tek's rating:

Toy Story 4 (G)
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Caution: spoilers.

This came out in 2019, but I didn't see it until 2024. It took me awhile to get into it and really start to like it, and it's probably my least favorite Toy Story movie so far, but only by a little bit. Once I did get into it, it was pretty good.

It starts with a scene set 9 years ago, when Bo Peep and her lamp were donated to a new owner. Then there's a montage of Andy growing up and playing with his toys, until finally giving them away to Bonnie (as seen in "Toy Story 3").

In the present, Bonnie isn't playing with Woody very much, but when she has to go to kindergarten orientation, he sneaks into her backpack to make sure she's okay. She ends up making a new toy named Forky out of some trash (or at least, things that had fallen into the trash). This cheers her up, and helps her get through the day until she goes home. However, once the toys are left alone, Forky (voiced by Tony Hale) keeps trying to throw himself in the trash, believing that's what he is, and Woody keeps stopping him. Then, as there's like a week before kindergarten actually starts, Bonnie and her parents take a road trip in an RV. Forky keeps trying to escape from the RV, and again, Woody keeps stopping him... until Forky finally succeeds in getting away, and Woody has to chase after him.

Eventually, Woody manages to convince him that being Bonnie's toy is a good thing, so they start heading back to the RV. But then Woody spots Bo's lamp in the window of an antique store, and he and Forky go to look for her. They end up meeting a doll named Gabby Gabby (Christina Hendricks), who has a broken voice box, and wants to get Woody's to replace hers. (Of course, she can talk normally as a living toy, it's just her, um, actual toy voice that doesn't work. If you see what I mean.) And... at one point Buzz leaves the RV to search for Woody and Forky, while Jessie and the other toys prevent Bonnie's parents from leaving until Buzz and the other toys can return. Buzz ends up being grabbed by a guy who runs a carnival game, to be used as a prize. There, Buzz meets a pair of stuffed animals named Bunny (Jordan Peele) and Ducky (Keegan-Michael Key). They all escape from the wall of prizes, together. Meanwhile, Woody escapes from Gabby and her ventriloquist dummy friends, and later reunites with Bo and her sheep, who have been enjoying the freedom of being "lost toys" for the last seven years or so, after two years of having been in the antique shop. They go back to the shop to rescue Forky, whom Gabby is using as bait for Woody. They run into Buzz, Bunny, and Ducky, and Bo takes them all to meet a stunt cyclist toy named Duke Caboom (Keanu Reeves), to help them reach the cabinet where Forky is being kept.

And, well... a bunch more stuff happens, which I mostly don't want to spoil. I will say that Gabby isn't quite the villain that she appears to be, which was a nice twist. And in the end, Woody has to make a hard decision that could change his life forever. So... it ends up being a very emotional movie (like all Toy Story movies). And reasonably amusing, in some parts. And Bo is my favorite character in the movie. She's become so damn cool and kind of badass. (I kinda knew before I watched the movie that she'd be my favorite part of it.) And I'm not sure what else to say. I just liked how all the characters' plot threads were ultimately resolved. Also, there's a series of scenes interspersed with the early part of the closing credits, which was cool.

Later in 2019, there was a short series on Disney+ called "Forky Asks a Question", which I haven't watched, but maybe I will, now that I've seen the movie. Or not, we'll see. And in 2020 there was a short film released on Disney+ called Lamp Life.


CGI index
Toy Story franchise
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films: Toy Story * Toy Story 2 * Toy Story 3 * Toy Story 4
specials & shorts: Toy Story Toons * Toy Story of Terror! * Toy Story That Time Forgot * Lamp Life
spinoffs: Buzz Lightyear of Star Command: The Adventure Begins * Buzz Lightyear of Star Command * Lightyear