Pixar is one of the most prolific and beloved animation studios in the history of the medium. Over the last three decades, they’ve produced outstanding film after outstanding film and developed a reputation for crafting child-friendly stories that still have the depth and emotion to them that will make them enjoyable for adults as well. Whether it be Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo, Inside Out or Coco, everybody has a favorite Pixar film. Among all of these five-star films the studio has produced, there’s one series that has come to define the brand more than any other: Toy Story.
1995’s Toy Story was a key moment in cinematic history. Not only was it the first full feature that Pixar ever produced; it was also the first completely 3-D computer-animated feature film to ever be produced and released by a major studio. While 3-D animated films are a dime-a-dozen these days, the original Toy Story was groundbreaking for the industry. On top of that, it had the heart and story necessary to appeal to everyone and become an instant classic. In the nearly 30 years since the release of the first film, the Toy Story series has remained the crown jewel of Pixar’s film library.
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Upon its release in 1999, Toy Story 2 was just as adored as the first film, and it still holds its place as many peoples’ favorite of the series. 2010’s Toy Story 3 continued that streak and even received a nomination for Best Picture at the Academy Awards that year. The third Toy Story film was considered to be the perfect end to the series, which is why people were so conflicted when the development of Toy Story 4 was announced just a few years later. However, as easy and crowd-pleasing as it can be to bash on the newest entries in a series, Toy Story 4 is another truly outstanding and worthy entry to the Toy Story franchise, and it’s arguably a better conclusion for the series than Toy Story 3. Here’s why the fourth entry in the Toy Story series deserves more love:
Staying True to Its Roots
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
First of all, one of the core reasons that Toy Story 4 works so well is that the film has a thorough understanding of what has made the Toy Story series so special to begin with. It’s a clever concept that is understandable and entertaining for children while still carrying genuine and heartfelt themes that will bring a tear to their parents’ eyes. Toy Story 4 is just as fun, delightful and creative as the previous three entries in the series. It brings witty, new and unexpectedly existential twists to the concept while still maintaining the incredibly imaginative and playful spirit that has made Toy Story so lovable for so long. It does all of this while also building that emotional core to the movie that makes it into so much more than just a light-hearted children’s film.
In addition to a story that both children and adults can appreciate, Toy Story 4 is arguably one of the funniest films in the entire series. There’s plenty of humor that comes from the roster of classic characters, such as Hamm, Rex, and the Potato Heads, but then there are also plenty of new characters that bring their own sense of humor to the film as well. One of the real standouts is the character Duke Caboom, voiced by Keanu Reeves, whose constant flipping between immense confidence in his stunt-bike skills and crippling anguish over not living up to the promise of his commercial makes for some of the most entertaining sequences in the entire film. There are also smaller comedic moments provided by the likes of Carl Weather’s Combat Carl and a group of older toys voiced by Mel Brooks, Carol Burnett, Betty White, and Carl Reiner, who are all aptly named Melephant Brooks, Chairol Burnett, Bitey White, and Carl Reineroceros.
A Great Ending for the Series
The largest objection from fans about Toy Story 4’s production was, and continues to be, that Toy Story 3 was the perfect end to the series. That’s a perfectly understandable perspective to have. The end of the third film was poignant, emotional, and incredibly affecting. It was a real full-circle moment, finalizing the toys’ journey with Andy and beginning their new life with Bonnie. However, just because that chapter of the story was over does not mean that there isn’t still more story to tell. The toys’ lives would continue on, and they would have to adjust to the life of a new child, in a new room with plenty of new toys in their family.
That’s where Toy Story 4 comes in. The film serves as an extended epilogue of sorts to the Toy Story series. It wraps up all the loose ends left from the last three films, and it explores in more detail what exactly Andy’s toys’ lives would look like with Bonnie. Some of them adjust very well to the new life, while others (mainly Woody) struggle to understand that being one of Bonnie’s toys is very different from being one of Andy’s toys. Eventually, the central adventure with Woody, Forky and Bo Peep gets underway, and it becomes apparent that Woody can’t move on from Andy. Bonnie doesn’t need him as dearly as Andy did, and because of that, he is struggling to find his purpose. He wants to help; he’s just not sure how to anymore.
