About the film (courtesy of Disney•PIXAR):
Woody (voice of Tom Hanks) has always been confident about his place in the world, and that his priority is taking care of his kid, whether that’s Andy or Bonnie. So when Bonnie’s beloved new craft-project-turned-toy, Forky (voice of Tony Hale), declares himself as “trash” and not a toy, Woody takes it upon himself to show Forky why he should embrace being a toy. But when Bonnie takes the whole gang on her family’s road trip excursion, Woody ends up on an unexpected detour that includes a reunion with his long-lost friend Bo Peep (voice of Annie Potts). After years of being on her own, Bo’s adventurous spirit and life on the road belie her delicate porcelain exterior. As Woody and Bo realize they’re worlds apart when it comes to life as a toy, they soon come to find that’s the least of their worries.
“Sequels…blechhh.” That’s what some people often say when the topic comes up in a movie conversation, myself included at times. The challenge with sequels is that you typically need to outdo what has already been done previously. For the Toy Story franchise, that would be pretty much impossible considering its gaudy 100%, 100%, 98% – Rotten Tomatoes approval ratings for the first three films, respectively. With the latest addition to be added to the fold, Toy Story 4 looks to follow the same stellar path that has worked thus far.
The fourth chapter dials back on the tugging of heart strings just enough to keep you (and your children, of course) from having major eyeball condensation while telling people, lamely I might add, that it must be allergies or something. No one wants to cry at an animated movie that’s supposed to be about fun, laughter and having a good time. Thankfully Toy Story 4 is a bit more palatable in this respect. While the plot is filled with emotional ebbs and flows, it doesn’t linger too long in areas that might make viewers visibly sad.
And this brings me to the lighter side of things. New characters voiced by Tony Hale, Keegan-Michael Key, Jordan Peele and Keanu Reeves are all very welcomed additions to the already stoutly talented voice actors on the set. It is truly amazing how the animators and the actors come together seamlessly to give audiences such a treat to enjoy. There are just so many names that could be mentioned here, but that’s what sites like IMDb are for.
The little ones will certainly enjoy what Toy Story 4 brings to the screen. Being transported into this make-believe world of talking toys should enhance their imaginations for years to come. The older crowds (teens to adults) will also find themselves grinning from ear-to-ear throughout. And with a 100 minute runtime, there’s enough time to fully tell a story without overstaying its welcome. Josh Cooley does a stand-up job making his full-length directorial debut here and will surely provide a lot of laughs and memories for his many paying customers. Disney•PIXAR has done it again. You can take that to the bank because I’m sure they will. See this sweet sequel in theaters now.
