By James H. Carter II

The Toy Story franchise is a masterclass in filmmaking as far as I’m concerned, particularly “Toy Story 3”, which I thought ended the series perfectly. But it’s not over yet, as the toys are back in town for one more adventure. Although I found “Toy Story 4" to be hilarious and filled with creepy moments, it’s an adventure I’m not so sure we needed to go on.

This time around Woody is joined by a new group of “lost” toys, led by Woody’s long lost love Bo Peep, who was strangely absent from part 3. Joining Woody on his adventure is a brand new toy named Forky voiced by Tony Hale. Imagine Hale’s most famous character, Buster Bluth from “Arrested Development”, as a neurotic spork and that basically sums up Forky. I happen to be a huge fan of that series so I found Forky’s antics to be endlessly amusing.

The breakout new characters are simply named Bunny and Ducky. These cute and unassuming carnival game plushes, voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele, were absolutely hilarious and hellbent on attacking humans. They seemed not to care about breaking the toy rule of appearing lifeless when humans around and obsessed with absolute destruction and chaos and I am here for all of it. I hope we get to see the further adventures of Bunny and Ducky in either a future film, short or series.

The Toy Story franchise is a masterclass in filmmaking as far as I’m concerned, particularly “Toy Story 3”, which I thought ended the series perfectly. But it’s not over yet, as the toys are back in town for one more adventure. Although I found “Toy Story 4" to be hilarious and filled with creepy moments, it’s an adventure I’m not so sure we needed to go on.

All that being said, this film didn’t live up to the high standards set by the original trilogy. The first three films are arguably flawless. I was disappointed by the lack of an over the top opening sequence like in the previous films. They would feature the toys on a ridiculous and absurd adventure that ended up all being in Andy’s imagination. It might not make sense to start this film that way, but I wish they would have figured out a way to make it work.

Gabby Gabby, portrayed by the incredible Christina Hendricks, is the film’s villain and unfortunately, she does not live up to her full potential as a Toy Story Villain. Sid, Stinky Pete, and Lotso from the previous films were perfectly fleshed out characters with motivations that you might not agree with but could understand. Without revealing any spoilers, Gabby’s motivation was weak, but I was willing to go along with it. The path she ultimately chooses was disappointing and wasted her potential to be truly evil.

Another aspect that I did not enjoy was that our familiar toy pals Buzz Lightyear, Jessie, and the rest of the gang (besides Woody), seemed to be void of their personality and somewhat neutered versions of themselves. I realize that they were not the main characters of the story but they just didn’t seem like the characters we have grown to love over the past three films.

Between all the humor and horror elements, there is plenty to enjoy here, it just doesn’t quite live up to the legacy set by the first three.

(All Images Courtesy of DISNEY/PIXAR)

“Toy Story 4″ Review

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