Another Enjoyable Addition

Rating: 8/10 (29 June 2019)

Toy Story 4 Review:
When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy. This was written and directed by Josh Cooley, the man who also wrote one of my favorite Pixar films, Inside Out. So obviously most everybody had the same reaction to the making of Toy Story 4: Why are they making a fourth one when the third one ended it perfectly? Yes I thought that but honestly I wasn't nervous for it. There hasn't been a single just good Toy Story film. They're all great. Naturally I assumed it would be good but a little unnecessary. I thought this was another great Toy Story film. I don't really need to get into voice acting that much because it's basically the same people and was all great. The person I was most nervous for was Tony Hale as Forky. The character was also my main concern for the film. Until I saw it the thought that consistently went through my head was: They made a movie about a spork. I thought Forky was a good addition. He actually wasn't as annoying as he was in the trailers. His voice seemed annoying and irritating in the trailer. I didn't want to sit through a 100 minute movie with that constantly. But he was actually one of my favorite parts. The relationship between him and Woody was one of my favorite aspects. The relationship between all the characters in this added so much to the story all thanks to a wonderful script. I thought the plot of the film was good. It's a little weaker than the first and third but there's so much heart in it that it makes up for it. The many conflicts that arise, from making Forky to funding Bo Peep, kept the story going without a single slow moment. The emotion and tone consistently sets the mood well. Some are saying this has a sad moment, even more than the end of Toy Story 3. That moment was kind of bittersweet like the previous film, but I thought the sad part was just a little before that. If you've seen it, you probably know what it is. Overall it's a good script with meaning. The only thing I'd change is Buzz just kind of felt off for me almost the whole film and the end sort of makes me upset but that's just me. Also there's some dummies that really have no purpose but to look creepy and to chase them a little. It's not how they looked but I just didn't like them. Now the animation in this is absolutely stunning. In particular there's a scene with a thunderstorm and everything looked real except for the toys. I thought Coco had the best animation but now I think it's this. That is something amazing an animated film can do: have great animation and an amazing script to make it actually seem like it's plausible to happen in real life. Also just a quick random fact: Throughout the franchise there's many allusions to The Shining so look for them in this one. I'd highly recommend seeing this. If you haven't seen the others I'd suggest maybe watching those first but if you have basic knowledge you should be good.
My Grade: A-