lightyear and the rest of the gang are more of supporting characters in this. There are great additions to the group of toys, Duke Caboom and Forky especially. Key and Peele are great additions to the cast. I laughed every time they were on screen. Also, it's kind of sad in the end, as are most Pixar films. Contrarily, it feels a tad sluggish in the third act, meaning that it drags the “drama,” as it were, for a bit too long (the people I was with started to resort to quietly yelling at the screen in frustration). The villain, Gabby Gabby, was made more humane which I liked. The writers gave her a reasonable motive and made the audience care about her. As an aside, I personally would have rated this film in the PG range (this film is rated G, making it the 4th film in the series to be rated as such) because of the drama and light menace that Gabby Gabby’s entourage exhibits, but I digress. There is more of a sense of finality to this franchise with this film. This acts as the epilogue to the series in a way and while it is an ending, it is also a new beginning in a way that I think would be interesting to explore.