Toy Story 4 easily earns its place in one of Pixar Animation Studios’ greatest franchises.
When Toy Story 4 was first announced, you were probably like me and questioned the entirety of Pixars’ sanity. How in the world do you follow up the masterpiece that is Toy Story 3, and the perfect ending to one of the greatest animation franchises of all time? Well, thankfully Pixar achieved the impossible! Looks like there is still a bit of story to tell with these characters, and you’ll be just as satisfied with the result!
Like any other Pixar movie, Toy Story 4 refuses to let you leave the theater without a tear rolling down your cheek; but boy does it earn it. I won’t deny it, I think I’ve cried in almost every single Pixar movie ever made; however, I don’t think all of them necessarily earned it. Pixar seems to have cornered the market at tugging at our emotions – by even giving our emotions, emotions – but making me cry doesn’t always equal a great movie. There needs to be a message, and/or a deeper connection to that tear; and Toy Story 4 succeeds in just that. Pixar recognizes the time and energy that we’ve all spent with these characters, and flushes it out into a beautiful story of always remembering our past, but looking forward towards a brighter future.
Among all of our favorite toys, the new fan favorites will definitely be Forky and Bo Peep. As expected, Forky adds some of the best comedic release in the film. He’s trash, but we love him for it! I cannot wait to see more of him on Disney+ later this year. However, the standout toy here is obviously Bo Peep. What an icon! I know a lot of rumors out there pointed towards Bo Peep as the villain in this installment, but let me put that to rest real quick. She in not the villain in this film. You learn a lot about Bo Peep throughout this movie, including what happened to her between the first Toy Story and today. The whole voice cast is incredible as always, but I am thrilled to see Annie Potts back voicing such a strong empowering female character.
The Toy Story franchise has always had such a profound impact on my life. As a 92′ baby, I was given the ability to grow up with these toys in real time, the same way Andy had. So by the time Toy Story 3 was released in 2010, Andy was heading off to college and so was I. To me, Toy Story has always been about the idea of childhood, and holding on to that childlike wonder of the world. When Andy passed his toys down to Bonnie at the end of Toy Story 3, it seemed as though he was leaving a piece of his childhood behind, and I didn’t want that to happen to myself. But if anything Toy Story 4 can teach us, it’s that changes can and will happen. You can’t always dwell in your past, especially if something great is in your future. So thank you again to the teams at Disney & Pixar for bringing these stories to life. The Toy Story franchise has truly been an absolute privilege to witness, and I cannot wait to experience it again.
