A TV movie stretched to nearly 2hrs. starring a forgettable minor character

Rating: 4/10 (10 July 2019)

Was it really needed? No. But then again, although a good movie, was Toy Story 2 needed?
Toy Story 4 continues in an even lesser memorable vein than Toy Story 3 did aptly falling in line with the law of diminishing sequel returns.
What should've been a TV movie or direct-to-home-video / streaming release got stretched into a mildly entertaining 1hr. and 40min. feature-length romp.
The plot follows an underdeveloped, nearly-unintelligible, toddler by the name of Bonnie. Bonnie has gone onto to adopt Woody, Buzz, Jessie The Yodeling Cowgirl & the rest of the original Toy Story 1 & 2 cast of characters (Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head, RC, Hamm, Slinky Dog, Rex, etc.) from their previous 1&2 owner, Andy. The original toys this time are supplemented by Bonnie's line of unoriginal totally forgettable generic (mostly) stuffed toys. The toys, along with her and her family, set out on a road trip in an RV to an unnamed destination.
The plot is kicked off when Bonnie creates a makeshift toy out of a spork (her only contribution to the story), and other craft accoutrements, flies out the window of the RV sending Woody on a wild goose chase for the self-loathing overtly zany toy. Woody and Forky end up finding themselves in a dusty antique shop where Forky manages to get himself captured by a creepy vintage doll by the name of, Gabby Gabby, aided by her creepy vintage ventriloquist doll henchmen. Her only motive for being malicious is wanting to get Woody's voice box in order to get rid of her long deteriorated one.
In order to save Forky, Woody needs some help and, luckily, ends up running into the previously minor character of Little Bo Peep, who has now become an ownerless swashbuckling adventurer who is familiar with the territory of the underwhelming antique store. The rest of the movie consists of them scrambling around the floor and shelves of the store while running into new mildly amusing forgettable characters such as an Evil Kenevil-esque toy and two neon-colored stuffed bears estranged from a carnival all led by Bo Peep.
For a simple straightforward unoriginal uninspired plot of a rescue mission, the movie sure does get dragged out. Dragged out by what? Nothing. The original Toy Story characters we've all come to know and love, when cut back to every now and then, are relegated to some of the most meager speaking parts for any iconic movie characters with minor animation of briefly coming to life only to immediately go back to acting inanimate whenever the clumsy Bonnie barges in on them. For the most part, except for Buzz, they remain trapped motionless in the RV.
The two spearheads of the series, Woody and Buzz, don't have much to show as Woody comes off as a more frantic version of his usual good hearted, "saddle up even though you're scared" persona with Buzz coming off as a total drugged-like jittery moron who constantly consults his pre-programmed voice box for advice the entire movie. As for Jessie The Yodeling Cowgirl, all Toy Story 4 has to say to her is, "Who?".
Let's talk Little Bo Peep. Why make a movie center around an infinitely minor character, who isn't a toy, but instead a porcelain lamp? You got me. It seems as though the scriptwriters couldn't come up with anything for her other than she's an exaggerated annoyingly stereotypical version of Marion Ravenwood from the Indiana Jones franchise. Except here, Bo Peep, has a fatalist dark attitude about remaining a Mad Max-type loner in the land of misfit ownerless toys. Despite all these vein attempts at trying to make her compelling, she remains a cardboard cut-out of a character who cannot carry the movie in any impressive way as all she does is bark orders and has several airborne moments. She's the equivalent of a bit-part character actress carrying a multi-million dollar movie.
In the end, there's virtually no conclusion. Forky ends up rescued and now considers himself a bonafide toy with his previous attitude of being makeshift garbage gone. The villainess of the movie, Gabby Gabby, does not get reprimanded for holding Spork hostage and cutting out an unconscious Woody's voice box but instead a sob story of a character as all she really wants is to be the toy of a loving little girl - which she gets! The only Toy Story movie where the baddie does not face consequences for their wrongdoings but instead gets rewarded. You think, at least, there would've been some sort of climax where Woody and Bo fight off her creepy henchmen, but no. They disappear into thin air.
Woody shrugs and then goes onto become a "misfit" toy with Bo Peep as he gives the nearly non-present Jessie his sheriff's badge and literally watches the script's final pages nosedive into the ending. The original gang of toys drive off into the night leaving the viewer with the feeling like the shooting script may have been the first draft.
By the time the credits roll, Buzz hasn't gained anything. Woody is in limbo. The other toys didn't have showtime so they can't earn anything. That is aside from the rewarded pop-out-of-nowhere Jessie who gets promoted and the uber-quirky Forky's lame internet motivational meme self-esteem booster lesson. As for Bonnie, this has to be the only main character to not be a main character.
Is the film a cliffhanger? Hopefully not.
As much as I've bashed this new entry, I have to ultimately say that it did have its harrowing and funny moments and kept me entertained but as for whether or not you should see it I'll remain agnostic.