Throughout the film, it’s clear to see that Woody is still grieving the loss of Andy as his kid. He’s doing his best to be there for Bonnie and support the room, but he’s just not the same toy he used to be. As the story continues, Woody wrestles with this. He is forced to confront his feelings about Andy and what it really means to be a toy. He questions his once-firmly-held beliefs that the purpose of a toy was only to provide for their kid. However, through his re-introduction to Bo Peep, his view expands. He’s able to take a more objective view on his situation, and see that he can be of better use elsewhere. He is, for maybe the first time, able to consider what he actually wants to do with his life. He is allowed his own agency, and he understands that sometimes it’s okay to just do what is best for yourself. He stays with Bo and the carnival plushies, leaving Bonnie and the toys he has known for so long. It’s not out of selfish desire, though, merely a recognition that it was time for him to ride into the sunset. Together, he, Bo and the rest of his new posse free plenty of toys from the carnival and send them home with kids that will love them. Throughout all of this, Woody finally comes to terms with his situation. He resolves his lingering doubts and feelings about Andy and Bonnie, and he becomes better for it.
A Character-Driven Story
A significant part of what makes the Toy Story series so beloved is the myriad of outstanding characters that populate its stories. Whether it be the lead characters like Woody and Buzz Lightyear; key supporting roles like Jessie, Slinky Dog and Rex, or one-off additions like Ken in Toy Story 3, the Toy Story series has always been known for its outstanding characters who are equally relatable and hilarious. Toy Story 4 is certainly no exception. Whether it be new lovable characters like Forky and Duke Caboom or returning characters like Bo Peep and the rest of the classic crew, every character in the film is given their due. Everybody has their own arc of character development and moments of comedy to make them shine, and because of that, there’s really no weak link to the film. The only new characters that get extended screen time without much development are the carnival plushies Ducky and Bunny, but they are so wonderfully voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele that they are standouts, nonetheless.
Where Toy Story 4’s character work really shines, though, is with its two lead characters. Unlike every film in the series prior, Buzz Lightyear is not one of the co-leads of this film. While Allen’s Lightyear still gets plenty of screen time and moments in the spotlight, the co-leads of Toy Story 4 are undoubtedly Tom Hanks’ Woody and Annie Potts’ Bo Peep. The film’s re-introduction of Bo Peep into the story, after she was written out of Toy Story 3, was a brilliant idea both because she gives the series a compelling female lead that it hasn’t had since Jessie in Toy Story 2, and it develops her character significantly beyond the two-dimensional and underwritten romantic interest she was for Woody in the first two films. In Toy Story 4, the character of Bo Peep is entirely reinvented from the ground up. She’s given her own agency, with goals for her life and her own strengths and thoughts that she brings to the table. She’s actually established as a compelling character with the wit to match and even exceed Hanks’ Woody. The film takes one of the most underutilized and basic characters of the series and transforms her into a standout of the entire quadrilogy.
Meanwhile, the story also develops Woody’s character significantly from where he was in the previous three films. In the first three entries in the series, his focus and goal was always to do what was best for Andy. He had a kid, and that kid was his priority, no matter what. However, with him being passed to a new kid at the end of the third film, Woody is a bit lost in Toy Story 4. He’s no longer the leader of the group of toys, and he’ll never see the man that Andy grows up to be. He still wants to do what’s best for Bonnie, but he doesn’t really know how to do that when he’s not one of Bonnie’s favorite toys. He’s struggling to find a purpose in his life, and when he’s reintroduced to Bo Peep, who is now a lost toy living out her own life without a kid, Woody’s world and perspective evolve. He learns to think about what is best for him for once, not in a selfish way, but in a way that is beneficial to both his own mental health and the lives of the people that love him. He’s given a sense of self-worth that he hadn’t really had in any of the previous films, which makes him an arguably more interesting character than he had ever been before.
